It’s Summer Time! It’s FUN spending time outdoors with your dog but hot temps can be dangerous. Be a responsible pet parent and be smart about the dangers that could threaten your dog’s life.
Mediaplanet’s 7 Summer Safety tips For Your Pets featured in their Pet Wellness campaign has inspired us to create our own Summer Safety Tips For Your Dog.
1) Beat The Heat
- Heat Stroke: Dogs are susceptible to overheating and getting heat stroke. It is very important to be aware at all times and recognize the signs of heat stroke. Take immediate preventive measures once your dog suffers from excessive panting and salivation. Heat stroke can be fatal and can cause nausea, loss of consciousness, brain damage and even death of your dog.
- Stay Hydrated: Make sure your dog has access to plenty of drinking water. During the hot days of summer, make sure your dog stays cool and well hydrated.
- Walk with Caution: Take walks in the early morning or evenings, when the sun’s heat is less intense. Avoid vigorous exercises on hot days.
- Prevent Sunburn: Dogs’ skin are at risk from the sun, especially dogs that are shaved, pink skin, have short and white fur. Only use sunscreen specifically made for dogs. Make sure to also apply to your dog’s nose and ears.
- Hot Pavement: Avoid blacktop street asphalt, it gets very HOT! Prolonged Exposure on hot asphalt can burn your dog’s paws. Wear proper paw protective gear, if needed.
2) Be Cool in the Water
- Use a Lifejacket: When swimming make sure your dog wears a bright colored lifejacket even if your dog knows how to swim.
- Strong Tides: Always keep an eye on your dog. Your dog can be easily swept away, be aware of upcoming strong tides.
- Exits Steps: On pools, make sure your dog knows where the exit ramps and steps are located.
- Blue-Green Algae: Avoid ponds, lakes, and rivers that have blue green algae water, which produces a high volume of toxins. Dogs are susceptible to the toxic algae if they get it on their fur, skin and lick it or ingest it by drinking the water.
3) Tasty Family Cookout
- Hot Grill: Keep your dog away from the grill. Your dog should not be allowed near the grill even after cooking, as it remains hot for a while.
- Table Scraps: Resist your dog’s begging eyes. Table Scraps can be harmful to a dog’s weight and overall health.
4) Fun on the Road
- Buckle Up: Secure your dog in the backseat with a safety harness or pet carrier. It is unsafe to let your dog ride in the front seat.
- Don’t Leave Your Dog In The Car: On hot days, its better for your dog to stay cool at home. Leaving your dog in a closed vehicle is dangerous. The temperature inside a car can rise to over 100 degrees in a matter of minutes.
5) Icy Treats
- Beat the HEAT with refreshing Red White and Blue Tasty Icy Treats, PAWfect for celebrating July 4th and Labor Day.
Have a SAFE Summer!
How do you help your pets cope with the Summer heat? How do you keep your pets healthy in the Summer time?
Share your answer with Mediaplanet in the Pet Wellness Giveaway Page for a chance to win a healthy pet prize pack, full of Zuke’s treats – valued at $80! (giveaway ends 6/30)
This is a sponsored post by Mediaplanet.
Golden Woofs is being compensated for this collaboration post. Golden Woofs only shares information we feel is relevant to our readers.
** 5 Summer Activities For Your Dog **
Thanks for sharing these great tips!! Hugs Sugar, and as always you look lovely!
I think to use sunscreen for dogs sounds like a good idea… maybe I can use it for the parts where I have no fur?
OUTSTANDING advice and reminders…
When it gets HOT and HUMID here… our mom makes Flavor Ice fur us… and sometimes she puts out a tub of water and cuts Carrots up in it… then we go Diving fur GOLD… that is so refreshing.
Great advice Sugar. My huskies love frozen treats and Mika LOVES to swim!!! We also have air conditioning in our house, so they all like to lay down by that throughout the day.
Have a great weekend!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Great tips for what looks like will be another scorching summer in the south!
We will do the best to stay cool Sugar. Good advice!
Great post, Sugar! Not sure we will need heat tips…around here building a boat may be more helpful. We get a gorgeous warm day and then more rain. It is the first year ever where it is mid June and we haven’t even had to water the lawn yet! My guess is the heat and dry air will move in and we will have a drought again later in the summer! Happy Summer Saturday!
Lots of great tips! I didn’t know about the blue-green algae thing… definitely good to know!
I hadn’t known about the blue algae issue either. I ended up writing about it for my site: https://cstravelsandpics.ca/2014/04/11/a-deadly-bloom-musings-about-algae-blooms-and-dogs/
Excellent tips Sugar. Now about those icy treats, can you believe mom STILL has NOT made us any??? We are suffering!
Your Pals,
Murphy & Stanley
Great summertime tips!
Since Ducky’s the only one who comes close to black asphalt, I make it easy on her: I carry her from the door at daycare to the car and put her in the car in the afternoon. And I carry her from the car into the house when we get home. I don’t want my little girl burning her paw pads.
We wish every buddy would read this important post
Lily & Edward
Great post and tips. I bet people don’t realize how hot the pavement really is. Love the looks of your icy treats.
Very helpful reminders Sugar! I am notorious for getting too close to the grill because I like to help dad. I get yelled at a lot! Love Dolly
Lots of great stuff here today Sugar, thank you for sharing!!
He stays in the house a lot during the summer, but he also has a little pool he can splash around in. And of course, keep hydrated, don’t leave in the car, etc.
My two Labrador retrievers do not do heat (I guess they’re not called Ecuador retrievers for a reason). They stay cool by staying inside in the a/c and napping lazily on the cool tile floors through the house. They love frozen fruit such as blueberries for treats. I’ll definitely have to look into making your red, white and blue frozen treats above! So cute! (Btw, where did you find the paw print mold?) If they must be outside they are fetching and swimming in the gulf waters. Otherwise they’re pretty much city slickers. In the Texas summer there’s not much more you can to do but stay inside and wait for fall!
Those are very important summer safety tips to remember!
My person always takes her shoes off and feels the pavement with her feet before letting me walk on it. If it’s too hot for her, we stay in the yard. I’m sure she’d like me to wear paw protectors (are they just doggie sandals?), but I think I’d look silly in them!