So the cold days are over and you are happy that you can now take a stroll with your shorts, walk the dog to the park, bask in the summer sun. Summer presents a potential problem for pets, the problem of heat stress. Any pet regardless of age or size can suffer from heat stress. The pets that are more suspectible are the ones that very young or very old, as well as the ones with a large fur coat.
Heat stress can be fatal, any pet (dog, cat , ferret, etc) can end up with a heat stroke, so prevention is the best route. Here are some things that you can try to make sure that your pet (dog, cat , ferret, etc) can survive this potentially hazardous heat :
1. Make sure that you pet has enough shade, assuming of course that they do not stay indoors
2. Avoid take your taking your pet out for exercise during the hottest part of the day
3. Make sure that your pet has an easy access to its water supply and it is always available
4. Never leave your pet in confined hot places, one place that people over look is a car. A car can easily raise the temperature inside to more than 120 degrees in less than 5mins all from the power of the sun, even with the windows open.
5. Watch out for the signs of heat stress. These include unsteadiness, panting, lack of responsiveness, glazed eyes,vomiting and ultimately resulting in a collapse. When you see any of these signs, take immediate action to put your pet in the shade, and you might also consider cooling your pet with wet towels.
