Summer Adventures With Your Dogs!

Felissa is dog-mom to Davinia and Indiana and the creator of the Two Little Cavaliers blog. She writes regularly about adopting rescues, cooking for your canine, keeping you pet healthy, and heaps of other dog-related things.  You can follow along on Facebook or Twitter. 

Summer is here in all of her glory!Temperatures are rising and the beach, lake, and swimming pool are calling our name.  Summer is the season that we love to head out of the city to small towns in the mountains or around lakes and the beach for a day outdoors. Some of those adventures involve our dogs because when the dog is a part of the family like they are in some many households now they aren’t left behind.

But with the inclusion of dogs going out with us on these adventures comes some added responsibilities as well. The resort towns for the most part are accepting of well-mannered canine visitors. Dogs that are trained to walk through their shops without knocking down the merchandise or leaving behind presents are welcomed and enjoyed. Outdoor seating at restaurants allows for our dogs to hang out with us during meals and sometimes even provide a nice cool bowl of water so they can hydrate and keep cool. Many towns even offer boutique pet stores to pick up a special treat or toy as you are walking through checking things out.

1. Remember to bring along a water bottle and your dog’s bowl because if you are thirsty they are thirsty too.

2. In the city there might not be a problem with fleas and ticks but out in the country and around other dogs and animals there is a very real chance your dog could come into contact with them. Make sure to use a flea and tick preventative and then when you get home or at the end of every day check your dog and yourself for ticks. Ticks found and removed within 24 hours cannot transmit disease.

3. Be careful of hot beach sand, sidewalks, and pavement. Extended exposure to very hot surfaces can burn your dog’s paws. Walk in the shade, on the grass, or check the temperature of the pavement with your hand before your dog walks on it.

4. Take regular breaks from window shopping to sit in the shade. Find a nice tree to sit under or the shade of a building. Have a drink of water, offer your dog some water, and relax together.

5. Find out before you arrive or ask the locals if there is a dog park you can allow your dog to run off leash to let off some energy. Even very well behaved dogs get excited when they are in new places and meeting new people.

Hope you have a great summer with your four-footed friends!