Don't forget the sunscreen — for your pet

Kim Campbell Thornton • E-mail

Sunscreen, check. Plenty of fresh water, check. Swimming lessons, check. Flea control, check.

Flea control? This list isn’t for you or your kids — it’s for your pets. Summertime brings picnics, fun in the sun, and swimming in pools or open water — good times that are tarnished only by stinging or biting insects, heatstroke, sunburn, skin problems and water hazards, to name the most common summer-related dangers that face dogs and cats.

Here’s what you need to know to recognize and prevent problems:

Itchy and scratchy
When the weather turns warm, fleas hatch and animals get itchy. “We see this manifest itself as sores and scabs on dogs and cats,” says Susan McClung Davis, a veterinarian at Aliso Beach Animal Clinic in Laguna Beach, Calif. “Many animals are allergic to fleas, and all it takes is one flea for them to bite and scratch themselves raw.”

Bees, wasps, fire ants and mosquitoes are other painful pests of summer. Dogs or cats that take a curious or aggressive interest in bees or wasps are likely to receive payback in the form of a sting on the nose or head.

Fire ants often march onto the abdomen of a pet lying outdoors enjoying the sun, then sting in synchrony, which is a very painful experience. If your pet is being stung by fire ants, hose them off and get your pet to the veterinarian, says Michael Schaer, a professor and associate chair at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine in Gainesville.

Reactions to insect bites and stings range from slight swelling and pain to anaphylaxis, a sudden, severe allergic reaction that can be fatal if not treated immediately. Mosquito bites don’t provoke a skin reaction, but they can transmit potentially fatal heartworm disease.

“If your pet is stung, seek veterinary help right away,” Davis says.

Prevention goes a long way. “Fleas and ticks are easily controlled on pets with topical medications," she says. "Placing a product on the skin can kill fleas and ticks for as long as a month. The best way to prevent heartworm disease is by giving a heartworm preventive pill orally once a month.”

While some flea-control medications repel mosquitoes, it’s important to remember that they don’t prevent heartworm disease if a mosquito does bite your pet.

Keep them cool
Heat and humidity affect pets as well, especially those that are brachycephalic, or flat-faced, such as Pugs, Pekingese and Persians, or those that have very heavy coats.

High temperatures can lead to heat exhaustion or the more dangerous heatstroke. Animals that are outside or enclosed in cars are most at risk of heatstroke, Davis says.

help your pet beat the heat — Leave at-risk pets in air-conditioned comfort during the day. If your pet does go or stay outdoors in hot weather, provide plenty of cool, fresh water and a shady place to rest. — Be aware of how the sun travels through your yard. A spot that looks shaded in the morning may be in full sun a few hours later. — Take walks during cool mornings and evenings, not in the heat of the day. — Never leave your pet in a car during warm months.

Signs of heat exhaustion and heatstroke include panting excessively, fatigue, dizziness, nausea and loss of consciousness.

Cool a pet with heat exhaustion by pouring water on the coat and working it into the hair. Loss of consciousness is an emergency situation and requires immediate veterinary care.

One of the most important precautions for preventing both conditions is to never leave your pet in a car during warm months.

“You can have the inside of a car heat up to over 120 degrees Fahrenheit in less than 10 minutes,” Schaer says. “We’re not even talking about a quick run into the drugstore with the animal in a closed car. You don’t want to do that.”

If there’s absolutely no way around it, park the car in the shade with the windows down, and make sure your pet has access to water, Davis says.

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