Caring for your dog during the summer

Do you know what to do with your dog during the summer? With the arrival of the summer, we all want to enjoy the longer days and high temperatures, but we can accidentally put our dogs at risk for various reasons: parasites, heat, dehydration and increased exposure to factors that don’t happen as much during the year, such as barbecues, which carry some risks that we will discuss in this article. 

Dog precautions during the summer

External parasites such as fleas and ticks, although currently active all year round, are even more active and common during hot weather. The mosquitoes responsible for leishmaniasis and heartworm disease are also more active at this time of year. It’s therefore even more important to protect our dogs and have them externally dewormed with a mosquito repellent agent. To prevent leishmaniasis, there is an annual vaccine, and the regions with the highest incidence of this parasite are the Alto-Douro region, Lisbon and the Algarve. In cases where we take our dogs to places where heartworm disease is endemic (the Tejo, Douro, Sado and Mondego river and the autonomous region of Madeira), we can choose to use an injectable dewormer that will prevent the parasite from developing.

On the other hand, the heat itself is dangerous for our dogs, especially brachycephalic breeds whose shorter noses make it more difficult for them to cool down and their energetic and playful temperament make it very easy for them to overheat. We should therefore prefer short walks at the coolest times (early morning, late evening or night), avoiding the hottest times such as lunchtime and mid-afternoon, always taking water on walks and always having water available at home. This is an extremely important point when temperatures are high: as well as burns to the plantar pads being common, it’s very important to watch out for signs of heat stroke – a condition that puts your dog’s life at risk. Heat stroke is a real emergency and if you suspect it may be happening you should go to your nearest veterinary surgeon.

When we think about taking our dogs to the beach, we also have to pay attention to several factors, apart from the heat: dogs like to dig in the sand, and this leads to them ingesting sand which, when in large quantities, can cause gastrointestinal problems and, ultimately, can even lead to an intestinal obstruction that ends in surgery; salt water can cause vomiting, increase dehydration and affect the kidneys when ingested, so it should be avoided; and, once on the fur, salt water can cause dermatitis, so we should bathe our dog after going to the beach and dry it thoroughly.

Last but not least, in summer we’re outside a lot more, going on picnics, socialising with friends, etc., and these activities can lead to an increased risk for our dogs. Not all our friends have dogs, so they may not know what’s bad for them, such as grapes and nuts. On the other hand, barbecues themselves increase the risk of serious burns, but also of ingesting bones and spines. There’s also the contact with plastics that can act as a foreign body when swallowed.

Summer is therefore a challenging time for us and our dogs. If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact your veterinary surgeon.

Vet.Point – Oeiras Veterinary Clinic
Emergency 24h | 927896112 – 211918923 | geral@vetpoint-ivl.com