Dogs are wonderful additions to a family and are often treated as well as human family members. They become your best friend, companion, or even your furry child. Learning how to care for these beloved pets, especially during the summer's heat, is imperative to their good health and to lowering your veterinary bills. Keep your dogs hydrated. Dogs can easily become dehydrated during the warm weather and it will happen more quickly depending on the thickness of their fur. Keep the water bowl in a visible place, such as the kitchen, so every family member will remember to check its fullness during the course of the day.
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If you are out walking, pack a cold water bottle just for your dog and stop often to encourage your dog to drink. Limit exercise. Every vet will encourage dog owners to take dogs for a walk to encourage good health, strengthen their bones, and help keep their nails trimmed, but use common sense during the summer. Shorten the length of your walk or break up a long walk into two shorter sessions. Be aware of the outside temperature and humidity. Do not forget that your beloved Fido is walking with a fur coat and will overheat easily. Walking in the early morning or late evening hours, when the sun is low in the sky, will often help keep dogs cooler. Walk close to your house so if you sense your dog is having problems you can turn around or call for help. Hiking paths and paved trails are wonderful resources but you will be stuck if your dog collapses in the middle of a trail that doesn't allow cars.
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Take your dog's age and overall health into consideration when planning activities outdoors. Older dogs will tire and dehydrate more easily than younger dogs and these changes can appear without warning. Dogs can also develop seasonal allergies which can in turn affect their breathing ability, so keep a close watch on older dogs that seem to pant excessively. Check for ticks daily. Ticks are very small insects that often carry Lyme's Disease and other tick borne illnesses. These microscopic insects are prevalent during the warm weather months in wooded areas or yards with tall grass and if they come in contact with your pet, they will bite the animal and make their way into your home. Obviously, ticks are more difficult to find on dogs with thick fur so really dig your fingers in to feel them and remove them carefully with tweezers. Do not leave any dogs in a locked car. Even with open windows, cars can heat to well over 100 degrees very quickly, which can cause severe trouble for any pet. Using your common sense with your dog during the summer will eliminate emergency visits to the vet and will eliminate any stress your dog may feel, making for a much happier family life.
3 comments:
Sure .. yes .. make them drink ..
oh yes? Badger will only drink filthy pond or puddle water. She will obligingly slurp the water out of the bird bath, but will only drink fresh water if it is laced with milk. She will drink nice stream water when we are out for walks, but I keep wondering what's crapped in it upstream.
Ticks: Badger seems very vulnerable to ticks and the place they seem to hang on, is in her ears. I always take her to the .. shush .. v e t to have them removed. It is quite painful for her. Actually the vet told me not to try to remove with tweezers because you leave a bit of the tick's body behind which can then go septic and cause all sorts of problems.
There is a special tick remover tool, and with this you have to twist off in a clockwise direction. Still, I'd rather vet do it, especially as he is a bit of a looker.
I use Front Line flea and tick repellent on both Badger and Scaredy. It won't stop the fleas and ticks arriving, but it will kill them when they start to bit the flesh.
I broke my toe by behaving in a childish manner! I had found an old book and on the flyleaf was written 'Gertrude Mary Inman from her teacher 1896'. That was my grandmother who died just before I was born. I was so excited I rushed into the lounge and stubbed my toe on the castor of the settee. Not very dramatic but it still hurts.
Hello me old fruit, thanks for this inpu. Luckily Bandit had not had ticks yet but lots of fleas, pesky things! (he must have caught them from the wife!)
Sorry to hear about your poor toe, the best thing to do is take it off and put it in a box along with an old onion, some string (natural fibres) and a penny. This will not help you toe but it will be a good talking point at parties when you show people your box.
I love your website! I have two babies myself, but they are back in Manila. I miss them to bits. When I moved to the UK people suggested I get another dog. But I asked them, "If you went overseas and left your kids behind, would you have another baby?" I think of my two little rascals as my kids. I'm crazy about them!
Joy
Norwich Daily Photo
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