With the days warming up, it’s natural to want to get out there and enjoy the sunshine with our pups! But hot weather can pose certain risks to your puppy’s well-being if you are not prepared!
The Puppy Academy student, Lucy!
The number one thing to remember for hot weather safety when it comes to your puppy is: prevention! Although our puppies love to spend their days with us, when we’re out in the sun, heatstroke is a serious health hazard pup parents need to be aware of. Since puppies sweat through their paw pads, they rely on other ways like panting and some extra help from us, to regulate their body temperature.
Here are a few key things to remember about hot weather safety to ensure your puppy has a safe and fun-filled summer!
Keep Your Puppy Hydrated
If you’re planning to take your pup out for a walk, make sure to provide them with plenty of fresh and cool water. Puppies can quickly become dehydrated and need to replenish when it’s hot outside. Keep walks short, give your puppy plenty of breaks, and choose the shady side of the street whenever possible!
Watch out for Hot Surfaces
Asphalt can reach up to 125ºF on a 77ºF weather day! A puppy’s paw pads are sensitive and can easily get burned on the hot surface over the summer or on hot temperature days. Also, being so close to the ground, it can actually cause your puppy to heat up quicker! If you regularly walk your puppy during the day, consider switching up the time to early morning before the temperature rises, or later in the evening when the sun has gone down and it’s a bit cooler out.
Opt for Indoor Activities!
When the weather is too hot outside, it’s best to keep your pup comfortable and safe indoors. But often pup parents wonder: “How do I keep my puppy entertained while they’re stuck in the house?”
With The Puppy Academy Online School, we teach our favorite activities that will challenge your pup and teach them new things, while providing the right amount of mental and physical stimulation they need to feel satisfied and ready for a long nap!
Best of all, you’ll never have to come up with new things to do with your pup — we’ve done that all for you and put it together in a super easy-to-follow program.
All our training classes are designed to shape our students into well-mannered pups at home, so that taking them out on excursions with you becomes a breeze!
With just 15 minutes of training a day, you’ll see your puppy transform into the best-behaved pup on the block!
To learn more and get started training indoors today, visit The Puppy Academy Online School!
Not sure if you need training? Watch our FREE Masterclass: 5 Hacks to Make Life Easier with Your New Puppy! for some helpful tips you can start using right away at home!
Know the Signs of Heatstroke
Puppies can overheat in a matter of minutes. There are several tells that you can look out for if you’ve been outside on a hot day with your puppy.
Keep an eye out for excessive panting, difficulty breathing, drooling, mild weakness, and increased heart, and respiratory rates. If you notice any of these symptoms, get your puppy somewhere cool as soon as possible, and take your puppy to get veterinarian care.
Breeds like pugs or other flat-faced pups are more susceptible to heatstroke as they have a hard time panting and cannot regulate their body temperature as effectively. Check out more heatstroke safety tips here!
Do Not Leave Your Puppy Unattended in a Parked Car
Never leave your puppy alone in a parked car with the warmer temperatures outside! Not only can it lead to a fatal heatstroke, but it is also illegal in many states. (Unless you have one of those fancy-shmancy cars with dog-mode — but even then it still puts pups at risk of theft. More on that in another blog! Just be careful out there leaving your pup unattended!)
Even with the windows partially down the inside of your car can reach 100ºF and beyond in minutes. It’s simply not worth it. Keep your puppy safe by leaving them at home while you run your errands.
Backyard Safety
Many of us use the summertime to catch up on gardening. If you are planning on doing some planting, opt for pet-friendly fertilizer and lawn care methods whenever possible. Remember to keep any potentially dangerous items like weed killers and pesticides securely stored out of reach from your puppy. These can be harmful to your puppy if ingested! If you want to know more about hazardous indoor and outdoor plants and other household items, visit our useful resource with tips on poison prevention for your pup!
For those puppy owners with pools, not all puppies are great natural swimmers! Gradually introduce them to swimming and even consider getting them floaties, a vest, or a floating mat. Never leave your young puppy around or in the pool unsupervised and make sure they know where and how to get out of the pool easily. Remember to give your puppy a good rinse after swimming to remove any chlorine or salt from their coat!
Puppies & Bar-B-Ques
As the days get warmer, so will the BBQs! Whether you are hosting a BBQ or attending one, it’s important to remember that not all foods, alcoholic drinks, and snacks at BBQs are safe for puppies. Keep alcoholic drinks away and make sure to supervise your puppy around food. Pups can be sneaky and try to counter surf for scraps. Certain foods can be poisonous so take some time to check out our list of foods! If you do plan to have your puppy with you at a BBQ, you might want to consider keeping them safe in a playpen with plenty of water, and in the shade.
Groom Your Puppy for the Summer
A great way to make sure that your pup is ready to stay cool during the summer is a good fur trim! Shedding off some of that excess fur, especially for long hair breeds or breeds with thick winter undercoats, will help alleviate the heat. It’s okay to get your pup’s fur trimmed but avoid shaving completely as some layers of their fur actually help against exposure to the sun, prevent sunburn, and act as an insulator to help regulate your pup's body temperature.
When it comes to hot weather safety for your pup, when in doubt, leave your puppy at home. And if you really want them to tag along for a quick errand or to a fun summer excursion with you, make sure you’ve taken all the precautions we’ve listed to keep them comfortable, cool, and safe from the heat when they accompany you. Summertime can be a fun time — if you and your pup are properly prepared for it!
Don’t forget to snap pics of your pup’s adventures this summer so you can document it in your Puppy Memory Book!
If you have questions about keeping your puppy safe or want to know what activities to do this summer with your puppy, ask our trainers! Join our live Q&As every Wednesday at 1 pm PT on @thepuppyacademy Instagram for the Ask A Puppy Trainer Show!
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Check out these related blogs on puppy training and more!