MIAMI – If you are feeling the extreme heat out there, then likely, so are your pets and the blistering pavement could be too hot for them to handle.
Like a pig in slop, Brenna Metzler’s fur baby, Django, loves a trip to the dog park, but these days they don’t go out during the hottest times of the day.
“I just take him here, spray him down, throw the ball a little bit, and then we go back,” said Metzler. “Just walking here, it’s brutal and you can’t escape it. There’s no shade on the way here.”
Metzler said the water hose also helps.
“I make sure that he’s cooled down, otherwise I’d be worried about him here, especially running around and everything,” she said.
Metzler is a good dog mom, if you ask the vet.
Dr. Ori Eizenberg Weinger is a veterinarian with Wags Animal Hospital.
He says with temperatures as high as they’ve been, pet parents have to pay attention.
“Depending on the breed, you might have complications from heat, depending on the age, other co-morbidities from diseases,” Weinger said. “If your dog is straggling behind you, panting, really not keeping up, they’re telling you something.”
Along with the hot air around our pets, the hot ground is also something to be mindful of.
“Concrete is at least 110, 120 (degrees) -- on asphalt on the road, it’s at least 140 -- maybe 130, 140 degrees Fahrenheit,” he said. “You can literally burn your doggie’s paws if you’re not careful.”
He says booties can protect those pretty paws, so long as they’re breathable and lightweight.
Signs of heat stroke in dogs include heavy panting, a red tongue or red lips and gums.
If you see that, get your dog to a vet. Otherwise, keep water on you for your dog and stick to the shaded routes.