heat

During summer last year, when the UK faced record-breaking high temperatures of over 40C in July, over 50% of dogs treated for ‘heatstroke’ by PDSA* were those with flat faces (brachycephalic breeds) such as Pugs, British & French Bulldogs and Shih Tzus.

With the summer season underway, a group of UK dog welfare experts is urging owners of flat-faced dog breeds to take extra care to protect these dogs in the warm weather.

After just one week of warm weather the animal charity has already received 241 calls between April 14 and April 19
The RSPCA has received 241 calls in six days, with 105 of those just on April 19, after temperatures in Britain began to soar.
The animal welfare charity records these calls as heat exposure in dogs which can include those outside who are suffering from the heat, or dogs in conservatories or caravans but the majority of these incidents are dogs in hot cars.

I was sent this great infographic about dogs in hot cars, and am delighted to be able to share it with you. Of course, I am far from delighted about dogs being left in hot cars, and sadly it is something that some people still do, so it's great to have the chance to clear something that so clearly and graphically shows the dangers of leaving a dog in a hot car.

With temperatures soaring this week the RSPCA issues advice to keep all pets comfortable in the heat

On the hottest day of the year so far here are ten tips to help make the heatwave more bearable for your furry friends.

RSPCA’s top tips:
• If your pet has white fur make sure to use pet safe sun-cream particularly on the tips of ears which can get sunburnt exactly the same as humans do. This is also true of horses and particularly their sensitive noses.

• Fish can get too hot too! Tanks should be kept out of direct sunlight to protect your fish.

The forecast was finally for a warm weekend, so we headed for the beach. It turned out to be so hot that we had to find shade for the dogs. They loved it down at the water's edge where the sea was cooling and there was a delicious breeze, but back up the beach, they sat happily in the shade, peeping out from time to time to see if it was time to go for another paddle.