With flowers blooming, more sunshine and the promise of summer fun, who couldn’t help but be a little excited?! While there is a lot to be excited about, there a few things to keep in mind to help ensure that your furry family members also get the most out of summer.
Most dangers to your pet fall into the W’s: weather, wildlife, and want-to. Okay, “want-to” was the closest W that we could come up with to describe things that pets want-to eat that are hazardous. Without further discussion of synonyms, let’s dive in!
Heat Illness- Ever touched a sweaty dog? Okay, not a fair question! Unlike humans, dogs are not able to sweat to cool down-other than through their paw pads. They largely rely on panting and colder surroundings to cool off. In addition to their fur, this means that dogs are more sensitive to heat than we are. Medical conditions, advanced age, larger breeds, breeds with origins in colder regions and/or a short nose all are factors that put a dog at a greater risk of overheating.
Prevention-
- Exercise your dog at cooler times of the day; if they must be exercised at a warmer time, shorten the duration, consider pre-wetting your dog with some water, consider a walk at an indoor store that allows pets, bring along water and be on the look out for signs of overheating.
- NEVER leave your dog unattended in a car on – even with windows cracked, in the shade it doesn’t take long for your dog to overheat. For instance, at an air temp of 80 F degrees, in 10 minutes your car could be 99 F degrees. In Colorado, we have a Good Samaritan law that, under certain conditions, allows for breaking into a vehicle to rescue a dog suffering from heat stress .
- If your dog is out in your yard, ensure that they have plenty of water and shade. If you are leaving home, make sure that your dog has access to the indoors or better yet, a friendly Auntie Em’s team member to let them out for a bit on those scorchers.
Damage to paw pads from hot surfaces- Some surfaces such as cement -or worse yet asphalt- hold and radiate heat well. Not a big deal if you are walking around in shoes, but for paw pads, this can spell trouble. Severe burns to paw pads are possible in a relatively short amount of time when your pup is walking across a toasty surface. An air temperature in the 70’s, can mean that the surface temperature of asphalt is in the 120’s.
Prevention-
- On warmer days, test the temperature of your walking surface with the back of your palm before walking on it. If you can comfortably keep your hand on the surface for a full 7 seconds, chances are that a dog will be okay to walk on it.
- Walk on dirt, grass or another medium that doesn’t as intensely conduct heat
Severe Thunderstorms- Like humans, your dog is prone to the dangers of lightning, hail and the like. Additionally, many pets suffer from anxiety during thunderstorms. This can make them more prone to bolting if they are outside in such conditions.
Prevention-
- Make sure that your pet is securely and safely indoors for thunderstorms- if the forecast is iffy, err on the side of caution and opt to close dog doors or otherwise confine your pet indoors
- Anxiety can be eased by white noise machines, in milder cases thunder shirts may help, your vet may prescribe something to help, Desensitizing/and counter condition may also be effective with the aid of a trainer.
Rattlesnakes– not the most popular topic in most circles, but nonetheless an important one! Like it or not the Prairie Rattlesnake calls our area home. This snake is an ambush predator, meaning that they wait for suitable prey to happen upon them rather than rely on speed to make a catch. Thankfully, yes, thankfully, this means that there is more we can do to keep our pets out of harms way. The snake produces a limited amount of venom which means that they don’t want to waste it on something that it can’t eat!
Prevention-
- For walks, keep your dog on a short leash (6′ or less) when walking during rattle snake season, which spans from April to October. Rattler sightings occasionally happen outside of those months, though. This significantly reduces your dog’s chances of inadvertently stepping on or nosing a rattler. Rattlers don’t necessarily warn before biting- if they are surprised, say by a fast moving dog traipsing through deep grass, they may perceive their only choice as to respond to the ‘threat’.
- To avoid accidentally stumbling upon a rattler, don’t allow your dog to walk or sniff where you can’t see the ground- dense grass, burrows and under rocks are favorite hiding spots for rattlers
- Should you encounter a rattle snake, if possible, divert your course and give it plenty of room. Try to redirect the dog’s attention away from the snake (treats, a favorite toy). Back away slowly with your body facing it. Never throw rocks at it or otherwise agitate it! This increases its stress level and also increases the amount of venom that would be in a bite.
- Be extra vigilant when it is 70-80 F outside, often this is when the snakes will be most active.
Wildlife with Young- some normally docile creatures, become downright feisty when they are caring for young.
Prevention- Give wild life extra room to avoid being perceived as a threat. Should wild life pursue Fido, the appropriate response varies by species. Carry a deterrent spray to help protect Fido should a wild life encounter be unavoidable.
While there are many, many, MANY things that our pets find palatable that we don’t, the season brings about a whole new set of “palatable” things that pets want to add to their menu. While some are merely gross, others can be very poisonous.
Plants-it’s no secret that some plants can make our pets very sick.
Prevention- – Select non-toxic plants for areas of the yard your pet has access to. Even if you don’t have a green thumb, familiarizing with the more common toxic plants can serve any pet owner well. The ASPCA list of toxic & non-toxic plants is a wonderful resource. Again, a leash can help keep your pet from getting to toxic “menu items” out on walks.
Fungii– okay, we are only really talking mushrooms here. Colorado has nearly 3,000 species of mushrooms, making reliably identifying a mushroom quite tricky. Some mushrooms may begin making a pet very sick in as little as 15 minutes while others may have no impact at all.
Prevention– Treat all mushrooms as if they are the bad kind. Some dogs that wouldn’t normally eat mushrooms are drawn to the fishy odor of all species. Remove them from the areas that your pet has access to right away as under the right conditions they quickly spread. If your dog does eat a mushroom, try to grab a sample and take pictures while calling your vet for advice. Thankfully, every state has a group of mushroom experts that volunteer to help with identification of mushrooms in cases of poisonings.
Discarded Food– Often the summer brings about an increased amount of food left behind from picnics, candy dropped at the play ground or food otherwise discarded in common areas. Some of it is harmless, but others are very harmful. Particularly items that contain the commonly used artificial sweetener that is very lethal to dogs.
Prevention- – Keep an eye out for candies and gums as they are likely to contain xylitol. Consider having something along that you could trade your dog for (high value treat, favorite toy).
While talking safety isn’t generally the most fun topic, we hope that this will help you and your pets to have a happy & healthy summer!
Looking for a dog walker ready to keep your pet safe from the hazards of summer? Reach out today!