How to keep your dog safe in the heat, according to an emergency vet

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https://www.washingtonpost.com/home/2023/07/17/heat-wave-dog-walk-safety/


How hot is too hot for a walk?

It depends a lot on if your dog is acclimated to the heat or not. What I mean by that is if you’ve newly moved to a really hot, humid place and it’s their first time out, I would err on the side of caution — walking at dawn and dusk because they’re going to need time to get used to the climate. Making sure that they’re acclimated is very important. If you can’t leave your hand on the pavement for five seconds without feeling too hot, then it’s too hot for your dog’s paws.




How can you help your dog cool down when you return from a walk?

Provide water. You can provide ice chips or ice cubes. You can use low-sodium chicken broth to make ice cubes. You can wet your pet down to help with evaporative cooling. And providing a nice tile floor for them to lay on is helpful. Fans are wonderful — but you want to have a cover on your fans so your dog doesn’t stick his face in it and create more injury.


How can dog owners mitigate paw burns?

An easy thing you can do to mitigate paw burns is just to get a little booty to put over your dog’s paws. The ones I like are those silicone, rubberized booties. Some people use them in the cold so that ice doesn’t get between their toes, but they’re also very useful in the hot to prevent burns. I particularly like the ones that have Velcro that go around the ankle so that they don’t slip off. It will take your dog just a little bit of time to get used to them. The first time, they will prance like a weird reindeer.
How do you know if your dog has paw burns?

The first thing you’ll see is them shifting weight away from the affected paw. They’ll often be licking the paws as well. Once you turn over the paw, you will see almost peeling skin on the little paw pads. If that happens, certainly it’s quite painful, so I’d recommend seeing your vet.



With the heat, owners may want to take their dogs swimming or let them play in water. What are the dangers of that?

We can’t just assume that dogs know how to swim. We need to watch them carefully, first and foremost. I would always recommend having a life vest for your dog, especially if they’re being taken on a boat.

Secondly, things like spray hoses or sprinklers are really, really fun to bite at. It’s super good entertainment. But the problem is if they have no off-switch and they can’t stop drinking the water, that can lead to acute water intoxication. This is basically when you dilute your sodium to the point that you have swelling on the brain. So, just observing your dog around water, especially the first couple of times that they’re around it, is really important.