Summer is just about every dog and dog parent's favorite season -- who doesn't love longer days, warmer weather, and more adventures?!
If your dog is anything like our Mighty Paw crew, every summer day ends with the sleep of a happily-exercised pup.
To enjoy it to its fullest and focus on the fun, it's good to make sure you have the summer months' safety issues covered. Then you can confidently enjoy your adventures with your pup!
Let's jump in and take a closer look at 7 summer safety tips for pets for your best, safest summer with your dog:
1. Understanding heat stroke and heat stress
On particularly warm days, limit exercise to cooler parts of the day, and provide regular breaks to prevent heat stress. All dogs are at higher risk for heat stroke during hot weather and need protection from excessive heat.
Heat stress is not something to take lightly.
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Heat stress can cause permanent brain damage, organ failure, or death if untreated.
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Be aware of the signs of heat stress, including heavy panting, difficulty breathing, mild weakness, and excessive thirst.
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Heat stroke is a life-threatening emergency that requires immediate treatment from a veterinarian.
Higher risk dogs
Dogs with flatter faces (brachycephalic dogs such as French Bulldogs and Boxers), overweight pets, and dogs with thick, heavy coats tend to be more susceptible to heat stress and heat stroke. Dogs with light-colored fur or pink skin may also be prone to sunburn, which can worsen heat sensitivity.
Keep a close eye on your senior dogs as well. As dogs age, their ability to regulate their body temperature can decline. That means senior dogs are more susceptible to overheating and other heat-related issues than younger dogs.
2. Watch-outs for walks and playing outside
On hot days, plan your walks to avoid the hottest part of the day and limit the length of your walk to what is comfortable for your dog. A temperature of more than 82°F requires paying closer attention to your dog's tolerance. As always, know your dog. Some types of dogs may feel the negative impacts of heat even at temperatures as low as 70°F.
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When walking your dog, avoid hot surfaces and consider trimming longer hair to keep your pup cool. Seek shady spots as you walk or play outdoors.
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Sensitive paw pads can suffer from severe burns on hot asphalt, so it’s crucial to avoid hot surfaces. A simple test is to place your flat palm on pavement for about 7 seconds. If it's too hot for you, it's too hot for your dog. A pet's paws can be easily and quickly burned on hot surfaces.
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Be sure to keep your pup hydrated during all your outdoor activities and walks on warm weather days. Always bring along a collapsible water bowl and some fresh water for your dog.
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Keep your dog on a durable leash with a sturdy, comfortable harness when walking or hiking, especially in areas with potential hazards, such as snakes or other animals.
3. Awareness in and around water
Water can bring some of the greatest joys of summer -- and without proper supervision, real danger. A good way to think about activities around water is to think of your dog as you would a baby or toddler: always, always keep eyes on your dog. Accidents can happen in an instant.
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When you're enjoying water-related activities, such as swimming, dogs should always wear flotation devices and avoid drinking pool water to prevent problems.
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Drinking salt water or ingesting it during play can also cause extremely serious health-threatening issues in dogs.
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Rinse chlorine and salt or lake water from your dog's coat after swimming to prevent itchy skin as well as your dog's ingesting chemicals or bacteria with licking.
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Always provide cool water for your dog to drink to avoid dehydration (even though it seems your dog is cooling off in the water).
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Be careful to note algae conditions when you're in and around lakes and ponds. If you suspect blue-green algae, stay away. Contact with blue-green algae can make humans sick, but for dogs, the toxicity is deadly, and it happens quickly. If your dog comes in contact with blue-green algae even slightly, get to a veterinarian immediately.
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Again, never leave pets unsupervised near water (that includes cats, too!). Your dog may not know how to doggy paddle or could suffer from exhaustion and not know how to get out of the water.
4. Staying secure and safe in the car
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Never leave dogs in a hot car for even an instant. It can quickly become extremely hot and life-threatening. In just minutes, the excessive heat can lead to heat stroke and fatal distress.
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We may be out and about with our dogs more in the summer, but keeping pets safe and secure in the car in all seasons is critical. That means a reliable safety seat belt for your dog on even the shortest car ride.
5. Protecting your pup around the garden and lawn
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Use pet-safe garden products -- organic options are now available. Do be aware that while they don't contain toxic chemicals, some organic products like cocoa bean mulch are toxic for dogs and should be avoided.
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Many household items are quite effective and also inexpensive and safe for garden tasks, such as a vinegar/salt mix for weeds.
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Unfortunately, neighbor and public lawns count too, so keep an eye out on walks. It helps to wash and wipe your pup's paws after being outside. You'll be removing allergens as well as any contaminants that often find their way from paws to your dog's mouth (and into your house).
6. Alleviating seasonal allergies
If your dog is prone to allergies, summer can bring seasonal allergens that can cause allergic reaction discomfort, watery eyes, itchy paws, etc. In addition to wiping down or bathing your dog after outside adventures, you can get a jump on allergies from the inside out with an immune-boosting supplement.
We created our Mighty Immune: Allergy and Immune Supplement with veterinarians to fortify your dog's immune system against allergies. It's formulated to harness the power of Omega-3 fatty acids, Quercetin, and Turmeric, to soothe itching and support your dog's immune system response to seasonal allergies.
7. Managing during flea, tick, and mosquito season
Avoid problems caused by fleas, ticks, and other insects by using proactive, consistent preventive measures, and consult with your veterinarian for advice.
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You can largely avoid insect bites from the most vexing summer insects with effective use of all-natural sprays (keep them by each outgoing door and in your car, beach bag, etc.) Baths with all-natural flea and tick shampoos and apple cider vinegar rinses are also helpful in taking a layered preventive approach along with the sprays.
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Skip areas you know are heavily populated with insects as well as times of day as much as possible (dawn, dusk, for example) to minimize exposure for your dog -- and you. Heavily wooded areas usually come to mind, but some beach areas also surprisingly have high flea and tick spots, for example.
Anytime, all-the-time health and safety for your dog
Of course, providing a safe and healthy environment for your dog, giving your pup a balanced, healthful diet, clean water, and exercise are year-round essentials. In summer and every season, you always want to have a plan in place in case of an emergency, with contact information for your veterinarian and a list of emergency clinics. It's always a good idea to make sure you and your dog are prepped and confident you're on top of any situation.
That way you'll know you're covered, and you can focus on having fun and living your best lives together.
Happy, safe summer!
All of us at Mighty Paw are grateful that summer gives us more opportunities for more adventures with our dogs. We want to grab every minute, every day of it, every adventure large and small. We know you feel the same way.
That's why we're here, single-mindedly focused on finding ways to help you give your dog the happy, healthy life we all want for our pups.
And why we're committed to creating high-quality products that are healthful, safe, and practical for everything you need: from supplements like our Mighty Immune, to simple solutions like our collapsible travel bowls, to durable, comfortable equipment for all your adventures together.
