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Hot Weather Pet Tips

While summertime is often a time to relax, play sports, enjoy picnics, trips to the beach, and backyard parties, the summer months can also offer some potential hazards to our companion animals.
Heatstroke and Heat Exhaustion
Heat exhaustion is often caused by over-exercising or running with a dog during hot weather, and this can result in brain damage, heart failure or even death in a short period of time. Short nosed, thick-coated breeds, overweight, and very young or very old pets are particularly vulnerable. Always take cool water along when walking, running or hiking with your dog during hot weather. To cool off an overheated dog, offer him plenty of water, then wet the dog's body and paws with cool water, then fan. A dog's normal internal body temperature is between 100.5 degrees F and 102 degrees F. If the dog experiences heatstroke or heat exhaustion, he should receive veterinary attention as soon as possible.
Parked cars
Leaving your dog in a parked car in the summer (even with the window left a few inches open), can cause heatstroke within minutes. Note: Leaving your dog in a car parked in the shade does not assure that your dog will not become seriously overheated. Dogs left in parked cars also risk being harassed or stolen.
Car Windows
Prevent your dog from hanging his head out of a moving car or truck window when taking him for a ride. Bugs, small pebbles and other debris can injure his eyes, and he is also at risk of jumping out of the vehicle. Also, closing automatic car windows while your dog is hanging his head out of the car window can cause him or her serious harm.
Pickup Trucks
Never allow your dog to ride in the back of an open pickup truck, unless he is safely secured by a padded harness to the center of the pickup "bed" with specially designed tethers. Make sure to provide a thick comfortable padded surface or dog bed to prevent any injury or discomfort to your dog's joints and feet. The bed of a pickup truck can get hot enough to seriously burn the dogs' pads.
Airplane Travel
To help prevent your dog or cat from overheating when traveling by airplane, avoid transporting your companion animal in the cargo section of the plane during hot weather. If your must transport you dog or cat in the cargo section, take a direct, early morning or late evening flight whenever possible, as layovers, delayed take-offs, and mid-day travel (when the temperature is hottest) can all pose an increased risk.
Vacations
Always used a trusted pet sitter. Many animals try to escape and find their owners when they leave on vacation. Make sure your pets are ID tagged and that the sitter have phone numbers where you can be reached, your veterinarian's phone number, and the local animal shelter's phone number.
Protect Your Dog From Being Stolen
The number of companion animals that are stolen from backyards and from outside stores and supermarkets increases dramatically throughout Spring, Summer and Fall. Even the "safest" neighborhoods are not immune to this growing problem. The bottom line is: never leave your dog unsupervised if there is any risk that your dog could be harassed, poisoned or stolen. Keep a current license and identification tag on your dog or cat and consider tattooing or micro-chipping as a means of permanent identification.
Benefits of Spaying and Neutering
Regardless of the time of year, neutering your dog (or cat) will help reduce the likelihood of: your dog roaming and getting injured or lost, unwanted litters, intra-species fighting, sexual frustration and mounting, urinary marking, dominance aggression, and a variety of physical conditions including certain types of cancer.
Heartworm medicine
Mosquitoes now cover most of the United States in warmer weather, so make sure your dogs and cats are on heartworm preventative to avoid potentially fatal heartworms.
Outside Pets
Always provide plenty of shade for an animal staying outside the house. A properly constructed dog house serves best. Bring your dog or cat inside during the heat of the day and let her rest in a cool part of your house. Always provide plenty of cool, clean water for your animal. Never tie an animal outside on a correction collar. He can choke to death. If you must tether him, use a buckle collar with identification tags instead. (This applies in any season.) Never let your animal run loose. This is how an animal can contract a fatal disease, including rabies, or be injured, killed or stolen. Be sure there are no open, unscreened windows or doors through which your animal can fall or jump.
Open Windows, Fire Escapes and Rooftops
Many people leave a few windows open in their home to help create a nice cool cross-breeze. If you have a dog or cat at home, be certain to install secure window screens (or safety bars) in any of the windows which will be left open, as many companion animals fall out of windows, and fire-escapes every year and are often seriously injured or killed.
Safety around swimming pools, beaches, lakes
Not all dogs can swim and all pets are at risk around pools and other bodies of water when unsupervised. Have them leashed and with you at all times, and life jackets are available through most sporting goods stores. Never take animals to the beach unless you can provide a shaded spot and plenty of flesh water for them to drink. Rinse pets off after they have been in salt water.
Chemicals
Avoid walking your dog in areas that you suspect have been sprayed with insecticides or other chemicals, as poisonings increase during the summer when gardens, lawns and trees are sprayed. These chemicals can sicken or kill an animal. Call your veterinarian if you suspect your animal has been poisoned. Be alert for coolant leaking from your vehicle. Animals are attracted to the sweet taste of coolant and ingesting just a small amount can cause an animal's death. Consider using animal-friendly products that use propylene glycol rather than those containing ethylene glycol. If ingested, anti-freeze is often lethal -- even in very small quantities. Because many dogs and cats like its sweet taste, there are an enormous number of animal fatalities each year from animals drinking anti-freeze. Poisoning from anti-freeze is considered a serious medical emergency which must be treated by a qualified veterinarian IMMEDIATELY. Fortunately, the Sierra company now offers a far less toxic form of anti-freeze.
Grooming
A clean coat can help to prevent summer skin problems. If he has a heavy coat, shaving your dog's hair to a 1-inch length will help prevent overheating. Don't shave a dog's hair down to the skin; this robs him of protection from the sun. A cat should be brushed frequently to keep his coat tangle-free.
Vet Care
Take your companion animal to the veterinarian for a spring or early summer checkup, including a test for heartworm if your dog isn't on year-round preventative medication. Have the doctor recommend a safe, effective flea and tick control program.
July 4th Fireworks
Many animals escape when they hear fireworks. Crating a pet during fireworks is the safest solution. You can play music to help cover the sound.