Our dogs love summer almost as much as we do! For most of them, this is the best time of the year for walks and everything that the season has to offer. Although there is nothing wrong in taking your pet with you on a trip, for a walk, a swim or a run, bear in mind that the heat can be extremely dangerous. Dogs have it hard controlling the heat because they do not sweat like people do. In fact, they do sweat, but not as much as we and surely not enough to cool them down. You could have noticed that a dog cools down best by panting.
Never, never, NEVER leave your dog in a heated car – ok, probably you have heard this many times, but, sadly, it still happens that some owners leave their pets locked in the car for a few minutes. However, these few minutes can be fatal to your dog because it can suffer from a heatstroke and start choking.
Given that this is the season of vacations and your dog is, of course, a part of your family, when taking him with you on a vacation, try to make everything easy, even the ride to the destination. The car is not the most favourite means of transportation of your furry friend, but you can make it more pleasant. Take care to ensure enough air flow in the car and as much water as possible so that your dog would not dehydrate. When taking longer rides, plan to stop more often so that both you and your dog could refresh.
If you want your dog to refresh in the sea, be sure to do it early in the morning or late at night in order to avoid high daily temperatures that dogs do not handle well. Before going into the sea, offer your dog some water since it will want to drink salty water because of all the activity in the sea and that, based on the amount of drunk water, can cause diarrhoea. Don’t forget that dogs see the sea, the sun and the swimming differently than we do and don’t take it with you for a whole day on the beach under any circumstances (unless you really, really have to).
Your dog’s attitude towards water mostly depends on its first experience. The trust has to be earned without any trauma, the dog has to go into the water willingly and the owner should personally show that being in the water and swimming are a pleasurable experience. The dogs that see it like that won’t experience such heat and won’t face the danger of a heatstroke. Dogs can also be great divers, especially if bringing rocks and sand from the bottom of the sea is seen as a game or, even better, as a task.
Most dogs do not need to be washed later, but for some, salty water can cause mild skin irritation so pay attention and, if needed, wash your dog in normal water.
Wherever you travel, have in mind that your dog loves to have its personal space for sleeping and relaxing. Carrying its bed with you is not very convenient, especially with bigger dogs. For these situations, we suggest our cotton Qushin2go mats which are easy to maintain and at the same time ideal for fast and easy folding and spreading.
The most important thing is to watch your dog’s behaviour – if something bothers it, you will notice. Summer can be the perfect season for you and your pet – enjoy it.
