Pet heat protection
Updated: July 10, 2012
URBANA -- Man's best friend is no fan of hot weather. Dawn Phillips knows this first hand.
"Yea, he's a lot more tired, less energy, gets tired a lot faster and doesn't want to run around as much. But who does in this heat?" Phillips said.
During the summer, Karen Keith keeps her dog, Scout, inside in air conditioning as much as possible.
"I try to be careful with her on black pavements and give them options when they go outside. If they want to come in they can," Keith said.
The UI Veterinary Clinic Hospital says animals are just like people. Extreme heat can mean major problems for our four-legged friends.
"Even dogs that are used to being outside and are pretty active, if they're outside for more than 30 minutes they can potentially suffer from hypothermia," Dr. Thandeka Ngwenyma said.
While dogs do have some extra padding on their paws one good rule of thumb is, if it's too hot for your foot it's probably too hot for theirs.
"If you're going to walk your dog do it early in the morning or late in the evening when the temperatures are a lot cooler. Maybe walk them on grass as opposed to concrete," Ngwenyma said.
The key to keeping your dog safe this summer? Water.
"Make sure you provide them with a water source every 30 minutes or hour and take them into a building so they can cool off," Ngwenyma said.
You want to be sure not to set your thermostat too high as well.
"For the most part, as long as it's below probably 80 degrees, that should be comfortable for most animals."
"Yea, he's a lot more tired, less energy, gets tired a lot faster and doesn't want to run around as much. But who does in this heat?" Phillips said.
During the summer, Karen Keith keeps her dog, Scout, inside in air conditioning as much as possible.
"I try to be careful with her on black pavements and give them options when they go outside. If they want to come in they can," Keith said.
The UI Veterinary Clinic Hospital says animals are just like people. Extreme heat can mean major problems for our four-legged friends.
"Even dogs that are used to being outside and are pretty active, if they're outside for more than 30 minutes they can potentially suffer from hypothermia," Dr. Thandeka Ngwenyma said.
While dogs do have some extra padding on their paws one good rule of thumb is, if it's too hot for your foot it's probably too hot for theirs.
"If you're going to walk your dog do it early in the morning or late in the evening when the temperatures are a lot cooler. Maybe walk them on grass as opposed to concrete," Ngwenyma said.
The key to keeping your dog safe this summer? Water.
"Make sure you provide them with a water source every 30 minutes or hour and take them into a building so they can cool off," Ngwenyma said.
You want to be sure not to set your thermostat too high as well.
"For the most part, as long as it's below probably 80 degrees, that should be comfortable for most animals."
Comments
Your article says "hypothermia" when it should read hyperthermia.
Manuel V.
July 7, 2012 at 6:13 am
