10 tips to take care of our pets during the heat

First heat waves summer has already appeared in countries such as Mexico and Spain. And this is just the beginning. Therefore, it is important to consider tips on how to cope with high temperatures without compromising our health. But, just as we must take care of our health from the heat, we must also take care that our pets.

and cats and dogs they suffer a lot high temperatures and they can experience sunburn and heat stroke just like we do. They won’t notify us when they feel unwell, so we need to be on the lookout for possible symptoms and, more importantly, act to prevent them from developing.

Whether we are at home or going out during the heat, there are some factors we need to consider when caring for our pets. For example, it is very important follow some schedules. But let’s see what they consist of.

Meal times during hot weather

As a rule, it is not necessary to change the diet of pets during a heat wave. However, as he explained hypertext in 2022 veterinarian Lucia Laos yes they should be reduce the amount of and above all take into account schedules. If we give them food in coldest hours of the daythey will be hungrier and feel better. They must also have always available water to avoid dehydration.

On the other hand, while not required, some pets may like it when we change dry food to wet food. This can be a key factor for cats, who tend to drink less water, as well as some dogs.

Be careful when your pets go out in the summer

Just like we avoid going to central hours of the day during the heat with our pets, we should do the same.

This is so for two reasons. On the one hand, because high temperatures can cause them heatstroke. And, on the other hand, because the asphalt and sidewalks heat up so much that they can damage the pads on the paws.

In 2022 from Veterinary journal shared the warnings of Heather O’Bannon, an American veterinarian who spoke about the case Olafthe dog that came to his office with paw is on fire for a walk with their owners. The animal walked 1.5 km before they realized that something was wrong with it. He may have begun to feel pain some time ago, but preferred to move on. Therefore, when they realized, the burns were already severely neglected.

In fact, as indicated Veterinary Journalenough with 5 minutes at 50ºC to burn your feet. If it is 60ºC, 1 minute is enough. And these are the temperatures not of the environment, but of the earth. This largely depends on the material and surface temperature, but with 35ºC such temperatures are reached during heat waves, these temperatures are easily reached in the soil. For this reason, walking dogs on the ground during the central hours of the day should be avoided whenever possible. If the floor burns when touched with hands, our dogs should not put their paws there.

It is true that they have their own schedule to relieve themselves and that they may need it, even if it is only for a moment. But we’ve already seen this. moment can cause burns. Therefore, in such cases it is advisable to use leg protectors or, if possible, take them to a grassy place. Dogs don’t like to wear pads, but they can be taught to tolerate them even for a while.

If they are still on fire, it is important to find out that they are burned so that you can go to the vet. Therefore, if after walking the dog is lame, licks its paws a lot, or has red, scaly, or bleeding paw padswe must call our specialist.

What do we do at home in the heat?

For cats no problem, because they don’t have to go out to urinate. Moreover, they should not do this, as they are invasive species that pose a danger to urban fauna. Now the house is hot. What do we do with them and the rest of our pets if the temperature is very high?

The first thing we must to avoid to shave them. We may think that their hair gives them a lot of warmth, but in fact it protects them from the sun’s rays, so we lose a very important shield.

Ventilate the house well, do not open the windows at hours when the sun falls directly on them and use the air conditioner only sparingly. If used too much, it can dry out the mucous membranes of our pets and also make them very nervous.

can be used cooling blankets, which contain a gel that helps keep animals cold. According to Lahoz, the dogs love it.

Can we take our pets to the beach?

No problem to take our pets to the beach. However, some recommendations must be taken into account, especially if we are experiencing heat wave.

The first is to use solar protection. They, too, can get burned and eventually develop skin cancer. It’s true that their hair protects them, but they have areas like muzzle, ears, or belly where the skin is exposed. That’s where we should put the protector. Of course, it must be specific to dogs, since humans usually contain zinc oxidec, an ingredient that is not dangerous to us, but highly toxic to them.

On the other hand, we must avoid the central hours of the day. Just the same as people. In addition, the sand is very hot, so precautions for paw padss should be the same as we have already discussed.

How do we know if they are suffering from heat stroke?

If we follow all these tips, we should prevent suffering for our pets. heatstroke. However, we can get lost, or the heat can be so intense that it eventually becomes unavoidable. Therefore, we must also be watch for symptoms

If our dogs or cats show fever, confusion, agitation, slurred speech, excessive salivation, incoordination, hot and reddened skin, nausea, vomiting, rapid pulse, rapid breathing, or some of these symptoms at the same time, we must contact the veterinarian as soon as possible. This will tell us how we should act and give the appropriate treatment.

Ultimately, in the coming heat, we need to take care of ourselves and our loved ones. And that includes our furry friends, of course.