Pet summer safety tips! When we moved a few years ago, we headed north. The weather where we live now is generally cooler than where we were before (and a LOT less humid too). Despite the cooler weather, we’ve suffered through a handful of heat waves. Last week we had two days that got up to around 95*F. Our local newscaster kept describing the weather as feeling like wearing a “wet sweater”, aka it was humid and hot – my least favorite weather.
Kit and Fen are not fans of the heat either! It’s important to remember that the hot temperatures can affect our pets just as much, if not more, as it does us. But how hot is too hot? The answer, of course, depends on what type of pet is in question, as well as your individual pet’s heat tolerance.
It’s important to learn what temperature range is optimal for each of your pets. Research temperature ideals for your type of pet, but also pay attention to your pet’s individual needs. Learn to recognize signs of discomfort due to increased body temperature, such as excessive panting and drooling in dogs. Make sure your pets have access to cool, shady areas and fresh water at all times.
Some heat related issues in pets include sunburn (yes, animals can get sunburns), hyperthermia, dehydration, and heat stroke. The symptoms of heat related illness will vary depending on what species your pet is. Prevention is always the best option when it comes to heat related illnesses. The following pet safety tips will help you to keep your furry friends more comfortable this summer…
- If your pet requires or enjoys exercise, try to limit excessive activity to the cooler times of the day – usually early in the morning and later in the evening.
- Limit sun exposure, especially for pets with little or no fur, to protect them from the sun’s rays.
- Make sure your pet always has access to fresh, cool water.
- Never leave your pet in a car, or other wise confined to small areas, where they can quickly overheat.
- Be mindful of your pets’ paws in the hot weather. Pavement and other outdoor surfaces can get very hot in the summer sun, putting sensitive paws at risk of being burned.
- Know your pets’ limitations. Certain breeds/species come with more summer time risks than others. Hairless breeds are much more susceptible to sunburn, and heavily furred northern breeds, like my Fenrir, may not tolerate high temperatures as well as other breeds. Cat and dog breeds with flat faces are more prone to suffering from heat related illnesses as well.
Fingers and paws crossed that the rest of the summer goes by without too many days of extreme temperatures. I feel like Fen has been blowing his coat for weeks now. I’m not quite sure how such a little dog looses that much hair and doesn’t just poof away to nothing. Thankfully it stays pretty comfortable and cool inside our house, but the hot weather has been putting a damper on the frequency of our outdoor adventures. Kit, Fen, and I are all eager to get back to our daily hiking!
Is there anything special you do for your pet to help keep him/her cool during hot weather?
18 Comments
Since we live in SC, we have hot temperatures and heavy humidity the majority of the year. We run our AC about 9 out of 12 months. The girls have found their spaces near the AC vents to stay cool and I keep ceiling fans on year round.,
I’m sure, living somewhere so hot, you have keeping cool down to a science! I was so glad to move somewhere cooler than where we were before. I don’t think I’d do well in SC, 9 out of 12 months being hot enough to need AC sounds horrible to me!
We have our pup’s crate in front of the AC vent. Even though she is allowed on the couch she prefers to sleep in her crate these days. I can’t blame her one bit. It has been a very hot summer.
Thanks for the tips. I always worry about Bella’s paws on the hot pavement.
Before we moved we had our bed set up basically next to an AC, and Kit’s favorite spot in the summer was on his back in the bed directly in front of the AC. It was so cute! We don’t even have AC in the house we’re in now. Luckily this house stays WAY cooler than our old apartment used too.
Thanks for sharing – it’s so important to look after our pets in the hot weather and these are some great tips!
Thank you!
I hope you have cooler weather as I so understand the heat having lived in the Middle East most of my life. When it is too hot I either keep Layla indoors with fans going or if we do venture out it is short walks or if in the park I make sure it is places with shade plus I always have a water for her plus her cooling vest. Thank goodness I have never had a problem.
Thankfully it’s been cooling down here quite a bit 🙂 I do the same as you do with Layla, we don’t spend nearly as much time outside playing when it’s too hot/sunny.
I know the USA gets some fairly extreme temperatures, much worse than us in New Zealand.
When we visited Arizona for BlogPaws ® it got up to C48 and we were amazed (to more degrees and they would have cancelled our flight – Yikes!)
Living in New Zealand must be awesome! We do get some extreme temps in the US, but luckily we don’t live in an area that gets as hot as it does in Arizona! We’re in the northeast, so we get all 4 seasons here and usually don’t get super extreme temps, hot or cold. If it were up to me I’d love to move somewhere that gets even colder than it does where we are now, but after our first winter in our new house my partner isn’t too sure how he feels about moving somewhere even colder.
I loathe the heat. I’m as northerly as I can go (well and still live in civilization, I’m not up for the woods.) My AC runs constantly all summer. Cats tolerate a higher heat than we do – their normal body temp is a couple degrees higher. But on these real hot days I see my furballs stretched out near the AC. (I specialize in big furry cats – the furrier the better, but even my triple coated Siberian mix hasn’t melted yet.)
I’m with you! We’ve pretty much left civilization behind (hey we can’t even get pizza delivered here lol) and if it were up to me alone I’d go even further north.
Knowing your pet’s limitations is so important – great advice. We recently moved to a hot climate and found the need to cut short their outside play time by 50%!
We’ve had to do the same many days this summer. I’m hoping it starts to cool down soon because I know my boys are eager to spend more time outdoors.
These are great tips to help keep dogs from overheating. I’m so grateful that we have a shady yard and some window ac units. Our house is pretty comfortable even on the hot days.
We love our new yard but I oftentimes wish we had a bit more shade. We’re surrounded by the woods but our yard itself gets super sunny. Luckily our house stays pretty cool too.
We had a solid few weeks of HOT HOT temperatures here. As much as I would have loved to be outside all day embracing the heat, my girl Dav doesn’t do as well in those conditions. Instead, we took quite a few days inside together in the air conditioning. Now that it’s finally cooling down, we’ll be outside as much as we can! The combination of her age (she’s 12) and her coat (she’s a German Shepherd) makes it hard for her to keep cool when the temperatures climb.
My oldest boy is 11, he’ll be 12 later this year. I’m extra careful about babying him now that he’s older, especially lately since he just recently recovered from a IVDD flair up. My other boy is young still, but he’s an Alaskan Klee Kai so has that thick, husky type fur. He’ HATES the heat and over heats so quickly that I really have to watch him in the summer. We’re also looking forward to spending more time outdoors in the cooler weather. Enjoy!