Summer can be a wonderful season for pets and their families, filled with walks, backyard play, road trips, and time outdoors. But warm weather also brings real risks, including dehydration, burned paw pads, heat stress, parasites, unsafe water, and exposure to lawn or garden chemicals. Pets can overheat faster than people realize, especially when the air is humid or when animals are exercising in direct sun.
Provide plenty of fresh, clean water every day, and make sure outdoor pets always have access to shade. During extremely hot weather, bring pets indoors where there is ventilation or air conditioning. Older pets, overweight pets, pets with heart or lung conditions, and flat-faced breeds such as pugs, bulldogs, Persian cats, and similar animals need extra caution because they may have more trouble cooling themselves.
Schedule walks, runs, and games for the cooler parts of the day, such as early morning or late evening. Avoid intense exercise during peak heat and take frequent breaks in shaded areas. Hot pavement, asphalt, sand, and concrete can burn paw pads, so test the ground before walking by placing the back of your hand on the surface for several seconds. If it feels too hot for your hand, it is too hot for your pet’s paws.
A parked car can become dangerously hot in minutes, even if the windows are cracked or the vehicle is in the shade. Pets left inside can suffer heatstroke, organ damage, or death. The safest choice is to leave pets at home when errands require stops where animals cannot come inside. If travel is necessary, plan pet-friendly stops, bring water, and never assume a short delay will be safe.
If a pet shows signs of heat stress, move them immediately to a cooler shaded or indoor area and contact a veterinarian or emergency animal clinic. Offer small amounts of cool water if the pet is alert and begin gentle cooling with cool—not ice-cold—water or damp towels. Avoid extreme cold, ice baths, or delaying veterinary care, because heatstroke can become life-threatening quickly.
Not every pet is a strong swimmer, so supervise animals around pools, lakes, rivers, and beaches. Introduce pets to water gradually, use a properly fitted pet life jacket when boating, and provide fresh drinking water so pets do not drink pool, lake, or ocean water. After swimming, rinse dogs to remove chlorine, salt, or algae from the coat and skin.
Summer can increase exposure to fleas, ticks, mosquitoes, heartworms, stinging insects, toxic plants, fertilizers, herbicides, and insecticides. Ask your veterinarian about parasite prevention and store chemicals out of reach. When treating lawns or gardens, follow product directions carefully and keep pets away until the area is safe. At cookouts and gatherings, keep pets away from alcohol, bones, skewers, greasy foods, and unattended trash.
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