Sizzling Summer Grooming: Keeping Your Pet Tidy and Cool

As summer approaches, the rising temperatures and humidity can be challenging for our furry friends. Proper grooming is essential to keep your pets comfortable, healthy, and looking their best during the hot months. In addition to grooming strategies, keep your pets indoors between 10 am and 3 pm to avoid the most intense sunlight. Here’s a comprehensive guide on how to keep your pet tidy and cool this summer.

Grooming is not just about maintaining your pet’s appearance. It plays a crucial role in their overall health and comfort. During summer, pets can suffer from heat stress, parasites, and skin issues if not properly groomed. Some dogs with heavy, long coats are hot, which encourages them to dig deep holes to get down to the cooler dirt. This can aggravate eye and skin issues and stir up allergens and even pathogens in the soil, such as Valley Fever in the southwestern US. Regular grooming helps to manage these risks by maintaining their coat, skin, and overall hygiene.

Brushing your pet’s coat regularly, including the undercoat, helps remove loose fur and prevent matting. This is particularly important for long-haired  and double-coated breeds, which can suffer from tangles and knots, which trap heat and cause discomfort. 

• For Dogs: Brush at least once a week, more frequently, if your dog has a thick or long coat.
• For Cats: Brush 2-3 times weekly to manage shedding and prevent hairballs.

Bathing your pet helps to keep their skin and coat clean, reducing the risk of infections and parasites like fleas and ticks. Use a pet-friendly shampoo to avoid irritation.

• Frequency: Bathe dogs every 4-6 weeks. Cats generally require fewer baths unless they get particularly dirty or have a skin condition.

Trimming your pet’s fur can help them stay cool. If your pet has environmental allergies, a short coat reduces the ability of allergens such as pollen to stick to the coat. However, be careful not to shave your pet, as their coat also provides protection from the sun.  

• Consult a Professional: Consider taking your pet to a professional groomer who can provide a suitable summer trim.
• DIY Tips: If you prefer to trim at home, use pet-specific clippers and avoid shaving down to the skin.

• Avoid sunscreen containing zinc oxide and salicylates, as ingestion can be toxic.  
• Use a waterproof, high SPF sunscreen labeled as safe for babies, contains no zinc oxide or salicylates, protects against ultraviolet radiation (UVA and UVB), and has a SPF of 15 to 30, as they absorb most UVB rays. Apply 10-15 minutes before sun exposure. Avoid sunscreens with ingestion warnings because these products contain ingredients that may be toxic if licked by a cat or dog.  
• White-faced cats and dogs are vulnerable to sunburn and to secondary skin cancer– especially on the tips of ears of cats. 
• Dogs can incur severe solar thermal burns on their backs if tethered out in the sun. Sometimes chains and tethers can get wrapped around objects and shortened, not allowing the dog to access shade.

• Hydration: Ensure your pet stays hydrated. Freshwater should always be available, especially after grooming sessions.
• Paw Care: Hot pavement can burn your pet’s paws. Keep their nails trimmed and check their paws regularly for signs of injury or irritation. To test if the pavement is too hot for your dog: place the back of your hand on the pavement. It is too hot if you can’t leave it there comfortably for at least 5 seconds.
• Ear Cleaning: Regularly clean your pet’s ears to prevent infections, especially if they swim often.
• Parasite Prevention: Use flea, tick, and heartworm preventatives to protect your pet from parasites common in the summer.  Consult with your veterinarian, as flea preventatives can vary in their effectiveness from one year to the next; what worked last year might not work as well this year.

• Prevents Overheating: Regular grooming helps to remove excess fur, allowing better air circulation and reducing the risk of heatstroke.
• Reduces Shedding: Brushing and bathing can significantly reduce shedding, keeping your home cleaner.
• Early Detection of Skin Issues: Grooming allows you to check for skin problems, such as hot spots, infections, or parasites, and address them promptly.
• Improves Comfort and Hygiene: Clean, well-groomed pets are more comfortable and less likely to develop skin irritations.

Grooming is vital to pet care, particularly during the hot summer months. By following these grooming tips, you can ensure your pet stays tidy, cool, and comfortable all season long. For more detailed advice and resources on pet grooming and care, visit Pet Health Harbour.