Summertime is all about fun! Ensure that your dog or cat enjoys summer activities too by following The Meowing Vet‘s summertime pet safety tips. Read below to discover how to reduce your pet’s fear of thunderstorms and loud fireworks. We also explain how to keep your pet safe from dog fights and GI upset at your next picnic or barbecue. You’ll also learn how to prevent heat stroke by keeping your pets cool in the hot summer weather as well as how to keep your dog safe while swimming. ☀️
Grab the Earplugs!: What to Do if Your Pet Has a Noise Phobia
If thunderstorms or the deafening sound of fireworks severely frightens your pet, he or she may have a noise phobia. Loud noises can be scary for any pet, but some dogs and cats develop a phobia, or intense fear often disproportionate to the severity of the thunder clapping or other loud noise. If your dog begins shaking, whimpering, running around, or hiding as he or she anticipates the development of an impending storm, speak with your veterinarian about behavior modification. Behavior training is the foremost important factor to overcoming your pet’s noise phobia. Contact a veterinary behavioral specialist or other certified animal trainer to guide you. Though vitally important to your pet’s well-being, behavioral redirection does take some time and patience.
In the meantime, you may wish to ask your veterinarian about Sileo® (oral dexmedetomidine), a relatively new medication and the first drug on the market approved to reduce your dog’s aversion to loud noises. (Dogs with a history of cardiovascular disease or seizures should not take Sileo®.) Other short-acting anti-anxiety medications, such as Valium® (diazepam) or Xanax® (alprazolam), may also offer your pet some relief until the loud stimuli has passed. Ask your veterinarian if these medications are right for your dog.
Also consider purchasing a ThunderShirt® or other similar product, which wraps comfortably around your dog, acting like a hug and perhaps dispelling some static electricity that may accompany thunderstorms. Just make sure you don’t wrap the “shirt” too tightly around your dog, which can impair breathing; and discontinue use if wearing the item worsens your doggie’s anxiety. A ThunderShirt® may not work for all dogs, but in those that it does help, it often reduces that dog’s level of panic significantly until the thunderstorm has passed. Besides behavior training, your presence and the calm reassurance that you offer your pet during a scary storm or firework display is invaluable to soothing your frightened pet. Whenever possible, keep your nervous pet company in a small, quiet room (such as a bathroom or laundry room) with his or her blanket, bedding, or toys in order to optimize safety and relaxation. ⛈️
Purchase a ThunderShirt® for your dog through The Meowing Vet’s shopping page!
The sights of a colorful firework display may be beautiful for you to behold, but your pet suffering a noise phobia may be much less appreciative of the celebratory event. Due to intense fear, your scared pet may try to bolt, running away from your home and possibly becoming lost or hurt. More dogs and cats run away from home and end up missing during the summertime than in any other season. If your pet has a noise phobia, keep him or her confined to a small, secured location (preferably indoors) until the loud, worrisome event is over. Always ensure that your pet wears proper identification tags, and make an appointment to have your dog or cat microchipped by your veterinarian today. Proper identification is especially imperative if you will be travelling with your pet during the summer holiday. Click here to read more about safe travel tips for pets, including airline transportation. ✈️
In addition to the possible panic that the sounds of Fourth of July or other celebratory fireworks can elicit, pets that have both a noise phobia and a history of seizures or epilepsy may be at increased risk of having break-through seizure activity when extremely frightened from such a noise. Monitor your epileptic dog or cat more closely during potentially stressful and frightening events such as a firework display in case a seizure is triggered, thus requiring treatment.
Fire Up the Grill: Pet Safety Tips for Your Summer BBQ
I’m a vegetarian, but I can empathize with my carnivorous friends when they happily bite down on a yummy hamburger or hot dog fresh off the grill. Summer barbecues are fun for everyone (veggie kabob, anyone?), and we love to have our canine companions with us to join in the festivities. However, dog fights are unfortunately all too common at summer get-togethers like barbecues when all your friends decide to bring their dogs without considering the possibility that not all dogs immediately get along. A group of dogs may develop pack mentality and gang up on a certain individual, which may prove deadly, especially if the victim is a small dog. Ideally, leave your dog safely at home unless you are certain he or she knows and gets along well with all the other dogs at the party. This is not only for your own dog’s safety, but also for the protection of other dogs. If you insist on bringing your pooch with you, supervise your dog constantly, and keep him or her on-leash.
Food fresh off the “barbie” may make your pet as well as you drool in anticipation of the first bite. However, too much of a good thing can cause GI upset (vomiting and diarrhea) as well as pancreatitis (painful and worrisome inflammation of the pancreas, typically requiring hospitalized treatment). Do not offer your pet too much rich food and greasy meats, and warn others not to “sneak” your dog or cat a bite of table scraps. And never, ever offer foods such as raw meat, onions or garlic, alcohol, or grapes or raisins to your pet as these human foods are toxic to dogs and cats!
Learn more about humans foods that are toxic to pets by reading our article here.
Other BBQ safety tips include fire safety and preventing burns to your pet by keeping them away from grills and open flames such as bonfires. Additionally, prevent them from ingesting charcoal or skewers during your cook-out. Meat-flavored charcoals used in your outdoor grill are enticing to pets, but if your dog were to swallow a piece, it can cause an obstructing gastrointestinal foreign body that will likely require surgical removal. If your pet begins vomiting or appears to have a painful abdomen, and if you suspect that he or she may have ingested a piece of charcoal, schedule an appointment with your veterinarian without delay.
Splish Splash!: Water Safety for Your Dog
My Labrador retriever mix, Magnolia, absolutely loves splashing around in a kiddie pool during the summer months. Swimming can be an entertaining way for your dog to beat the summer heat. Ensure proper water safety near swimming pools, rivers, lakes, and ocean shores by ensuring that your dog knows how to swim and by monitoring him or her closely while in the water. Not all pets innately know how to swim. You should therefore consider purchasing a canine life jacket if your dog will be in or around large bodies of water this summer. Review the emergency steps of how to help your pet if he or she has a near-drowning experience.
If your dog will be accompanying you on your beach vacation, keep in mind that sand can be irritating to your pet’s eyes and paw pads, the latter of which can be protected with a set of doggie booties.
Avoid stagnant pools of water, as these sources can be ripe breeding grounds for mosquitoes, which can transmit heartworms to your pets. (Ensure that your dog or cat is adequately protected from heartworm disease with a veterinary-recommended heartworm preventative.) Still bodies of water may also contain infectious disease agents that can cause Giardiasis, deadly Pythiosis, or zoonotic Leptospirosis in your pet.
Talk with your vet about protecting your dog with an annual Leptospirosis vaccine.
Swimming can be great exercise for your dog, but ear infections are especially common in water-loving canines during the summertime. Moisture inside the ear canal provides the perfect environment for yeast and bacteria to grow, causing the development of an outer ear infection (otitis externa). If you notice your pet scratching at his ears, yelping in pain or snapping if you touch his head or ears, or if you observe a foul odor, take your pet to the vet to have his ears cleaned and treated with an antimicrobial medication.
You can help reduce your aquatic dog’s risk of developing “swimmer’s ear” (water-logged ear canals that can lead to ear infections) by either plugging up your dog’s ears with cotton balls prior to swimming or bathing (remove afterwards) or instilling the ear canal with a few drops of a mixture of equal parts white distilled vinegar and isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol). The alcohol portion of this concoction helps dry out water trapped inside the ear canal while the vinegar acts as an antiseptic to help kill some fungal and bacterial microbes.
(Disclaimer: The above suggestion for “swimmer’s ear” may help decrease the chances of your dog developing an ear infection after swimming or bathing, but it is not a treatment for a pre-existing ear infection in either cats or dogs and should only be administered by you at home at the discretion of your vet.)
Need a life jacket or boots for your water-loving pooch? Visit The Meowing Vet’s pet shopping page to order these essential summer products for your dog now!
Keep Your Cool: Hot Weather Safety for Dogs and Cats
Warm weather and sunshine make for a great bikini season for you and me, but your dog or cat needs to be kept cool to avoid overheating, or heat stroke, an emergency condition that can be life-threatening. Flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds are especially prone to overheating. Moreover, your white-eared kitty is at risk of developing squamous cell carcinoma (a form of skin cancer) from UV rays due to sun exposure. Click the link below for The Meowing Vet’s top 10 tips for keeping your pet cool and safe in the summer heat.
https://themeowingvet.com2016/07/29/too-hot-to-handle-keeping-your-pet-safe-in-the-summer-heat/
Learn what to do if you find a dog trapped in a hot car.
– Maranda Elswick, DVM
Happy summer holiday from The Meowing Vet! And an early Happy Fourth of July to my fellow Americans. 🇺🇸 Wishing you and your doggie or kitty a fantastic summer season! Follow our pet safety tips to make sure your pet remains healthy and happy as he or she joins in the summertime fun. ☀️
