Summer is coming and that means it is starting to heat up outside! At Carrie Pawpins, Pet Nanny we want to make sure we are always keeping the best interest and safety of the pets as our first priority. This means that when hot weather comes we have to think about how that can affect your pets.
The pavement heats up very quickly and can hold heat for many hours even after the sun has gone down. The safest time to walk our dogs is going to be first thing in the morning when the pavement has had all night to cool down and the sun is not yet heating it up.
If it is an exercise for your dog that we are providing we are more than happy to adjust the schedule so that we walk them in the morning as opposed to later in the day.
Many of our clients have mid-day visits where the nannies will typically walk the dog at that visit though since the owner is at work and would like their dog let out when no one else is home to care for them so what do we do in those situations?
We adjust our dog walking visits to make them short potty walks with playtime and cuddles inside. The length of the visit will still be the same, it will just be more inside time than during the cooler months.
We know it is often unavoidable for the dogs to not go outside at all during the middle of the day because they do have to go potty and may not like to use or have access to a backyard with shade, but we make their time outside as brief as possible to prevent burning the pads of their feet or them overheating.
We will also walk in shaded areas or on grass if it is available. Another option for our clients is to invest in dog booties and get your dog used to wearing those on their feet so that we are able to go on a bit longer of a walk. Even with dog booties on we will not be doing a full 30-minute walk when it is over 90* because we do not want to risk overheating or dehydration of us or the dog.
We hope our clients all understand that when it heats up over 90* we will begin limiting visits to potty walks and indoor playtime or cuddle time to protect your dogs from burning the pads of their feet and from other heat-related injuries and illness.