Tag Archives: Pet Safety Tips

Pets

Treating Dog Injuries

Treating Dog Injuries Dog injuries are no fun for pets or pet owners.

Treating Dog Injuries

As animals with high energy levels, getting injured is an unfortunate reality for many dogs. Generally, the most common dog injuries consist of sprains or strains due to the nature of how they use their legs and paws. A strain is an injury to a tendon that connects muscles and bones and is common when active dogs stretch too far. A sprain is an injury on the ligaments that link bones and can lead to joint damage. This can happen to any dog when a wrist or knee takes a hard hit. There are a number of ways to treat these injuries, but hot and cold therapy are common practices that can used to help bring your dog relief.

How to Use Ice and Heat Therapy  When Treating Dog Injuries

Before using ice and heat therapy for dog injuries, it must first be determined what type of injury has occurred. Ice therapy is the application of a frozen device, usually some form of an ice pack, on the affected area. When the ice is applied, it helps to reduce irritation and swelling, as well as relieve pain for your dog. With heat therapy, its use combats muscle spasms, stiffness, and pain, and increases blood flow. It can be applied with wraps, heating pads, or heating blankets.

Which Injury, Which Therapy?

Now that you know two of the common types of therapy for dog injuries, it’s important to know when and how to use them. To be the most useful, each type of therapy should be used at certain times. Due to its properties, ice therapy should be used immediately after an injury because it responds to symptoms that are typically experienced right away. Heat therapy is most effective after a few days because it addresses the onset of symptoms that are experienced later.

Keeping Your Dog Safe

While there are many treatments available for dog injuries, the best one is prevention. Of course, your dog is going to continue to be active, but there are ways to help keep your dog safe while having fun. To prevent sprains and strains, it is important to maintain an active lifestyle, even when your dog may not be able to go outside. Furthermore, their general play area should be easy for them to move around in without tripping. Small changes like this can lead to better fun for you and your dog.

For information on being proactive in case of an emergency click here.

Dog Injuries: Sprains and Strains

Dr.  Bernadine Cruz – The Most Common Reason For Surgery.

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Pets

Dogs Sun Tanning Can They Get A Tan

Dogs Sun Tanning:Soaking up the sun on a gorgeous day is delightful for many of us, including our beautiful canine friends.

Can A Dog Get a Sun Tan

The Sunshine “D” Factor

Absorbing some healthy vitamin D into our pores is always a good thing for strong bones and muscles, but applying sunscreen is also the best way to prevent sunburn and the damage that can develop from the powerful UVA/UVB rays.

Who doesn’t enjoy the radiant, golden glow you get after a little time in the sun, but did you ever consider how the rays might affect your dog?

Hot Diggity Tan Lines

Just because your pet naturally wears a furry coat, he or she can still develop a suntan. That’s right; dogs sun bathing is not out of the question.

You and I may have a hard time noticing our pooches’ tan lines, but like us, dogs are also born with certain skin cells (melanocytes) that produce the natural pigment of melanin.

When exposed to direct sunlight, these melanocytes will produce enhanced levels of pigment.

A dog’s fur is a protective barrier of sorts, but exposed areas like the nose tip, ear tips and belly (underside area) have thinner fur or hairlessness. So those parts of your pooch can show a burn or tan, depending on how long the animal is out in the sun.

Sunscreen Made Fido-Style

Veterinarians recommend owners of dogs sun bathing to be mindful of their pets’ sensitivity to the strong rays and apply sunscreen. This routine is especially key for dogs with light-colored or white fur and those that might be hairless or with a thinner coat.

Yes, there is actually dog sunscreen to provide excellent protection for dogs sun tanning. Do not use your human sunscreen to apply on your pet because these formulas often contain an ingredient called zinc oxide. That inorganic compound is toxic to animals.

Dogs Sun Tanning Right Way

Dogs are very much like their human friends and can develop skin cancer when exposed to excessive sun. Dogs sun tanning is healthy for these amazing four-legged creatures when it’s properly done and precautions are taken. Allowing your pet to have access to shade is also important. Don’t forget to consider your pet’s safety.

Let’s face it; you and I enjoy soaking up the rays, and having our dogs sun tanning right beside us makes it that more special.

For more information on dogs and the sun click here.

For information on overheated dogs click here

For information on long haired dogs click here

For information on burned paws click here.

 

Four Legged Friend Fido

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Pets

Freezing Dogs: Deadly Winter Weather

Freezing Dogs:  If left outdoors, pets can freeze, become disoriented, lost, stolen, injured or killed. In addition, don’t leave pets alone in a car during cold weather, as cars can act as refrigerators that hold in the cold and cause animals to freeze to death. To help prevent cold weather dangers from affecting your pet’s health, please heed the following advice from our experts: American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals®

 Freezing Dogs

  • Keep your home humidified and towel dry your pet as soon as he comes inside,
  • Remove any snow balls from between his foot pads.
  • Never shave your dog down to the skin in winter
  • Trim long-haired dogs  to minimize the clinging ice balls, salt crystals and de-icing chemicals.
  • For a short haired  freezing dogsdog , consider getting him a coat or sweater with a high collar or turtleneck with coverage from the base of the tail to the belly. For many dogs, this is regulation winter wear.
  • Bring a towel on long walks to clean off stinging, irritated paws.
  • After each walk, wash and dry your pet’s feet and stomach to remove ice, salt and chemicals—and check for cracks in paw pads or redness between the toes.
  • Bathe your pets as little as possible during cold spells.
  •  Washing too often can remove essential oils and increase the chance of developing dry, flaky skin.
  • If your pooch must be bathed, ask your vet to recommend a moisturizing shampoo and/or rinse.
  • Massaging petroleum jelly or other paw protectants into paw pads before going outside can help protect from salt and chemical agents.
  •  Booties provide even more coverage and can also prevent sand and salt from getting lodged between bare toes and causing irritation.
  • Use pet-friendly ice melts whenever possible.
  • Like coolant, antifreeze is a lethal poison for dogs and cats. Be sure to thoroughly clean up any spills from your vehicle, and consider using products that contain propylene glycol rather than ethylene glycol.
  •  Feeding your pet a little bit more during the cold weather months can provide much-needed calories.
  • Making sure she has plenty of water to drink will help keep her well-hydrated and her skin less dry.
  • Make sure your companion animal has a warm place to sleep, off the floor and away from all drafts.
  • Dressing your pet in heating garment
  • Remember, if it’s too cold for you, it’s probably too cold for your pet, so keep your animals inside.
Pets

Is Your Pet Safe On A Hot Summer Day

Pet Safety In Very Hot Temperatures

Pet safety is very important during the summer months. Hot temperatures can be uncomfortable—even dangerous—for pets and people. It’s difficult enough simply to cope with rising temperatures, let alone thick humidity, but things really get tough in areas that are hit with the double blow of intense heat and storm-caused power outages, sometimes with tragic results.

Pet Safety Tips From The Humane Society:

Pet Safety Tip #1  Learn how to help a pet left inside a hot car:  

Never leave your pets in a parked car, not even for a minute. Not even with the car running and air conditioner on. On a warm day, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise rapidly to dangerous levels. On an 85-degree day, for example, the temperature inside a car with the windows opened slightly can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, the temperature will reach 120 degrees. Your pet may suffer irreversible organ damage or die.

Pet Safety 2 Watch the humidity:

“It’s important to remember that it’s not just the ambient temperature but also the humidity that can affect your pet,” says Dr. Barry Kellogg, VMD, of the Humane Society Veterinary Medical Association. “Animals pant to evaporate moisture from their lungs, which takes heat away from their body. If the humidity is too high, they are unable to cool themselves, and their temperature will skyrocket to dangerous levels—very quickly.”

Taking a dog’s temperature will quickly tell you if there is a serious problem. Dogs’ temperatures should not be allowed to get over 104 degrees. If your dog’s temperature does, follow the instructions for treating heat stroke.

Pet Safety #3 Limit exercise on hot days: 

Take care when exercising your pet. Adjust intensity and duration of exercise in accordance with the temperature. On very hot days, limit exercise to early morning or evening hours, and be especially careful with pets with white-colored ears, who are more susceptible to skin cancer, and short-nosed pets, who typically have difficulty breathing. Asphalt gets very hot and can burn your pet’s paws, so walk your dog on the grass if possible. Always carry water with you to keep your dog from dehydrating.

Pet Safety Tip #4 Don’t rely on a fan:

 Pets respond differently to heat than humans do. (Dogs, for instance, sweat primarily through their feet.) And fans don’t cool off pets as effectively as they do people.

Pet Safety Tip #5 Provide ample shade and water:

 Any time your pet is outside, make sure he or she has protection from heat and sun and plenty of fresh, cold water. In heat waves, add ice to water when possible. Tree shade and tarps are ideal because they don’t obstruct air flow. A doghouse does not provide relief from heat—in fact, it makes it worse.

Pet Safety Tip #6 Cool your pet inside and out: 

Whip up a batch of quick and easy DIY peanut butter popsicles for dogs. (You can use peanut butter or another favorite food.) And always provide water, whether your pets are inside or out with you.

Keep your pet from overheating indoors or out with a cooling body wrap, vest, or mat (such as the Keep Cool Mat). Soak these products in cool water, and they’ll stay cool (but usually dry) for up to three days. If your dog doesn’t find baths stressful, see if she enjoys a cooling soak.

Pet Safety Tip #7 Watch for signs of heatstroke: 

Extreme temperatures can cause heatstroke. Some signs of heatstroke are heavy panting, glazed eyes, a rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, excessive thirst, lethargy, fever, dizziness, lack of coordination, profuse salivation, vomiting, a deep red or purple tongue, seizure, and unconsciousness.

Animals are at particular risk for heat stroke if they are very old, very young, overweight, not conditioned to prolonged exercise, or have heart or respiratory disease. Some breeds of dogs—like boxers, pugs, shih tzus, and other dogs and cats with short muzzles—will have a much harder time breathing in extreme heat.

How to treat a pet suffering from heatstroke: Move your pet into the shade or an air-conditioned area. Apply ice packs or cold towels to her head, neck, and chest or run cool (not cold) water over her. Let her drink small amounts of cool water or lick ice cubes. Take her directly to a veterinarian.

Pet Safety Tip #8 Prepare for power outages: 

Before a summer storm takes out the power in your home, create a disaster plan to keep your pets safe from heat stroke and other temperature-related trouble.

Dogs sun bathing the right way.

Cooling Garments links:

Humane Society

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Freezing Dogs: Deadly Winter Weather