Think you're hot? What about your pet?

[bigdoglover]

Battlecreek Enquierer

Stephanie Antonian Rutherford

You may be overheated this week, but imagine walking around in 98-degree weather wearing a fur coat.

That's what dogs have to do. And that's why pet owners should take special care of animals during hot days, said Edie Walter, corresponding secretary of the Battle Creek Kennel Club.

"Dogs have no sweat glands, so if you are sweating in the heat, they are very hot too," Walter said.

Walter said that one of the most important rules of summer pet safety is not leaving an animal in the car.

"Even with the window open, the car can quickly heat up to more than 100 degrees," Walter said. "Your dog could die."

The Battle Creek Kennel Club is a part of the national American Kennel Club, which issues these tips for keeping pets safe in the summer heat:


If it is kept outside, make sure your pet has plenty of shade. Doghouses are not good shelter during the summer because they can trap heat.

Make sure your dog has access to plenty of cool, fresh water 24 hours a day. If your dog travels with you, take along water and a bowl.

Never leave your dog in a vehicle on a warm day.

Avoid strenuous exercise on extremely hot days. Take walks in the early mornings or evenings, when the sun's heat is less intense.

If you have horses, keep them in a cool stable with plenty of fluids. Also provide a salt block. Because horses sweat, they lose a lot of salt, which can be dangerous to their health.

Allow pets to remain in a cool, air-conditioned environment whenever possible.

[britishbandit]

Oh yes, my dogs are being very well taken care of in this heat wave. Right now, I wouldn't mind 98 degrees. Yesterday with the humidity factored in, we hit 110!!! OMG. Even by 2am, it had only cooled down to 95. Today is even hotter (well by this time anyway). One more day of it and a storm is supposed to brew up by Thursday.
I've had to bring out the hose a lot for the dogs this week when they are out. Their "trough" outside, when I put ice in it, the ice melts within 2 minutes (and I've been using containers that make blocks that hold 4 cups of water). I find myself constantly giving fresh water. On top of it, I hadn't turned my AC on this year, and when I tried yesterday, it wouldn't work!!! I can't even get someone to come out and look at it till Friday. It's really been aweful, the dogs can't even manage walks right now, which really sucks. We're all pretty miserable around here. When the dogs go outside, they simply do their business, take a drink, and go hide under the tree in the shade. I hope this does end soon! Both me, the dogs and the cats are like zombies!
We have been taking car rides, just to get out of the heat for a bit and get into the AC. We're even going to hit Petsmart today to "hide out" and get some relief!

[bigdoglover]

I feel for you! I'm in NC right now for training, and we are out tracking at 7am, but are sweating before it's over. We come back in before noon, and then go out again at 7pm. Its still hot then, but at least the sun is going down. In between we are in the motel room, sucking up some major AC!!