3 Tips to Getting Your Fluffy Friend Ready for the Outdoors

Allergies: Seasonal allergies relating to pollens and dust can affect your pets just as they affect humans! Symptoms can include sneezing, irritated eyes, and hives. Allergies can also affect the digestive system in dogs by causing them to have diarrhea or vomiting. If you notice your pet suffering through these symptoms this spring, you can help to reduce their discomfort through over-the-counter antihistamines (discuss with a veterinarian), more frequent baths, as well as washing their bedding.

Pests: Parasites like fleas and ticks present themselves once the warm weather hits. This can be particularly annoying for your pups! To combat this, there are several prevention and treatment options that can be provided by a veterinarian. It’s also important to continue, or start, your pet on some form of heartworm prevention. This will reduce the risk of your pet contracting a disease from one of these parasites.

Grooming: During the transition from winter to spring, your pet’s fur is most likely shedding more than usual. To help control this, regular brushing is imperative. De-shedding tools are particularly helpful in times like these. Routine baths with pet-friendly products can help to loosen some of their fur as well, allowing them to release their winter coat. Another grooming tip, which can be done year-round, but may be specifically beneficial now that your pet will be outdoors, is nail trimming. In addition to trapping dirt, long nails are also more susceptible to breaking off, which can be painful for your pet. 

Allow your pup to truly enjoy the spring and summer months this year, by preparing and monitoring their safety and comfort level with the changing climate. Our veterinary clinic can help with this aspect through providing medications and treatments no matter what your pet gets into! We provide several pet vaccinations as well so if your dog still needs a vaccine, feel free to reach out and schedule an appointment.

With so much stimulation outside it’s easy for your pet to get into things they normally wouldn’t when indoors. If your pet starts acting strange after a day at the park or outside, and you feel they may be having an allergic reaction or have been injured in some way, please stop in to see our emergency veterinarian. Walk-ins are welcome and we will do everything we can to alleviate whatever pain your pet is in. To learn more about prepping for spring, contact our friendly staff today!