Tips to Keep Your Dog Cool on Hot Days

Summer comes with excessive heat for everyone including your little canine. Keeping your pet cool on hot sunny days requires a great deal of planning and careful preparation. Taking the right steps to keep your dog cool during hot weather will prevent your dog from developing heatstroke.

You can enjoy the sunny summer days in safety with your dog without worrying about how to treat sunstroke in your dog with the right tips. In this post, we will help you understand some important steps you can take to keep your dog cool on hot sunny days.

1. Avoid Leaving Your Dog in a Hot Car

It can be quite fatal to leave your dog in a hot car. Even when the car is parked in a shade with the windows open, if the car is hot, leaving your dog alone in it can be more disastrous than you could ever imagine. Make adequate plans for hot days to ensure your dog is never left alone on a hot car on a hot day.

2. Make Water Readily Available

Make sure you have good drinking water readily available all year round, especially during summer. If you enjoy walking with your dog always, make sure your bottle of water and a bowl are always with you.

3. Plan Your Walks Well

Avoid taking your dog out of the house in the midday sun. The best time for walking with your dog is during the early morning hours. If you do not fancy walking in the morning, you can walk your dog in the evening for a more pleasant walking experience.

4. Introduce New Games to Keep Your Dog in One Place

Introduce new games that won’t require too many physical activities like running around during hot weather. Simple games like hiding your dog’s favorite toy and leaving the dog to sniff it out is a good idea. You can draw the dog into a paddling pool in a shade with a toy as bait.

5 Groom you Dog Regular

To keep your dog’s coat clean and cool, make sure you groom the dog regularly. Grooming regularly helps keep your dog free from discomforting knots which are known to trap a lot of heat. There is a wide range of dog grooming products you can choose from to achieve the desired results.

6. Use Dog Sunscreen

Dogs are like humans in several ways. Just like you, your dog stands the risk of burning when left under the sun for long. Thinly coated and lightly colored dogs are at a higher risk.

Fortunately, there are sunscreen products for dogs. You can find any good dog sunscreen at your nearest pet shop. It may be a good idea to ask your vet first to be sure your dog needs sunscreen.

7. Keep Your Dog’s Paws Protected From Hot Surfaces

Leaving your dog’s paws unprotected during hot weather can hurt your pet. Hot tarmac or sand can leave burns and bruises on your dog’s paws. You can always try to step on your walkways and driveways with your bare feet to know if they feel too hot.

If they feel too hot for you, chances are that these surfaces are hot and unsafe for your dog as well. Taking these steps will ensure your dog stays cool on hot sunny days.

Once you fail to reduce the temperature of your dog, a heat stroke is most likely to result. Heat strokes can be quite fatal for dogs.

It is important to know some common signs you should look out for in your dog to help you know when they are suffering from heatstroke. Here are a few signs and symptoms of heatstroke in dogs:

• Glazed eyes
• Heavy panting
• Excessive salivation
• A rapid pulse
• Vomiting or diarrhea
• Lack of coordination.
• Loss of consciousness
• Taking extra steps to keep your dog cool on hot days can save you lots of stress and money involved in treating heat strokes. Make sure you take simple steps to reduce the effect of the hot sun on your dog.

Other simple daily steps you can take to protect your dog include keeping your dog in shaded areas and away from hot sunlight and providing cooling dog beds and towels for them to rest on.