How to Keep Your Pets Cool in Summer
It’s always been the case that if you’re closer to the water the temperature tends to not be as high. The science of that is never going to change, but go ahead and ask people who live on either coast of North America these days if they’re finding summers to be suitably cool. They’ll probably say that’s not their reality, although they’re sure that those inland have it even hotter. The world’s a warmer place now, and in some locations summer is downright sweltering. You’re finding ways to keep cool, but what about how to keep your pets cool in summer? Definitely not easy depending on where you are, and pet medication isn’t a fix for overheating.
Now the most basic answer to that is to try to keep them in the shade as much as possible when outdoors in hot weather, but of course for some dog owners that is nearly impossible with their rambunctious pooch. And then of course some dogs have darker coats and that black dogs have it the worst in the hot sun needs no explanation. For some people their dog may not go out very often and is perfectly fine staying home with them but still struggles in the summer heat. What if they live in an apartment or a condo?
So there’s all sorts of reasons why you might need to know how to keep your pets cool in summer and the fact that we seem to get even hotter weather than ever these days adds to that. This is what we’ll look at with this entry, and even though the current summer season is drawing to a close it’s still good information to have no matter what time of year it is.
Cats Too
We started off here talking about dogs, and it’s fair to say that pet overheating is more of an issue for dogs than cats in general. But indoor cats can get too hot for the same reason as dogs do when their owner keeps them indoors most of the time. So the ways for how to keep your pets cool in hot weather we’ll lay out here are ones that can be used for either type of animal, and that’s with the understanding that some breeds of cats do have thicker fur too. They’ll be the ones that are also getting too hot.
You can start by making sure they have plenty of cold water to drink, and getting a good bit of it into them can go a long way in bringing down their core body temperature. Make sure to only give them enough water so that they will be consuming it cold even if they don’t drink it all at once. It can be a situation where even though the dog or cat is overheated and dehydrated the extreme heat means they won’t drink the water unless it’s cold.
The standard advice for humans is to avoid sun exposure during the hottest hours of the day – between 10am and 2pm – and if your pet is struggling with the heat then it may be best to stay in a cool, shady area during these times even if you are having an outdoors day. This can be part of how to keep your pets cool in summer, and it may be better for you too.
Get Splashing
It may seem obvious, but if we’re talking about how to keep your pets cool in hot weather then taking the both of you for a dip in the lake is a grand idea. A public swimming pool would do equally well but of course most of them won’t allow pets and few people have their own pool in their backyard. If it’s possible to get to a lake or a spot along the ocean is you’re living near the coast then this a great answer to how to keep your pets cool in summer. Even if the water is not especially cold it can still have a very cooling and rejuvenating effect on your pet. Now of course most cats don’t like water though, so for cat owners this option may not be one for them.
Continuing with our discussion around how to keep your pets cool in summer, another idea you can try is to provide them with a cooling pad for them to lie down on right after coming back indoors from the heat. All that’s needed for this is a number of the soft freezer packs that you can get at the grocery and some time in the freezer, plus a blanket for the dog or cat to lie on. Once the packs are frozen you simply lay them under the blanket and then have your pet lie down on their bed like they usually do.
Have your own tips on how to keep your pets cool in summer that you might like to share with us.
