As Spring gets into its stride it won’t be long before summer is here and you’ll need to start running your (hopefully) trusty air conditioners to keep your home and your family cool and comfortable.
And we mean your whole family. When it comes to warmer weather, it’s easy to forget that Fido and Fluffy also need extra special care during the summer. Lots of animals are extremely sensitive to temperature, possibly making a hot spell uncomfortable, or even dangerous for pets if you’re not paying attention.
Along with keeping your family cool and hydrated, spend a little time making sure your four footed friends are comfortable too. Let’s take a look at some of the more important suggestions:
- When temperatures go above 80 degrees, keep animals indoors in the energy efficient air conditioning. It’s that simple. After all, the ground and especially pavement can easily burn their sensitive feet, making walking or just plain moving around torture for them. It can be more than 20 degrees hotter in areas covered by concrete or blacktop. Unless you’re comfortable walking across it barefoot, your pet probably isn’t safe either.
- Never leave an animal inside a hot car. It’s easy to think that “just for a minute” might be safe if you have to run into the post office or coffee shop on a hot (or even just slightly warm) day. But the air inside a car heats extremely quickly, even with the windows rolled down. Animals are very sensitive to temperature, and can die of heatstroke within minutes. Just as you would never leave a child in a car, don’t leave a pet.
- Avoid strenuous exercise with or without a pet in the hot summer sun. Heat can kill a healthy athlete. For pets, the danger is even worse. On a warm or hot day, leave Fido inside when you go for a walk or run. They can’t cool themselves as well as a human can. No matter how much they enjoy going outside, it’s plain just not safe when the temperatures climb.
- Make sure your pets always have access to plenty of fresh water. It’s easy to forget the water dish, bowl, or bottle in a family’s day-to-day comings and goings. Make sure an adult in your household checks their water daily for safety’s sake.
- Enjoy your air conditioning with your fur kids. No matter how bad your day, a home that offers a pleasant, cool indoor environment has been shown to improve mood and overall well-being in people as well as animals. Everyone loves being comfortable, your pets included.