More Tips on Keeping Your Pets Cool
Summer is upon us for sure! The temps are soaring and if you do not have air conditioning I know your pets are suffering just as much as you are. Here are some strategies that you can use to keep your pets as comfortable as possible:
Besides providing shade, and lots of fresh water, go ahead and add ice cubes to the water dish. Or you can allow your pet access to a basement or cement floor. If you find yourself staying a little longer in the basement doing laundry, you can bet your pet would enjoy being down there as well!
A fan on low, placed on the floor, cools pretty well. Even horses appreciate a fan hung about head height on a stall door to provide a breeze and chase away the flies.
Frozen water in pop bottles can keep your pocket pet cool–especially rabbits.
Even shaving down your long haired pets, (Pugs, Collies, Samoyeds, or cats) can be done to help them stay cool. If you do this your pet will look much different, but it will all grow back with time. Also remember that the hair provided protection from the sun and without it, your pet needs to have adequate shade and fly protection, and maybe some sun screen applied–especially on the underbelly to counteract the suns reflection from cement or sand. (Some pets get sunburned routinely and need daily applications of sunscreen applied to their noses, ears, faces and yes even feet/legs).
Hosing off the horses and playing in the sprinklers are great things to do in the extreme heat, as well as hanging out in the breeze under a shade tree.
Of course, limiting activity to the early morning and late evenings helps both owner and pet stay cooler. Remember: DO NOT LEAVE PETS IN A CAR DURING THE WARM WEATHER. (As people continue to leave human babies in cars, I feel that they need to hear this over and over again in regards to their pets. What a shame)
Stay cool and enjoy the weather we have. Soon it will be so cold we will all be dreaming about the great summer we had last year.
July 16th, 2007 at 11:15 am
We went for a long walk the other night (about 8:45) the sun was setting and it was cooling off. I always take water with me so about 20 mins into the walk we stopped for a water brake. Everyone seemed fine but when we got him Buster my 4 year old toy poodle was almost hyper ventalating. You could tell he was tired and just wanted to lay down but couldn’t cause he couldn’t stop panting. Scrappy, the 3 year old was find but Buster was miserable. He was fine but I overly worry about them. Last night we went out and I made sure Buster rested and drank more water than last time. He was much better last night.
July 17th, 2007 at 7:36 am
Yes some dogs handle the heat better than others. A lot of it has to do with muscle mass. The smaller, compact, muscled dogs do much worse than the lighter ones the same height. Plus age, body fat, and physical conditon all are factors too. You are doing the right thing by watching them individually and making decisions based on each one. Bravo!