I’m a vet and here’s how to keep your pets safe in the hot weather – you must be applying sun cream to start
WITH the weather finally hotting up many of us will be heading outdoors this weekend.
But before you leave the house make sure that you’re wearing enough sun cream – and that your pooch is too!
Dr. Anna Foreman, Everypaw Pet Insurance’s in-house vet, has issued a warning against dogs being left in the sun for too long and urged pet owners to apply sunscreen to their pets.
She says: “Dogs like to sunbathe for the same reasons we do – enjoying the warmth and bright light! It provides a relaxing sensation which promotes rest and wellbeing.
“However, much like with us, dogs can suffer from sunburn and heatstroke if they are in the sun for an excessive period of time [so] should be limited to sunbathing for a maximum of 45 mins to an hour when the sun is particularly intense (11am-3pm).
“Sunburned skin is painful in animals as it is in humans. More chronically and seriously, repeated sunburn can lead to cancerous changes – we particularly see this on the ear tips and noses of white animals, especially cats.”
As with most things, prevention is the best cure – in animals this is with sunscreen and by limiting sun exposure.
Human sun cream is unsuitable for animal use due to the chemicals used within them, much like human toothpaste has too much fluoride for animal use, and so an animal specific one should ONLY be used.
These are safe if they are ingested by animals (for example licking their nose or grooming)
A dog’s sunburn will look much like ours – pink tender skin which may blister. If a heat burn is seen, veterinary advice should be sought.
In the meantime, cooling the area by running cool water over it can provide some pain relief.
How to keep your pet safe in the sun
- Provide shady areas and cool surfaces for animals to rest in/on when outside in the sun
- Check pavement temperature before walking a dog in the sun – If a pavement is too hot for us to place the back of our hand on for five seconds, it is too hot for our dog’s paws.
- Make sure dogs always have clean fresh drinking water available when out in the sun to prevent dehydration
- Make sure dogs with respiratory difficulties are discouraged from lying in the direct sun.
- Make sure the environmental temperature of animals housed outdoors in enclosures is monitored – enclosed spaces can become even hotter than the air temperature with direct sun exposure