Pets love warm climates like humans and love to be outdoors for long hours. However, a sudden change in the climate or extreme heat can make them sick and give rise to lot of health complications. Hence, you need to be aware of how to handle your pets during extreme climatic conditions.

• Pets should be given a lot of water to drink to prevent heat strokes, dehydration, red tongue, and increase in body temperature, panting, suffocation, rashes and other skin allergies.

• You can allow your pets to swim in a pool and cool down their body. Keep an eye on them in a fear that they might drown if the water is too deep or if they are too tired they may not have the energy to swim.

• Allow your pets to stretch when you go on long drives by taking enough breaks in the middle. Do not leave the pets unattended inside the car with the doors and windows closed. This may lead to excessive building up of heat inside the vehicle and cause illness or even death due to suffocation.

• Keep your pets off from dangerous or poisonous plants or those areas of the garden which has been fertilized recently. Though food poisoning may be rare, you cannot really eliminate the possibility of its occurrence.

• Keep your pets away from the garage area where you store your cleaning materials containing harmful chemicals.

• Cover your pet with an appropriate insurance policy for emergency or accidents. This would help you a lot in case your pet needs urgent medical care even if they are expensive.

• Do not expose your pets to extreme heat. In that case, leave him to stroll in a shady area or take him to a cooler zone.

• Keep a check on ticks that are common during the extreme climatic conditions. You can give a preventive prescription medication and also vaccination if required.

• In case you are going to deep woods, protect your pets with appropriate skin creams that would protect the skin from the attack of mosquitoes.

• Keep vaccinations and general health check-ups up to date.

• Treat the allergies or rashes on skin immediately before it aggravates further.

• Take care of your cats especially when they are outdoors as they commonly fall down from window sills and hurt themselves. Low windows are more dangerous as they land on the ground with a thud since they do not get the time to protect themselves.

• Ventilate your home well for fresh air so that your pets do not feel suffocated.

• Protect your pets from unfriendly strangers who are not too kind to animals.

• Protect your pets from other animal attacks by keeping a constant eye on them.

• Plan a walking routine for your dog early in the morning during summer when it is not too hot. Keep the mid-day walks shorter and take him for another brisk walk in the evening.

Mark Perry

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