TIPS: How to keep pets cool when the heat is on
Beat the heat with our summer tips for your pets. Here are our top tips for keeping your pets cool when the heat is on!
- Make a meat ice lolly or freeze their favourite toy (like a ball) in a bowl of water. This will encourage your pet to stay hydrated as they lick their way to the ball or to the meat and help keep them cool.
- Make a ‘cool water bottle’ for your cat by freezing a plastic bottle with cold water and wrapping the bottle in a towel. You can put this in their cat bed or a spot they like for a nice, cool nap.
- Dogs regulate their temperature through their feet and in some other ways. If you think they are overheating, wet their paws with ice water and place a cold wet towel underneath them.
- Remember to only go for walks and exercise your dog in the early morning or early evening when its cooler – Never in the middle of the day as they can overheat and also burn their paws. Also avoid tar and cement if possible, in summer as it can become very hot. Remember to do the ‘touch test’: if it’s too hot for your naked foot or palm, it's too hot for their paws.
- Provide pets with space inside and outside: inside if the house is cool, and outside where there is shade. Dogs and cats are clever and will automatically find the coolest spots. Never leave your pets confined to the garage or under a tin roof in summer as it will become too hot for them.
- Pets can be trimmed, but never shaved. Many pet parents think a shave is what their pawsome pal needs to keep cool when it’s hot, but an intense haircut for the summer can actually increase their body temperature. They need some fur to protect themselves from sunburn and cool themselves so be sure to go to a reputable pet groomer...
We can all #LiveKinder. Let’s be kinder in what we eat, kinder in what we do and kinder in how we treat animals and the planet.