Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them: July 2023

KEEP DOGS COOL AND SAFE IN SUMMER

The current heat waves around the country this Summer have been in the news a lot lately. Record hot weather is being seen all across the U.S. Phoenix has had more consecutive days of 110F + degrees than ever before. Florida is experiencing a record number of consecutive 90F + days, and there are many other instances of unusual, extreme heat. This extreme hot weather isn't just hard on people, it's also difficult for dogs. Here are some tips to help keep dogs cool and safe in Summer weather.

Tips to keep dogs cool in hot weather

As a bonus, I also share 4 of my favorite cool, refreshing Summertime dog treat recipes down below!

HOT WEATHER TIPS TO HELP DOGS STAY COOL

❅ I'll start off with one of the most important tips to keep dogs cool on hot days, and that is to keep your dog well Hydrated at all times! The average dog drinks about 1 ounce of water (1/8 cup) for every pound of body weight. On really hot days, your dog might need even more water.

I never let my dog's water bowl run dry. I keep it full with clean, cool water day and night. I also mix canned or other wet food in with my dogs dry food for extra hydration.

❅ Add some ice shavings or ice cubes to your dog's water. Many dogs enjoy playing with, or even eating ice cubes. This can help cool their body temperature down a bit.

❅ Take Cover! When you're out and about with your dog, or even in your own yard, always find shade for your dog. It's important to limit their time in direct sun and provide plenty of shade for them to escape the heat of hot direct sun.

❅ Limit dog walks to early mornings or later in the day after the sun sets. Midday is the hottest time of day, and the heat can be too much for your dog. I shorten my dogs' walks, and I don't take them out during the hottest time of the day.

❅ Watch out for hot pavement and beach sand! These surfaces can get extremely hot and potentially burn your dog's paws, especially during the hottest time of the day. Consider dog booties or carrying your dog if needed. Place the back of your hand on the pavement or sand for 10 seconds. If it feels too hot for you, it's definitely too hot for your dog!

❅ Never, ever leave your dog in the car on a hot day! It's amazing hot fast the inside of a car can become dangerously hot. The temperature inside a car can increase by 20F degrees within 10 minutes, even with a window cracked open! Heat stroke can become a significant danger. It's also illegal in many states.

❅ If you think the heat is getting to be a bit much for your dog during a walk or hike, soak your dog's favorite bandana in cold water. Ring it out and place it around your dog's neck. The bandana will stay cool for awhile and offers a bit of coolness on your dog's neck.

❅ Get a Cool Mat for dogs. I like the self cooling kind that automatically activates when the dog lays on it. Icy loved to lay on her cool mat on hot days. I have to get her a new one, this one's gotten so ratty from all the use over the years!

❅ Similar to a cool mat, your dog can wear a cooling vest for dogs. I haven't tried one yet, but I think Icy would like it.

Dogs (and cats) sweat through their paws, and cool themselves down through panting. Senior dogs, dogs who are overweight, and Brachycephalic dogs (short nosed/pushed in face dogs including French Bulldogs, Boston Terriers, Pugs, etc) are at higher risk for heat stroke.

Following these dog health tips for hot weather will help your dog be more comfortable in Summer weather. But far more importantly, these tips can help avoid your dog getting Dehydration and Heat Stroke in hot weather.

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HOMEMADE DOG TREAT RECIPES

Now the fun part! Here are 4 of my favorite Summer Dog Treat Recipes to give dogs a cool, refreshing treat when the weather heats up!

Yogurt, Berry & Banana Dog Treat Recipe:

1/4 cup Blueberries

1/4 cup peeled, sliced banana

1/4 cup pineapple chunks

1/2 cup plain yogurt

Few chunks of watermelon (optional)

Place all ingredients in a blender. Chop or Puree until mixed well but not liquified.

You can serve this dog treat in 3 different ways:

1 Pour the fruit mixture into ice cube trays and freeze them to give as individual treats.

2 Add the mixture into a treat toy such as a Kong toy and freeze as a fun, cool treat dogs can play with.

3 Chill the mixture in the refrigerator and once it's cool, spread it on a Lickimat for your dog to enjoy!

A Lickimat can be a calming activity for dogs. It can also slow down a dog's eating so they don't wolf the whole thing down. Or, it can just serve as a fun activity for dogs as they lick to work the treat out of the grooves in the mat. Spread about 1/4 cup of the chilled mixture around on a Lickimat and let your dog start licking!

Lickimats are a fun activity for dogs!

Whichever way you choose to serve this treat, your dog will love you for it!

This next dog treat recipe is super simple! It requires just two ingredients.

Peanut Butter Yogurt Dog Treat Recipe:

5 Tbsp. Yogurt (Greek Yogurt makes for a good thick mixture)

2 large scoops of Peanut butter

STEP 1. Mix the yogurt and peanut butter together in a small bowl until blended. Mixture should be smooth and thickened. You don't want the mixture to be runny, otherwise you'll have trouble filling a stuffable dog toy or ice cube tray.

STEP 2. Add the mixture to a Kong toy or other stuffable dog toy.

STEP 3. Place the peanut butter yogurt stuffed toy into the freezer

STEP 4. OR you can spoon the thick mixture into an ice cube tray instead of stuffing a dog toy with it!

The blobs of treat mixture, once frozen, should easily pop out of the tray without sticking to it.

I love this next frozen dog treat recipe. This is a new one for me, and I love that it contains blueberries, which are healthy for dogs, and high in antioxidants and vitamins C and K. This treat recipe for dogs isn't one you can stuff in a dog treat toy, the mixture is liquid and must be frozen.

Pineapple Blueberry Frozen Dog Treat Recipe:

1/4 cup Blueberries

1/4 cup of pineapple juice, OR packaged/canned small pineapple chunks packed in pineapple juice or water (there should be more liquid than pineapple pieces)

STEP 1 Pour the pineapple juice and small chunks (if you included pineapple chunks) into ice cube trays. Don't overfill, leave a bit of room in the tray to add the blueberries.

STEP 2 Add blueberries one at a time on top of the pineapple mixture. Add as many as you want as long as they fit and the pineapple juice doesn't overflow.

STEP 3 Place ice cube tray in the freezer until frozen. Give these frozen treats to your dog for a delicious, healthy dog treat that's nice and cool!

This recipe can be extra fun if you have paw print shaped ice cube trays! Place blueberries in the "toes" of the paw prints.

Puppsicles are always fun to make, and this next recipe for Puppsicle frozen dog treats only requires 3 ingredients!

Pineapple Yogurt Jerky Puppsicles Dog Treat Recipe:

Frozen Pineapple Yogurt Jerky Puppsicle Dog Treats

8 oz Can (or other packaged) of pineapple chunks in 100% juice or water

1/2 cup of plain yogurt
Jerky Sticks

* I used Hill's Flexi-Stix Jerky for this recipe but you can use any other firm, stick shaped dog treat like Dentastix, Whimzees, or any other stick dog treats your dog loves.

STEP 1 Blend together pineapple chunks and about a tablespoon of the juice with the yogurt in a blender (or bowl if you're using a mixer).

STEP 2 Pour the mixture into ice cube trays. Then place a jerky stick in the middle of each tray so it functions as a popsicle stick. Shorter sticks usually stay upright in the tray a bit better.

Note: If the sticks fall over when you place them in the trays, you can break them into smaller sizes OR you can place the tray into the freezer for 15-20 minutes to stiffen up the mixture and then try placing the sticks in the trays again.

STEP 3 Freeze, then treat your dog to a cool puppsicle treat!

Dogs will appreciate the extra tasty dog treat stick in these delicious, refreshing Pineapple Yogurt Jerky Puppsicles!

Your dog will love these cooling homemade dog treats! But if you don't have these ingredients handy, or you don't have much time to make DIY dog treats, you can fill ice cube trays with bone broth and just freeze them. You can even put small dog treats and water into ice cube trays and freeze. Both of these quick simple dog treats will give dogs a cool, refreshing treat to help them beat the heat.

How do you keep your pet cool on hot Summer days? Leave us a comment and share your tips below!

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Fruits that are healthy for dogs to eat

Summertime Skin and Ear Care for Dogs

SUMMER SKIN AND EAR CARE FOR DOGS

It's Summertime! Dogs love Summer and we love doing fun outdoor activities with our dogs. Hiking, swimming, boating, playdates in the yard, and extra long walks in the park are all activities we love to do with our dogs! Summer activities take us outside a lot more, but with all those warm weather outdoor activities with dogs comes the need for extra skin and ear care for dogs. Summer Skin and Ear Care for dogs becomes an even greater focus for overall dog health when the weather heats up.

Summer Skin and Ear Care for Dogs

The more time we spend outdoors with our dogs the more we want to be mindful of the health concerns that can develop with all that time spent outside.

Fortunately, Zymox® has you covered with a great collection of skin and ear care products for dogs and cats! I've been using Zymox pet health care products for my own dogs for years, and I highly recommend them.

To celebrate Summer, I'm partnering with Zymox to bring you a great giveaway, the Zymox Summertime Pet Care Giveaway!

This post is sponsored by Zymox® and Pet King Brands. I am being compensated to share information about some of my favorite Zymox® Pet Care products. I use all these products for my dogs, and am happy to share them with you! Enter the ZYMOX SUMMERTIME PET CARE GIVEAWAY below!

Zymox® Skin and Ear Care products for Dogs and Cats

The more time our dogs spend outside in warmer weather, the more we have to stay on top of the dog care issues that are more prevalent in Summer.

SKIN AND EAR CARE FOR DOGS IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT IN THE SUMMER

SKIN ALLERGIES

In general, dog allergies are a common problem, but they can be exacerbated in hot weather. Dog allergies on skin can really flare up when dogs spend more time outdoors.

In Summer, we often see an increase in dog seasonal allergies, dog allergies from grasses and flowers, and dog allergic reactions to pesticides or other treatments they come in contact with outside.

I use Zymox shampoo and conditioning products for my dogs to help prevent skin irritation. It leaves their fur soft and smelling fresh too.

Zymox Enzymatic Shampoo and conditioning rinse can help soothe Skin Allergies in dogs. Gentle cleansing soothes itchy allergy skin, and calms irritated or inflamed skin. It doesn't contain detergents, chlorines, or parabens and is safe for all animals, not just dogs!

Over the counter remedies may not help dogs with severe skin allergic reactions. If your dog has a severe skin irritation or allergic reaction, contact your Veterinarian right away to discuss emergency treatment or the need for prescription dog allergy medication.

EAR INFECTIONS

Ear infections in dogs are very common, particularly in the Summer when dogs are more active outside and are often in the water. There are several things that can cause an increase in dog ear infections in warmer Summer weather.

Swimming in pools, lakes, ponds, or oceans.

Boating, Dock diving and other activities that take place in or around water.

Wet ears can cause a buildup of bacteria and yeast in a dog's ears, which could lead to ear infections. It's important to keep your dog's ears clean and dry!

Hiking Dogs will come in contact with grasses, shrubs, puddles, bugs, bees and other critters that may cause irritation to their ears.

Walking Longer and more frequent walks in tall grasses or grass that may have been chemically treated can irritate dogs' ears. More bugs, bees or other critters may get inside their ears and irritate them as well.

Fortunately my dogs have never had ear infections. I keep their ears clean all year long to help prevent ear infections in my dogs.

I use Zymox Ear solution for my dogs. It's an effective and easy to use ear wash for dogs and cats. Ear cleaning for my dogs at home only takes a few minutes and doesn't bother my dogs at all! For me, it's an important part of our general dog health routine.

I clean my dogs' ears once or twice a month when the weather is warm and a little less frequently during colder months, but I keep them clean and dry all year round to help prevent ear infection and irritation.

Dog ear infection symptoms usually include dogs shaking their head a lot more than usual or pawing at their ears. If your dog appears to have an ear infection or irritation that doesn't clear up quickly with an at home ear cleaning for dogs solution, contact your Veterinarian. You may need a stronger ear infection treatment for dogs to address your dog's ear infection or irritation.

MINOR DOG INJURIES

With lots more outdoor time dogs are bound to get some minor cuts and scrapes. My Husky Icy is notorious for it! She's a senior pup but she still likes to explore new places and stick her nose in every nook and cranny. My little dog Jessie is young and really curious about her surroundings. Needless to say, these two get into everything, LOL!

I keep Zymox minor wound care and skin irritation products on hand for minor cuts, scrapes or skin irritations.

Zymox topical spray or cream with .05% Hydrocortisone soothes skin and provides relief from itching caused by inflammation, hot spots, minor cuts and other minor skin irritations.

I use the topical spray, as well as the cream, to help heal minor wounds or skin irritations my dogs may have. The spray is easy and convenient for larger or easy to get to areas like paws and legs. The cream is good for difficult to reach places or sensitive areas like the face. I like to have both the spray and the cream available.

Summer Skin and Ear Care For Dogs Pet First Aid Kit with Zymox Ear and Skin Pet products

I keep Zymox Pet Care Products in our Dog's First Aid Kit

I keep Zymox Topical Spray and Cream in my pet first aid kit, so I always have some on hand when we travel with the dogs. I use them quite often. Icy has gotten minor cuts and scrapes more times than I can count, especially when we travel or go on fun adventures!

I'm pleased to announce a Giveaway with a Prize Pak of all these wonderful Zymox products! TWO winners will be chosen to receive a Zymox Summertime Pet Care prize pak! (U.S. residents only)

***** THIS GIVEAWAY HAS ENDED ******

Enter the ZYMOX SUMMERTIME PET CARE GIVEAWAY BELOW - Giveaway available to U.S. Residents only