Surely you could have appreciated that your dog loves to sunbathe, be it in the middle of summer or in the cold winter … Hot or cold, dogs love to sunbathe. And although it provides great benefits that we will review below, it can also be dangerous.
Like the humans and other living things on this planet, the Sun is also essential for our dogs. But you have to know when and how they should or can take it, since sometimes it can be so harmful that it could even cause the death of our beloved dog due to a heatstroke . Let’s see what pros and cons it has, to take advantage of it in the best way.
Index of contents
- 1 Benefits of the Sun in dogs for dogs
- 2 Dangers of the Sun for a dog
Benefits of the Sun in dogs for dogs
The sun is essential for the synthesis of vitamin D. The contact of ultraviolet rays with the skin fat causes large amounts of vitamin D3 to be created. Our dogs by licking their paws and fur orally absorb this essential vitamin. You can get more info here: Why does my dog lick its paws?
It does not matter if your dog has a lot of or little hair, it needs to sunbathe in order to obtain the adequate amounts of vitamin D. Vitamin D is essential for its body (just like ours), it helps fix calcium and phosphorus in Bones it, levels tension, relieves stress, increases muscle composition and makes them feel better.
In temperate or cold seasons, the sun also gives them an extra heat. They can rest or sleep very peacefully while the sun warms their bodies, they really enjoy it.
The sun in adequate doses strengthens our dog’s immune system, it also favors the regeneration of dead skin, scars, etc. In summary, the sun has great benefits for our dogs, as long as it is taken correctly.
Remember that dogs do not need to use sunscreen, their hair is enough to avoid burns. But if you have shaved your dog, or cut your hair excessively…. You must take precautions so that your skin does not burn.
Dangers of the Sun for a dog
The sun can be as good as it is dangerous for our dogs. In winter there is really no great danger … but what happens in the warmer months?
Our dogs love sunbathing so much that they are unaware of the danger it can pose. If it is very hot, we should not let our dog expose himself for a long time in the sun, he could suffer a heat stroke. Heatstrokes can even lead to death… not to be taken as a joke.
Surely you have seen many times as in the middle of summer and at forty degrees of heat … your dog goes out to the garden or balcony to sunbathe. It is not bad as long as we control it, we should not let him sunbathe for a long time and of course we should not let him fall asleep under the scorching sun.
We must always put fresh water at your disposal, in summer the drinking water is heated easily, so we must replace it with fresh water several times a day.
We must also be careful with the ground, if when we put our hands on the ground we get burned and we cannot keep it … We must not let our dog walk around, as it will burn its paws (pads).
When traveling by car, we must be careful not to get direct sunlight on our dog. You don’t have fresh water to drink in your car, and the air from your car’s window or air conditioner can give you a false sense of coolness while suffering from heat stroke.
In short, we must be very careful when it is excessively hot. Mainly in the summer months.