Summer Safety Tips for Your Pet

Guest Post By: Hannah Stevens

Dog on beach
Image courtesy of Pexels.com

Summer is usually a great time to enjoy ourselves and spend time out with our favorite companions. However, spending long sunny days with our pets can spell danger to them. Dogs usually do not cool off quickly in hot conditions. Therefore, it is wise to learn the necessary precautions from animal experts.

Keep Your Dog Cool

To prevent dehydration, ensure that the furry companions take plenty of fresh, clean water and stay under a shade or in cool places to help them regulate their body temperature. Also, avoid over-exercising them in scorching weather. Similarly, know how to tell the symptoms of overheating such as;

  • Difficulty in breathing and excessive panting.
  • Increase in respiratory and heart rate.
  • Mild weakness and drooling, stupor and sometimes collapsing.

These symptoms can escalate to bloody vomit and diarrhea and sudden shot in their body temperature.

Never Leave Your Pet in a Car

Not only is leaving your dog in the car dangerous, but it is also illegal in some states in the United States. Dogs love riding in the car but certainly would not enjoy being stuck in there on a hot summer afternoon. Though it may seem as if a short while is harmless, dogs can suffer severely from 10 minutes in the car, deliberately inducing heatstroke. It’s advisable to search for the owner immediately if you see a dog left in the car or call the police.

Do Not Shave Your Dog

You may need to trim off long hair on your dog, but you should never shave them. The long coat acts as a cushion against overheating and sunburns. The fur on your pet also helps it keep warm during the freeze. It is advisable to leave it an inch long every time you are doing the routine pet grooming.

Adhering to grooming schedules despite the season also enables you to monitor any infestation of pests, thus prevent them from spreading. Make sure that any insect repellant products and sunscreen that you apply on the pet are explicitly authorized by a vet. A well-groomed and insect free dog will lead a healthy life and enjoy quality sleep.

Mind the Paws

When temperatures rise, hot floor surfaces will cause a dog to heat up pretty fast since their system picks heat from the ground. Despite the pooch heating up, the paw pads can also be injured. Minimizing walking at this time or avoiding asphalt and cement which heat up quickly. Driving around with your dog on the back of a truck can also cause the paws to burn from the hot metal. However, if you have to have the company of your dog, doggy boots can come in handy to protect the paws.

Encourage Swimming

Like human beings, dogs can enjoy a swim on a hot afternoon as well. It could be dangerous since not all dogs can swim so dress them in a life vest. The vest’s color should be bright enough to be noticed in case riptides, and intense storms sweep them away. Make sure you always keep watch when in the water.

Pet Proofing Your Home

Neil Foto, Community Outreach Coordinator for ADTSecurity.com sent us an email to recommend an amazing resource link, an interactive pet safety guide for new pet owners.

I think visitors to your site will enjoy this guide as it offers them the chance to click different rooms of the house and be provided safety concerns that are specific to that room. There is also a checklist for new pet owners and a list of essential supplies they will need.

Please check out this comprehensive guide and add the link to your site as an additional resource for your readers.

Thanks, Neil.  We encourage our visitors to check out this pet safety guide to pet proofing your home.

Pet safety guide

Pet Safety Guide – ADT Security Blog

Collar Safety Awareness Week

Dog’s Speak Up for Collar Safety

By: Blue Belle Walton, Canine Contributor
DogBlog: A Dog’s Eye View

Dog Collar Safety

Hi there dog lovers, Blue Belle here, canine dog blog contributor, grateful rescued dog, and tail wagging happy member of a furever family.

My family wanted me to talk to you about a very serious issue. Today my mom gave me a new collar. She said that this could actually save my life. What is so special about my new collar? It has a feature that makes it come apart if I get my collar caught, so I don’t get strangled. My new collar is a PetSafe® KeepSafe® Break-Away Collar.  Isn’t it pretty.  I really like it.  My mom listened to a video interview from the women who created it.  She invented this collar after she lost her dog Chinook, to a collar strangulation accident.  How terrible!  You can see the video below.

Information about the PetSafe® KeepSafe® Break-Away Collar

The collar features a patented break-away safety buckle that releases when pressure is applied or it gets caught on something, allowing it to fall off harmlessly and reduce the risk of strangulation or injury to the pet. The KeepSafe collar also has a metal D-ring on each side of the breakaway buckle, which can be used to attach ID tags and can also be clipped together with a leash so pet parents can safely walk their dogs using the collar.

We didn’t even know that this was a risk, but my mom heard about the Educational Campaign to Protect Pets from Collar Strangulation Accidents . They call it Collar Safety Awareness Week. We think everyone should help get out the word. Mom said it is urgent to make everyone aware of this safety issue. So listen up, people. Please pass this along. I know your dog will thank you.

Collar Related Injuries

  • Over 19 million dogs wear collars everyday
  • More than 26,000 collar related injuries happen each year
  • 71 incidents per day
  • More than 50% of pet professionals have experienced a collar related incident in pets

Common Causes of Dog Collar Incidents

  • Play Biting
  • Deck Slats
  • Fences
  • Crates
  • Heating/Cooling Vents
  • Shrubs/Bushes

The first annual Collar Safety Awareness Week, October 18-24, 2015, is being launched to educate the public about the risks of strangulation and dangers of traditional collars as part of National Animal Safety and Protection Month.

PetSafe® Interviews Tenney Mudge, Inventor of KeepSafe Collar

PetSafe® Collar Safety Awareness

Blue Belle’s Message to All Dogs and Their Family’s PROTECT YOUR PET WITH A SAFE COLLAR.

Petsafe Collar Safety Awareness Week Infographic

Petsafe Collar Safety Awareness Week Infographic