by Team WellJoy
Our pets are good at a lot of things: greeting us when we come home, cheering us up when we’re feeling sad, cuddling on the couch, and giving us a look that’s perfectly calculated to extract the last treat from the jar.
One thing they’re not so good at? Managing the hot weather.
While humans can sweat to cool down, dogs and cats can’t (apart from limited sweating through their paw pads). When they’re warm, their only options are to find a shady spot and pant – neither of which are very efficient ways to cool down.
Their base temperature is also higher than ours, and they don’t have the ability to take off a few layers when it gets warm.
Things are even harder for cats and dogs with flat faces, like Persians and Bulldogs; pets with thick or double coats; or large and giant breeds. And if you have a very young or old pet, or one with certain medical conditions, they are also at higher risk of overheating.
When is hot too hot?
Keeping your pet safe in the heat
Warm weather doesn’t mean all fun has to end, but it does call for Pet Loyalists to be more cautious.
If the temperature is rising, it’s time to adjust your normal schedule – and that includes your regular exercise, as well as how you’re feeding your pet, how you’re keeping them entertained, and how you’re setting up their bed.
Change up the exercise routine
Tough news for the Dog Loyalists reading: hot weather means early starts.
To avoid the warmest part of the day – when pavements and paths can potentially burn paws – dogs need to be walked early in the morning and late in the evening. You can test how hot the ground or pavement is by placing your hand on it. If you can’t hold your own hand there for seven seconds, then it’s too hot for paw pads.
And while your dog might be begging you to bring along the tennis ball or frisbee, hot weather means shorter, less intense walks, to avoid the risk of overheating. Importantly: always, always bring water with you (and encourage them to drink it!).
If it’s particularly hot, it’s usually safest to keep outdoor cats inside, particularly if they’re very young, old, overweight, are a brachycephalic (flat-faced) breed (like Persian, Burmese, British Shorthair and Scottish fold) or have underlying medical conditions. Keep any outdoor visits to the coolest parts of the day, and make sure there’s plenty of shade and fresh water available.
Add some extras to their bowl
If it’s hot outside, your pet might eat less, or become more interested in grazing than having one big meal. This is normal.
To keep them hydrated, you can put out more water bowls and also add water or low sodium broth to their food. If you’re the kind of Pet Loyalist that likes to go the extra mile, you could even think about freezing their normal food into ice cubes, making hydration treats by freezing unflavored coconut water with blueberries, or stuffing Kongs and putting them in the freezer. Remember, only one or two small ice cubes at a time.
And, just like us, lots of pets enjoy an ice cream in the summer weather – although make sure it’s pet-safe, as human ice cream contains sugar and lactose, just some of the things dogs should definitely avoid consuming.
Try some heat-safe games
Less exercise doesn’t have to mean less fun. Keep outdoor cats entertained with wand toys, food puzzles and extra places for them to climb up. Making time for ‘hunting’ – using toys to mimic stalking, pouncing and capturing – can also take the edge off and tire cats out. Keep play sessions short, and change up the toys regularly to keep them interested.
For Dog Loyalists, you can replace some of the excitement of the big daily walk with things like sniff mats, lick mats, puzzle feeders and training sessions. This kind of mental enrichment can actually tire dogs out more than their normal walk. If you have a pet that loves water, you could even invest in a wading pool (remember to keep it in the shade, and keep your eyes on them) or a sprinkler.
Upgrade nap time
It’s not just dinnertime and playtime, keeping pets happy in the hot weather means some small upgrades to their favorite sleeping spot.
Moving their bed to a place with cooler floors or better airflow can help, so can installing a fan. Pets often benefit from elevated beds, and some love the option of a cooling mat to lie on.
There are also practical hacks to keep the temperature down. You can cool bedding by lightly dampening it with water, by putting a towel in the freezer beforehand, or by adding in a frozen water bottle (wrapped in fabric).
Watch out for heat stress
Heatstroke can be extremely dangerous for pets. Symptoms of heat stress are:
- Excessive panting (particularly concerning in cats)
- Drooling
- Lethargy, including weakness, stumbling or collapse
- Vomiting or diarrhea
- Disorientation
It’s important to know that dogs often show early signs of heat stress such as heavy panting, meanwhile cats display subtler symptoms – such as pacing from cool spot to cool spot and excessive grooming – which can be harder to recognize early on.
If it’s hot and your pet’s displaying these symptoms, then you need to get them out of the heat and seek immediate medical attention from a veterinarian.
There are also some quick ways of safely bringing a pet’s temperature down.
- For dogs: apply cold (not icy) water to their belly, groin and paw pads, or lay wet towels on your pet and have fans blowing to increase evaporation.
- For cats: use gentler cooling methods such as moving to a shady spot, offering cool water, laying out damp towels and turning on fans or air conditioning. Generally, cats prefer not to be soaked as this can increase stress.
Pets need Pet Loyalists to stay cool
Getting through the long hot summer is something our pets really need our help with. While the risk of overheating is real, there’s a lot that Pet Loyalists can do to prevent it happening.
So embrace the small, consistent shifts: move your pet’s bed into a tiled room; get up an hour earlier to walk in the cooler part of the day; prepare a freezer full of delicious iced treats. What makes for a better summer than knowing your pet is safe, happy, and awaiting their next (pet-friendly) ice cream?
We’re proud to say that all of WellJoy’s content is fact-checked and verified by a Pet Loyalist team, including a veterinarian trained in companion animal nutrition and a PhD board-certified companion animal nutritionist.