Lilly the Dog Trainer: Keeping your dog active and exercising safely in summer
In this article, dog trainer Lilly Norfeldt shares her expert tips for keeping your dog active and exercising safely during hot summer days. Lilly is an H-qualified dog instructor and behaviourist.
When the heat arrives, I often see owners go to one of two extremes. One approach is: “Right, it’s summer, let’s go full throttle!” The other is: “Oh dear, it’s hot, we’ll just stay inside and do nothing.” While these are extremes, there's a happy medium. Activating and exercising your dog remains important in our warmer months, but you can adapt by:
Scheduling longer walks for early mornings and late evenings
Try to avoid tarmac when it's at its hottest!
Stay in the shade or indoors during the hottest parts of the day.
Be extra diligent about providing fresh water throughout the day.
Give your dog opportunities to cool down regularly
Most importantly,
Try not to worry too much. Most dogs are usually quite good at regulating their own hydration. Of course, you do need to be extra careful with older dogs and puppies. But if you have a generally healthy and alert dog, there’s no need to panic if they want to bask in the sun for a little while. As long as you offer water and shade, they’re usually fine, and if they don’t take advantage of it themselves, you can always give them a little nudge.
