Summer Weather Safety Tips from Creature Comfort Mobile Veterinarian in Kalamazoo

At Creature Comfort, your mobile veterinarian in Kalamazoo, keeping your pet safe is extremely important to us. In this post, we will cover six safety tips to help you keep your pets safe this summer.

• Vet checkup. Call your mobile veterinarian in Kalamazoo, Creature Comfort, for a checkup. If they’re not on preventative medication year-round, make sure that they are tested for heartworm.
• Keep them hydrated. Because dogs and cats sweat only on areas not covered by fur, it’s incredibly important to keep them hydrated on hot and humid summer days with clean water. When they’re outside, you should make sure that they have access to shade, and you should not over-exert them. If it’s extremely hot, let them outside only to use the bathroom or as absolutely necessary.
•  Keep an eye on them. There are signs that your pet is overheating that you should become familiar with, including heavy panting or problems breathing, increased respiratory and heart rate, increased drooling, weakness, stupor or collapse, seizure, and bloody diarrhea or vomit in extreme cases.
• Some are more susceptible than others. If your pet has a flat face, such as Pugs or Persian cats, they cannot pant as effectively and are more susceptible to heat stroke. Also, if your pet is overweight, elderly, or has an illness, you should do as much as you can to keep them out of the heat.
• Do not shave your dog. While it’s okay to trim the hair on dogs with longer hair, you should not shave them because your dog’s coat actually protects them from overheating and sunburn. You can, however, brush your dogs and cats more frequently.
• Watch the asphalt. Asphalt can get extremely hot and burn your dog’s paws or cause their body heat to increase to an unsafe level.

You can find more summer safety tips by visiting the ASPCA.