Keep Your Pets Safe in Summer Heat

Your pets are as bothered by the summer heat as you are, yet most of them lack the ability to turn on the air conditioner. They rely on you to keep them safe.

Pet retailer Petland is therefore offering you some tips on how to make life more comfortable for your furry loved ones.

The company cautions that thousands of pets die from overexposure to heat – most often from being left in parked cars.

Brian Winslow, director of Animal Welfare Education for Petland, said that temperatures inside a closed car on an 80-degree day can reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit within 20 minutes. That’s enough to kill a pet.

Pets Can Overheat from Just 10 Minutes in a Closed Car

Just 10 minutes inside a hot car can bring on exhaustive heatstroke in cats and small dogs. Smaller animals are even more vulnerable.

Winslow said that, when a pet experiences some of the warning signs of heatstroke, it may be too risky to just drive the pet to a veterinarian. He advises that owners try to lower the pet’s body temperature on the way to the vet.

Do this by submerging a pet’s body in cool water or pouring cool water over its body can help. Ice packs, can also be used to lower body temperature.

Rinse your pet’s mouth with cool water, offering ice chips or very small amounts of water to drink. Keep cool water or cold packs on the heat-exhausted pet until reaching the veterinarian.

Keep Pets Safe from Summer Dangers

Petsmart offers these further tips for keeping your pet safe:

While summer insects can be annoying, your attempts to ward them off with citronella and Insect repellents can be toxic to your pets. Keep such items out of reach.

However, treating your pet for fleas and ticks is a good idea, since these pests thrive in summer heat. Just make sure you use pet-approved preventative topicals or collars.

Hot pavement can burn your pet’s paws, so take precautions to keep their paws cool and healthy. Restrict your walks to shady or grassy area, or schedule walks in the morning or evening. You might even use protective booties to prevent their paws from burning.

Many of summer’s plants that can be harmful to pets if ingested. So can plant food and bags of treated soil.

Avoid the urge to cut your pet’s hair or fur short for the summer, since hair and fur actually help the pet regulate their body temperature.