How To Be A Caring Pet Owner This Summer

For most people, summer is their favourite season. It consists of catching up with family and friends, parties in the backyard, barbecuing, swimming in the ocean, hot days and long nights.

However, for pet owners, summer can never fully be about rest and relaxation. This is because there are lingering concerns such as heatstroke and dehydration in the back of our minds.

With the help of a few helpful tips and tricks, pet owners can have peace of mind this summer. By being proactive and informed, you and your pet can safely enjoy all that the warm season has to offer.

10 Summer Pet Safety Tips

Summertime is synonymous with fun. When it comes to enjoying the warm weather, it’s easy to lose sight of what is best for our pets. However, as pets don’t sweat like humans, summer can be a dangerous time for our furry friends. Resulting in everything from overheating and sunburn to dehydration and stroke.

With this in mind, it’s important to implement a few different pet safety tips, designed especially for summer. This way, you can ensure that, whatever the weather, your pet is feeling happy and comfortable.

1. Know the signs of overheating

With minimal sweat glands, it’s typical for pets to overheat quite quickly. This could happen in hot weather and even in relatively mild conditions. As overheating can affect internal organs, it’s important for pet owners to know the signs of heatstroke.

Signs of overheating include:

• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Thick drool
• Heavy panting
• Unsteady walking
• Change in gum colour to bright red

If your pet is exhibiting signs of heat stress, it’s imperative to act quickly. This means moving them into the shade and giving them a drink. Cold water can shock pets, so apply cool water to their feet and coat. Finally, whether you do or don’t have pet insurance, visit the vet for a check up.

2. Provide access to fresh water

During periods of hot weather, pets will tend to drink more. With dehydration a real risk for pets during the summer months, providing access to fresh water is a must. To provide further fluids, you may want to switch your pet to wet food on hot days.

3. Set up a pet retreat in the shade

Outside pets will need appropriate shade during the warm months. Without somewhere cool to retreat to, pets run the risk of overheating and potentially burning their feet on hot grass and pavers.

4. Be mindful of ticks and fleas

There are hundreds of different breeds of ticks and fleas and most of them thrive in warm conditions. To help your pet fight against a pest infestation, consider treating them and also routinely examining their coat for signs of bites.

5. Exercise, with caution

Every pet needs exercise in order to keep physically fit and mentally stimulated. During the summer months, it can be hard to provide pets with exercise opportunities. So, rather than exercising them during the heat of the day when the ground is hot, pick the early morning.

6. Have a tube of pet sunscreen

Much like humans, pets can also get sunburnt, particularly around their face and stomach. While it can be easy to slip slop slap some of your sunscreen onto your pet, opt for a pet friendly sunscreen. This way, you can be sure that there are no toxic ingredients like zinc.

7. Limit car time

When ducking to the shops or embarking on a road trip, it can be tempting to leave your pet in the car, don’t, unless the windows are down. Cars can quickly heat up, causing an unsafe environment. It takes less than 10 minutes to develop heatstroke inside a hot car.

8. Mind their ears

Pets have extremely sensitive ears and hearing. With this in mind, it’s important to look after them. This means not taking your pet to a fireworks show. It also means drying your pet’s ears off after a swim in the ocean.

9. Watch out for allergies

In the summertime, it’s typical for humans to suffer from allergies. The same can be said for pets. The symptoms and triggers are also the same. With this in mind, keep bushes in your yard trimmed to help your furry friend fight hay fever.

10. Be smart about food

During barbecues or parties with friends and family, people may want to feed your pet a scrap of something. However, food and drinks associated with summer can be harmful to pets like dogs. So your pet doesn’t miss out, have pet friendly treats on hand.

Enjoying Summertime With Your Pet

Summer is undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable times of the year. Rather than pet owners feeling worried or cautious about their pets during this time, a few simple tips and tricks can be employed to ensure a fun season for all.

When it comes to caring for pets in summer, it’s all about staying proactive and smart. This simply means replacing middle of the day walks with early morning or even night walks and making sure water is fresh and plentiful.