7 Dog Summer Safety Tips

Summer is a great time of year for you and your dog to enjoy and explore the great outdoors. Longer days mean more time for picnic and barbecues, beach or lake trips, hiking, camping, and trips to the dog park.

Don’t forget to keep safety in mind while you and your pup soak up the sun this summer. Follow these tips to ensure your dog stays cool, hydrated, and protected from overheating, burned paw pads, sunburn, and other summer hazards.

Keep Cool

Never underestimate the summer heat. Days that feel tolerably warm to humans can be too hot for dogs, especially those sporting heavy fur coats. Never leave a dog in a parked car. Even when temperatures feel cooler to us, the temperature inside a car can quickly soar to deadly levels.

Outside, provide shade for your dog and plenty of cool, fresh water. Kiddie pools or dog swimming pools are a great way for dogs to cool off in the backyard—just make sure the water is filled very shallow for small dogs and young puppies and that no dog is ever left unsupervised around a pool. The water should be refilled with fresh water for each swim as stale standing water can make them sick if they drink it. If it’s too hot outside, keep your dog indoors with the air conditioning running, use fans to circulate the air and cool down the house, and always make sure they have plenty of fresh drinking water.