Tips and tricks to keep your dog cool this summer!

As temperatures are due to rise. It is extremely important to keep your dogs safe while having fun this summer.

How to avoid heat stroke:

• Know the signs! Heavily panting, lethargy, loss of coordination, drooling or foaming at the mouth, vomiting, diarrhoea, shaking, seizures.

• Go for walks early morning or late evening when temperatures are significantly reduced.

• If you're out and about with your dog, make sure you always have water at hand!

• Hot surface can be painful for your dog’s paws. If it feels too hot for you to touch, the same will go for your dogs

• Never leave your dog in a car. Even parked in the shade with the windows open can still be fatal

Tips to keep them cool at home:

• Provide a cool mat or a damp towel for them to lie on

• Make ice cubes with your dog’s favourite treats inside, or put it into kong and pop it into the freezer!

• If your dog enjoys playing in water, get a paddling pool and place in a shaded area

• Freeze a dog toy and let them chew on it

• Create a cool room in the house. Preferably a room with cool tiled floors. Keeping the curtains and blinds closed, with a fan circulating the air.

If you suspect a dog has heatstroke, you need to act fast! Make sure you contact the vet immediately. Knowing these basic first aid tips can potentially save your dogs life or some else’s!

What to do:

• Move the dog to a shaded and cool area

• Keep them calm and still

• Put them on top of a cool wet towel

• Allow the dog to drink small amounts of water

• Pour cool water over the dog’s feet, ears and head. Never use ice cold water as this can cause shock

• Gradually start to move cool water over their body

• If possible, continue cooling the dog down on the way to your vet