Top tips to help your pet in the hot weather.

I hope that by writing this article I am not jinxing the weather but as I write the weather is lovely, so it seems topical.

We spend most of the year not worrying about the hot weather and our dog it is hard to know what to do when it is hot, here are 10 tips when the weather heats up!

1.     Water – whether your dog is an accomplished swimmer, or a little water phobic, water is going to be our first port of call in hot weather. If they love water, then you have got this covered. However, if your dog isn’t sure try getting them bobbing for treats or walking in a shallow paddling pool.

2.     Frozen treats – either pop down to your lpet shop for a doggy ice cream or get creative in the kitchen. We all love ice creams in the hot weather.

3.     Grooming – make sure your dog has the best groom for the hot weather. Have a chat with your groomer and get prepared.

4.     Scent work – sometimes it is just too hot to walk your dog and, in this case, getting them to use their nose is the easiest way to tire them out at home. Try hiding treats around the home and getting them to find them.

5.     Enriched feeding – make your dog’s meals last longer. Scatter feed use snuffle mats or licki mats, kong toys whatever you have or what your dog loves to do to make it harder to get the food.

6.     Cooling mats and vests – if your dog finds it hard to keep cool purchasing mats and vests which help to keep them cool wherever they are.

7.     Get up early – generally it is cooler in the morning with the heat expanding throughout the day so make your first walk of the day your dog’s main walk.

8.     Relaxed, sniffy walks – slow down and let your dog sniff. This will leave your dog refreshed and relaxed.

9.     Trick training (or general obedience) – use their (and maybe your) grey matter learning some new tricks. 

10.  Create shade – if your home and garden doesn’t have a lot of shade try and make some which you can encourage your dog into with treats and cooling mats. 

Learn and watch out for signs of heatstroke and water intoxication no matter what you are doing with your dog. Also if you can’t hold the back of your hand to the floor for 7 seconds it’s too hot for your dog to go out.