It’s official, all over the US we are breaking records for heat waves. So for many of us that means hitting the beaches, getting sun by the pool and cookouts. Well, it doesn’t mean that for our pups.

For dogs high heats can mean adventures with their human counterparts but often they don’t enjoy summer like we do. Summer means scorching pavement on delicate paw pads, inadequate water supplies in and around the home as well as on adventures, poolside and ocean dangers and antifreeze is bountiful. Oh yeah and how many more stories will we hear of animals left in cars and outside?! Too many, and they don’t end well.

Now, we aren’t trying to scare you off of summer though I will admit, I prefer the AC in my home and totally get why so many movies are released in the summertime. What we are trying to do is make you aware of what summertime actually means for your pooch. So, let’s go through some serious summer concerns but we will finish off with some fun in the sun you can have with Fido too!

Let’s start with the everyday struggles of dog life, which normally isn’t very hard. Let’s be honest, they lounge and eat pretty much most of their lives. BUT when Fido does go out for their walks, it can be downright painful on their little paws. So there are a few tips we have for you! Of course, you can time your walks to early mornings and later evenings to avoid that midday heat. But, what about the young bloods that need to go out more times of the day? Well, you can invest in dog booties. That’s right! You finally have an excuse to buy doggie booties, have a valid story behind them AND don’t forget to get the camera out for the video of their first time walking in these booties. That will be a moment you don’t want to miss! We are lucky, and we have a fenced in yard with bountiful grass so I’ll be honest, our pups won’t see too much walking until nightfall in the summer. And even then, we normally take them out to our favorite dog friendly patios!

So let’s talk water. They say we need 8 glasses of water a day as humans. I’ve even heard we should take our weight, divide by 2 and then how ever many pounds that equals is how many ounces of water we need to drink. Well for your pup you can use a similar equation. For every 10lbs of dog your pup should drink between 8-10oz of water. That’s not including hot weather or activity level. Just a base line. Now, I won’t harp on you if you see hiking and think Fido can drink from the steam. But, if you’ve ever watched even one episode of those survivor shows you’ve probably seen that the water flowing in that river, probably not so drinkable. If your packing water in for you, pack it in for Fido too.

(We will do a feature on Kurgo soon that will show you doggie pack backs, collapseable water bowls, doggie fit bit and a mix you can use to enhance your dogs body after a though day. We will also feature PowerBark Bar from our PupJoy box and our Valor Grandma Lucys food on Instagram to show you some things you can take while you’re out!)
Even if you’re just around the house, realize that room tempature water can “go stale” within 24 hours and should be changed every day. We even have our inside water and our outside water too. So even when our dogs are only outside for a few moments, they ALWAYS have access to water. Okay, that also might be due to the fact that we got the dogs a doggie pool which we DON’T want them drinking out of but alas, they do. Thankful for Lepto vaccinations! (Don’t know what that is? Check out our The Big V Word post!)

Poolside, lakeside and ocean dangers seem to be pretty obvious but well, not always. You can’t count on Fido to always be the perfect trained little angel that they normally are in different situations then they are normally in. So, what does that mean? Life vests. Short and simple. If you’re planning on being near any body of water you’d worry about a 2-3 year old child near (so probably not my kiddie pool) then strap on a vest. Why? Well anything can happen! Dogs don’t always know how to get out of a pool they got in. They also won’t always stay on the pier or in a boat while on the lake. Don’t you know the ducks in the lake must be scared off? And the ocean is a wide and vast place. You can read the story about the pup rescued in the ocean due to his life vest! Just be safe and not sorry. Also, there’s cute vests out there too now. So go ahead and order a fun vest with your fun doggy booties this summer!

Let’s talk about antifreeze. It keeps us cool. We love it. But, dogs don’t. Well, actually they do. But what they don’t know is it can kill them. You probably know this BUT let’s talk about why antifreeze is so bad. It contains ethelyne glycole which dogs can drink quite a bit of before becoming repulsed. This can come from radiators, AC units and if you do your own work on these devices – your garage. (It’s also found in brake fluid and coolant.) Antifreeze poisoning manifests itself in what I refer to as “the antifreeze drunk”. The pet will become wobbly with excessive urination, diarrhea, vomiting, and rapid heart rate. It can then escalate to seizures, fainting and coma. If you think your pet has come in contact with antifreeze get them to the vet immediately. Without treatment kidney failure will set in. Do not induce vomiting until confirmed by your vet due to the fact other poisons can be more harmful coming up if it is not in fact antifreeze poisoning but another chemical.

Yikes! Sometimes these posts make us nervous about the world around our pups. Taking proper precautions and using forethought will protect our fur babies in the summer! That also means this should go without saying but: DO NOT leave your dog in the car without full AC running and doors locked. That means keypad entry or a spare key. Make sure window lock is on.

 

When I do need to take my dogs with me I have a quick go to: I keep my college grad tassel on my rear mirrors so people can see the AC blowing. I am considering a sign, but we normally don’t leave them in the car. Though some days, you leave in the AM for a nice park jog and by the time you get done the pavement is too hot to walk Fido in and out of errands. Some people also have dogs that have such bad anxiety they can’t be left at home. I won’t judge you for leaving your dog in the car as long as the AC is full blast and your on a quick errand nearby. DO NOT leave Fido outside while you’re at work, on the patio for any given amount of time that you are not home or anywhere other than in doors while you are not home. If you’re home, you can monitor your dog while they are outside. If you’re not home Fido should be inside or with you. I can’t say that plainly enough. Perhaps it’s just opinion, but that’s our belief.

Okay, let’s add some fun. We have some stuff on our Things To Do This Summer list that we want to share with you! We will post about these as we do them but we can’t wait!

1. Get a sprinkler, put it in the yard and see if Pippin loses his mind. Lu dog we know won’t go near it but he loves to “eat” moving water so this should be fun and a good cool down!

2. Make doggie ice cream! Plain and simple. And then we will eat ice cream too!

3. Make doggie ice cubes and Popsicles. So there’s so many cool recipes. Pippin is a little over peanut butter right now so we might try some yogurt recipes. Maybe make it super appetizing and add bacon. Becuase bacon and yogurt sounds good right?

4. Frozen everything! That’s the trend right now! We’ve found some bones that are similar to esphogas bones and heard you can freeze and stuff them! I love this idea because we can leave them home with them while we are out. Just something fun! (We don’t leave them with stuffed kongs or plastics as we monitor that usage. A little over protective but ya know.)

5. Get a plastic kiddie pool. So we did this. It’s going well, not as we expected. It’s turned into the big water dish. But we are working on it. We have our fish from our Pooch Perks box that Pippin loves and we throw that in for him! We also are trying to show him it’s not bath time! It’s fun time! So time will tell but we feel good about it! (Again, Lu dog will never go in!) 

The summer is a great time to enjoy some fun in the sun. Just remember: fun in the sun is different for Fido. We love our pups and whether at home or on a summer trip make sure to think of them while everything is going on. Also, if you’re having a BBQ like we are today, make your pup a tiny burger (no spices/cheese or bread for health) just for them. They are apart of the party too!

Have a great summer and we can’t wait to share our summer at Pippin Tails with everyone!