SUMMERTIME AND THE LIVING IS EASY….except

With warmer weather already here, be aware of the additional cautions you will need to take to be sure your pet will be safe in your absence.

HEAT – Pets can die of heatstroke. Don’t make the dog jog with you unless you go before the sun is up and you are watching for over-heating. Make sure you leave the dog and/or cat at home even though they love to go bye-bye in the car. Cars are not storage areas even if you park in the shade and leave your windows cracked. Be sure your pets that are left outside, have plenty of shade and at least two full, clean water containers before you leave for the day.

WATER – Water containers need to be clean and heavy-bottomed. Accidental tip-overs can leave your pet with no water all day long.

FLEAS – Flea season starts in the Spring. Watch carefully for the first sign of itching. Even before that make sure you have your favorite brand of Advantage of Frontline in your cupboard. Hot spots can develop and the inflammation can lead to serious infections with large areas of skin becoming infected before you know it.

POOLS – Make sure your pet is pool safe or fenced off from the pool to prevent accidental drowning.

SKIN PROBLEMS – Summer brings out skin problems. Fleas can cause irritation but so can flowering plants and the heat just seems to add to the irritability of skin. Light skinned animals, especially white dogs and cats are really susceptible to skin cancers. Check with your vet for his suggestions on sun screen (nose and ears for sure). We use oil that is added to our pet’s food dish each morning (4000 mg. of Fish Oil and 500 mg. of Borage Oil). Call us if you need some Royal Coat.

FOURTH OF JULY - Be prepared for the noise, confusion, loneliness and sheer terror if you leave your pet alone when fireworks are sure to be going off. Many sad pet owners have returned from 4th of July celebrations only to find their pets have dug under a fence or jumped over a gate to escape the unexpected noise and bright lights. Your vet can prescribe tranquilizers and we have calming tablets, Happy Traveler can relieve anxiety, naturally.

YELLOWING GRASS - This is not a caution for your pet, just a suggestion for solving a problem that we faced. Yellow spots on the lawn from dog urine. The spots would cause the grass to die and soon we had lots of bare dirt patches in our once beautiful lawn. Now, since we have been using G Whiz we have a very green lawn with very few yellow spots. And, if we get a yellow spot we soon see the same grass re-growing back so the roots were not affected. No bare spots in our lawn. Yucca plant extract is the main ingredient and it is so easy to use – a daily food supplement.


I hope this summer is sunny, slightly breezy and very green. Keep your kids and pets safe. Make sure your cupboard is stocked with good food, supplements, a few treats and lots of TLC.