The summer is a wonderful time to be a professional dog walker. For the most part, the warmer months give those in the industry a small amount of bragging rights over those who may be stuck in offices cursing Britain’s (relatively) hotter days.
However, dog walkers do need to take extra care when the sun is shining. The Blue Cross are regularly warning owners and walkers about the perils of hot pavements for dogs.
The pads on a dog’s feet may feel tough, but they are just as sensitive as the rest of their paws, and exposure to too much heat can leave them with nasty burns. While the air temperature of the UK seldom gets up to a temperature that would give cause for concern for many, sun-baked pavements can soon heat up to unpleasant levels.
Tracey Parnell, a Blue Cross Veterinary Nurse says; “A simple test is to take your own shoes off and stand on the path. If you are unable to keep your feet on the path for five seconds, then it is not safe to walk your dog.”
So how do you spot if your dog has suffered an ailment due to walking on hot surfaces? There are a number of different ways you can spot pad damage on your dogs.
Sometimes the dog will tell you themselves in some way or another. This could be that your dog is limping or walking unusually. Sometimes a dog will lick or chew it’s feet if hot pavements have an affect on it’s paws.
Other times though, it’s a case of keeping an eye on the health of your dog’s paws yourself. Regularly checking for blisters, redness or pads that are a darker in colour that usual is the way to go.
If you think your dog has suffered burns, you should firstly ensure it is kept off any hot surfaces. Veterinary advice is best sought as some severe burns are susceptible to getting infected particularly quickly.
Some burns will need to be bandaged, others will require the antibiotics. As always though, prevention is the best cause of action in the first place.
Of course, dogs always need walking. While it is best to make a decision as to whether it is too hot to take a dog out, there are plenty of other things to do to protect a pooch’s paws in warmer weather.
These suggestions aren’t ground breaking, but they can make such a difference to the health of a dogs paws.
Firstly, get out early in the morning or later in the evening. This may go against the flexible nature of a career as a dog walker, but at the end of the day, you need to take good care of your clients.
Exercising your canines before the pavements have had a chance to get too hot, or later in the day when they have cooled down somewhat, is an obvious step to take.
If you can’t avoid going out in the hottest part of the day, why not change up your route to take in some grassy areas? If you usually walk the dogs around the block, why not drive them (if it’s not within walking distance) to a local park or nature reserve?
Finally, if staying off the pavement when it’s at is hottest, there is the option of dog booties. It may take some convincing certain dogs to keep them on their feet, but they’re still a wise investment nonetheless. Make sure the boots you buy are of good quality and protection from even the hottest of pavements is assured.
The desire to take good care of the dogs being walked will be second nature to most, but there are examples of even the most well-meaning of dog owner or walker’s pooch suffering paw burns. Follow these easy steps an ensure a dog in your care never suffers from pavement burns.
If you’re a professional dog walker, it’s important to cover all basis. So make sure you take out our comprehensive dog walking insurance policy to protect you if your canine clients were to get hurt.
Majira ya kiangazi ni wakati mzuri sana wa kutembea na mbwa. Kwa sehemu kubwa, miezi ya joto huwapa wale katika sekta hiyo kiasi kidogo cha haki za kujigamba juu ya wale ambao wanaweza kuwa wamekaa katika ofisi wakilaani siku za Uingereza (kwa kiasi) za joto. Hata hivyo, watembea-tembea wa mbwa wanahitaji kuwa waangalifu zaidi wakati jua linapoangaza. Msalaba wa Bluu huwaonya mara kwa mara wamiliki na watembeaji juu ya hatari za barabara moto kwa mbwa. Vipande vya miguu ya mbwa vinaweza kuonekana kuwa ngumu, lakini ni nyeti kama miguu yao yote, na kuathiriwa na joto kupita kiasi kunaweza kuwafanya waumie vibaya. Ingawa joto la hewa nchini Uingereza ni nadra sana kufikia kiwango ambacho kingewasababisha wasiwasi kwa wengi, barabara zilizochomwa na jua zinaweza kupasha joto kwa kiwango kisichofaa. Tracey Parnell, muuguzi wa mifugo wa Msalaba wa Bluu anasema; <unk>Mtihani rahisi ni kuondoa viatu vyako mwenyewe na kusimama kwenye njia. Ikiwa huwezi kuweka miguu yako kwenye njia kwa sekunde tano, basi si salama kutembea na mbwa wako. Kuna njia kadhaa za kugundua uharibifu wa pads kwenye mbwa wako. Wakati mwingine mbwa anaweza kukuambia mwenyewe kwa njia fulani au nyingine. Huenda ikawa mbwa wako anaugua au anatembea kwa njia isiyo ya kawaida. Nyakati nyingine mbwa huchoma au kutafuna miguu yake ikiwa barabara zenye joto zinaathiri miguu yake. Wakati mwingine, hata hivyo, ni kesi ya kuweka jicho juu ya afya ya miguu ya mbwa wako mwenyewe. Kwa kawaida, kuangalia kwa blisters, nyekundu au pads kwamba ni giza katika rangi ni njia ya kwenda. Ikiwa mbwa wako amechoma, hakikisha kuwa amehifadhiwa mbali na nyuso moto. Ni afadhali kutafuta ushauri wa daktari wa mifugo kwa kuwa baadhi ya majeruhi mabaya ya moto huweza kuambukizwa upesi sana. Baadhi ya majeraha ya kuchomwa yanahitaji kufungwa, mengine yanahitaji dawa za kuua viini. Kama kawaida, kuzuia ni sababu bora ya hatua ya kwanza. Bila shaka, mbwa huhitaji kutembelewa sikuzote. Ingawa ni bora kufanya uamuzi kama ni moto sana kuchukua mbwa nje, kuna mengi ya mambo mengine ya kufanya ili kulinda paws pooch katika hali ya hewa ya joto. Mapendekezo haya si ya kuvunja ardhi, lakini yanaweza kufanya tofauti kama hiyo kwa afya ya paws mbwa. Kwanza, ondoka mapema asubuhi au baadaye jioni. Hii inaweza kwenda dhidi ya asili ya kazi kama walker mbwa, lakini mwisho wa siku, unahitaji kuchukua huduma nzuri ya wateja wako. Kufanya mazoezi ya meno yako kabla ya barabara kuwa na nafasi ya kuwa moto sana, au baadaye katika siku wakati wao kuwa baridi chini kidogo, ni hatua ya wazi ya kuchukua. Ikiwa huwezi kuepuka kwenda nje wakati wa joto zaidi la siku, kwa nini usibadili njia yako ili uende katika maeneo yenye nyasi? Kama wewe kawaida kutembea mbwa kuzunguka block, kwa nini si kuendesha yao (kama si ndani ya umbali wa kutembea) kwa bustani ya ndani au hifadhi ya asili? Hatimaye, kama kukaa mbali na barabara wakati ni katika ni moto zaidi, kuna chaguo la boots mbwa. Inaweza kuchukua baadhi ya kuwahakikishia mbwa fulani kuwaweka juu ya miguu yao, lakini bado ni uwekezaji busara hata hivyo. Hakikisha viatu unavyovunua ni vya ubora na vinaweza kukukinga na joto. Kutaka kutunza mbwa wako ni jambo la kawaida kwa wengi, lakini kuna mifano ya hata mwenye mbwa mwenye nia nzuri zaidi au mbwa wa mtembeaji anayesumbuliwa na kuchomwa kwa paws. Fuata hatua hizi rahisi na kuhakikisha mbwa katika huduma yako kamwe anaugua kutoka pavement kuchoma. Kama wewe ni mtaalamu mbwa walker, ni muhimu kufunika msingi wote. Kwa hivyo hakikisha unachukua sera yetu ya bima ya kutembea kwa mbwa ili kukulinda ikiwa wateja wako wa mbwa wangejeruhiwa.