Looking After Your Pet In the Warmer Months

Looking after your Pets in the warmer months

Tips and tricks to keep your pet cool on these hot days.

Make a pet icepole > Mix a low salt stock cube with water and place in an ice cream container. Add treats or kibbles and freeze. Your pet will love this on a hot day

Water cooled bed, there is a bed you can purchase and fill with water for your pet to lay on. You can also wet towels to keep your pets cool.

Make sure there is plenty of water in shady spots. Place ice cubes in the bowl to help keep the water cold.

Place a clam shell pool in the shade and fill it with water so your dog can wade in the water to keep cool. If your pet's share your yard with children, remember to have all necessary precautions in place, including fencing, in order to keep children safe.

If your pet seems to be in discomfort, try wetting its feet and misting water onto its face.

Walk your dog in the coolness of the early morning or evening, especially on very hot days. You may even take your pet to the local beach, creek or river to let it have a paddle to cool down. This will help avoid possible dehydration, sunburn and potentially painful paws and make for a more enjoyable walk for you both.

There is a few special precautions we like to take with rabbits

Rabbits are becoming very popular pets. Now that the weather is warming up there are a few things to remember that can be life saving for your lovable Bugs.

During the warmer months flies will be attracted to urine and faecal soiled breaches. Rabbits can have soiled breeches for many reasons : poor grooming and related dental problems, diarrhoea or other illnesses or injury .

Flies lay eggs which then hatch into maggots which proceed to eat away the layers of the skin and can bury into the body. This problem can arise quickly. Myiasis or fly strike can be so severe result in death or euthanasia of your rabbit!

Tip 1: Vigilance: check your rabbit twice daily for any soiled areas and clean them if needed Did you know rabbits get fleas.? Controlling biting insects is an important factor in reducing exposure to the dreaded myxomatosis. No doubt many of us have seen the blinded bunny at the side of the highway. This viral disease is spread mainly through mosquito and flea bites. There is no cure or vaccination for this disease in Australia. The easiest way to prevent Myxo is to reduce exposure of your rabbit to fleas and mossies. Avoid the outdoors during risk periods : Dawn and Dusk. Mosquito netting over the hutch helps but I have seen many rabbits with Myxo that have been in seemingly well protected cages . The good news though is we can treat rabbit for fleas like we treat dogs using ADVANTIX . This will kill fleas and repels flies and mosquito.

Tip 2 reduce exposure to Mosquitos and Fleas limits the chance of contracting Myxo

Unlike us or dogs, rabbits cannot sweat or pant to help with lowering their body temperature. If your rabbit is exposed to heat and you are concerned that they may be suffering heat stroke, please contact the veterinary hospital straight away. When traveling with your rabbit to the hospital when they are suffering heat stroke wet their ears and feet, and drape their body with a wet towel. DO NOT submerge them in cold water. Signs of heat stroke to look out for: • If your rabbit is stretched out with feet out and tail limp • Sleepy • Disorientated

• Rapid or laboured breathing

• Tongue hanging out

• Dribbling Things to do to prevent heat stroke:

• Place their Hutch in the shade out of direct sunlight

• Freeze ice packs, wrap in a towel and place in the floor of their hutch so they can sit on it

• Provide them with extra water bowls and add ice to keep it cool

• Place a ceramic tile or tunnel for them lay on/in their hutch

Please check on your rabbits every couple of hours when it's hot, follow these tips and you will have a very happy rabbit family.