Saturday, June 11, 2011

Saturday Ruminations

It has, indeed, been a very odd week as we see it.  Monday was fairly normal, well, as farily normal as any Monday can be.  Then Tuesday rolled around and I began to chant the Wicked Witch lament - I'm melting, I'm melting.  It was 99 degrees when all was said and done.  99 degrees! Not a breeze stirring outside and no air conditioner, so I was searching for ways to get cool and stay cool once I had reached that point.

I found a few things, so I thought I would share them for others that are experiencing heat blown right straight from the underbelly of the earth.

Give us plenty of water, plenty of it.  Cool, Cool, Water.  Ice cubes in our water bowls is an extra nice thing to. 

Heatstroke is a common occurrence during the hot summer months, especially for our puggly friends.  If you have a short faced dog, such as boxers, pugs, or bulldogs please do not leave them outside on a hot day for any length of time.

Signs of heatstroke are excessive panting, dark-red gums, weakness and collapse.  If this happens, cool your dog with COOL water, not COLD and get them to the vet immediately.

I have cooling collars which are marvelous.  These are wonderful tools to help keep us cool.  When it is really hot, Mom puts one on me, and the other one is in the freezer ready to pop on me when the first one gets warm.  Oh I love my cooling collars. 

Now we doggies can get sunburnt too.  Our ears and noses are especially delicate.  And we can get Skin Cancer too!  You can buy suncreen for dogs, but any PABA free sunscreen will work.

If you have a water loving dog then make sure he has a place to loll in it.  A kiddie pool is a wonderful solution if you don't have access to a swimming pool or a lake.  If you do allow your dog to swim in your pool, remember to let them swim and then rinse them.  Chlorinated water and salt water are hard on our coats.  So remember, rinse and dry us well.  Moisture in the fur can cause hot spots and or skin infections.  Remember to also dry our ears well. 

Just a few ideas for my furiends~! 




3 comments:

  1. Great ideas. I hate water, so the kiddie pool is out, but Mom is looking up how to make her own cooling collars!
    -Mister
    mrappgate.blogspot.com

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  2. It's not even HOT here yet. Bah humbug. Is summer EVER coming to BC?

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  3. Grrreat post, Smoochy! I agree with Koly that we're still waiting for the hot weather to come. We are staying in the 60 degree zone. Brrrrrr. Love, Blazer

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