We aren’t the only ones who love summer. Our pets enjoy the season’s long days and outdoor activities, too. A few simple steps can keep everyone healthy and happy.

Beat the Heat By Keeping Your Pets Cool

Keep Your Pets Hydrated

• Start with drinking water. The more active your dog or cat, the more she needs extra water, preferably chemical-free spring or filtered water. Water can be delivered in a bowl, pet water dispenser, or travel canteen.
• Some natural foods markets sell electrolyte-enhanced drinks for canine athletes and pets recovering from illness or dehydration.
• Change your pet’s water daily, keep water dispensers clean, and encourage animals to drink more often when the mercury soars.

Tips to Prevent Heat Stress & Heat Stroke for Your Pets

• One reason hot weather is hard on pets is because they can’t cool themselves by perspiring through the skin the way humans do. Their only sweat glands are on their paw pads and noses. High humidity interferes with the cooling effects of panting. Veterinarians advise against leaving pets (especially those that are very young, very old, weak, ill, overweight, or breeds with snub noses such as Pekingese, Pugs, and Bulldogs) outdoors in hot, humid weather.
• To avoid heat-related problems, exercise in the early morning or evening, substitute gentle walks for hard runs, and stop whenever your dog seems tired or is panting heavily. Swimming or splashing in a lake, river, ocean, or even backyard wading pool can help keep your dog cool. But be sure to rinse your dog’s coat after swimming in a chemically treated pool or saltwater.
• Never leave your pet in a parked car on a sunny day or during hot weather, even with the windows open, even for a few minutes.
• Help prevent heat stress or heatstroke by using common sense, avoiding overexertion, and keeping your pet cool and well watered.
• In addition to keeping pets indoors and air-conditioned on hot, humid days, offer them a frozen water bottle, such as a water-filled plastic bottle, to help keep them cool in hot weather. Some dogs love to sleep on frozen water bottles, while others use them as pillows.
• While most professional groomers and veterinarians recommend against shaving dogs and cats to their bare skin, a short summer trim can help long-haired pets avoid problems with heat-trapping matted hair and tangles. Daily brushing or combing will help your pet feel comfortable.

Symptoms of Life-Threatening Heat Distress in Your Pet 

If your dog pants heavily, fails to respond, develops a rapid heartbeat or bright red tongue, vomits, looks anxious, or feels hot to the touch, lower her temperature by applying towels soaked in cool water to the abdomen, lower legs, neck, and hairless areas. Then get her to a veterinarian immediately. Emergency treatment with intravenous fluids and medication to prevent or reverse brain damage may save your dog’s life.

Other Seasonal Concerns for Pets

Protect Your Pet From Sunburn

Did you know that pets need sunscreen, too? Light-haired dogs and cats can get sunburned if exposed to too much midday sun. Sunblock can be applied to the tips of the ears, tip of the nose, and skin around the animal’s lips to help prevent sunburn, pain, and peeling.

Natural Treatment & Prevention of Ear Infection for Your Pets

Many dogs develop ear infections during summer months. Although chronic ear infections are common in long-eared swimming dogs like Labrador and Golden Retrievers, they can occur in any breed.

To prevent yeasty-smelling ears, rinse or clean your dog’s ears with a solution of equal parts water and vinegar. This lowers the ear’s pH, making it less hospitable to Malassezia yeast cells, which cause most canine ear infections. Or use an herbal ear oil or ear treatment to keep your pet’s ears clean and healthy.

Probiotics & Enzymes Balance Your Pet Inside & Out

To treat ear infections and other allergy symptoms from the inside out, add a probiotic supplement to your dog’s food. Many probiotics are labeled for veterinary use, but any human probiotic can be adapted for pets.

Determine an approximate dose by dividing your pet’s weight in pounds by 100. For example, a 50-pound dog would take half the label’s recommended dose, while a 10-pound cat or rabbit would need one-tenth the label dose. Because probiotics are very safe and there is no toxic dose, larger amounts are well tolerated.

Digestive enzymes added to your pet’s food help strengthen the immune system by improving digestion and the assimilation of nutrients.

Natural Remedies & Treatments for Pet Injuries

Like their human companions, dogs and cats benefit from a healthy diet and active exercise that is increased gradually to prevent injury. Couch potato dogs need regular exercise, not just weekend workouts, and every exercise session should begin with a gradual warm-up and end with a gradual cool-down. In case your dog overdoes it, treat acute, new injuries with cold, and treat chronic, old injuries, soreness, or joint pain with warmth.

Alternative Treaments for Your Pet's Aches, Pains, and Strains

Homeopathic arnica preparations reduce pain and swelling. Athletic dogs enjoy long hikes, lengthy swims, and everything else that summer has to offer. But as dogs age or recover from injuries, their joints can hurt or their body alignment can be thrown out of balance.

Systemic oral enzyme supplements and anti-inflammatory herbs, including boswellia, devil’s claw, feverfew, and yucca, can help older dogs remain active and reduce the risk of injury in all dogs. Look for products labeled for pet use or adjust the label dose of human supplements, based on your pet’s weight.

The rapid growth of canine sports is making rehabilitation medicine a veterinary specialty. Acupressure, acupuncture, massage, chiropractic adjustments, and physical therapy all can help your pet.

I’m typing this with greasy fingers from the oil I’ve slathered onto my cracked heels. The fissures are an ugly sign left over from winter and intermittent care on my part.

I discovered I’d been neglecting my feet the night before in a yoga class, when my husband, taking the mat behind me, whispered, “Do you know how cracked your heels are?”

I blanched before dropping into a lunge (where I took a peek at the back of my feet), and realized that it had been a few weeks since I had moisturized them—maybe more.

I’d been wearing heavy socks instead, waiting for spring to arrive. Now I could see that my feet were far from sandal-ready.

How to Make Hard-Working Feet Pretty

After the heart, the feet are the hardest-working part of our bodies, logging on average 1,000 miles a year. Each step brings pressure nearly one-and-a-half times our body weight.

Drinking enough water every day will help boost your nails’ natural moisture and prevent them from becoming brittle. Try drinking at least eight glasses of water daily (tea counts too) to help transport essential nutrients to the nails. Since each foot contains about 250,000 sweat glands—capable of producing a pint of sweat daily—it’s crucial to keep your body hydrated.

Pamper your feet by soaking them in warm—not hot—water, making the skin pliable enough for scrubbing. Once your feet have soaked for 10 minutes, they’re ready for a scrub.

Choose products containing natural ingredients that promote circulation, such as peppermint, and exfoliants like fruit acids from pineapple or papaya. (Papaya contains the enzyme papain, touted as an alpha hydroxy acid substitute).

Fight Foot Fungus

To fight fungus, look for foot scrubs that contain tea tree oil. A natural antifungal, tea tree oil can help prevent bacteria from getting inside your feet’s dry crevices.

Rub scrubs in with a circular motion, focusing on the most affected areas (usually the heels and any calluses that have formed alongside the big and pinky toes.)

To accelerate the exfoliation process, try wetting a pumice stone and using it on your heels. After rinsing, make sure your feet are dry in between the toes—that’s where the fungus known as athlete’s foot roams. Then slather feet with a cream containing nut-based emollients such as shea, almond, or cocoa butters.

Finally, envelop your feet in cotton socks for the night. By morning, the cream will be fully absorbed.

Oils to Soften Feet

I went for a heavy-duty treatment—opting to apply oil after scrubbing—to prevent those cracks on my heels from resembling tire treads. Avocado, jojoba, and neem oils provide healing and nourishment for truly battle-worn skin. And almond oil softens while conditioning both the cuticle and nail bed.

Apply oil liberally onto the cracked skin, rub it in, and then put on a pair of socks.

Ginger Yerba Mate Iced Tea

In Argentina, this mineral-rich tea is consumed more than coffee. When made into a tea, the plant offers gently stimulating effects. For this recipe, fresh ginger provides the background flavor.

Ingredients

• 4 tea bags or ¼ cup loose tea
• 6 cups hot water
• 3 coins of freshly sliced ginger
• Optional: honey or stevia

Directions

1. Pour just-boiled water over tea bags and ginger, and honey or stevia if using. Stir once and allow to cool. Pour over ice and serve. Strain if using loose tea. Dilute with water if desired.

Peach Basil Iced Tea

Basil and peach may not seem like an ideal match, but their distinct flavors marry well in this invigorating tea.

Ingredients

• 4 peach tea bags
• 6 cups hot water
• 6 or so basil leaves
• Optional: honey or stevia

Directions

1. Pour just-boiled water over tea bags and basil, and honey or stevia if using. Stir once and allow to cool. Pour over ice and serve. Dilute with water if desired.

Sage Tea

Okay, sage may sound strange as a tea, but it works. Give it a try and you’ll be surprised by the gentle and very refreshing flavor, which works great in an iced tea.

Ingredients

• 4 Tbsp fresh sage, chopped
• 6 cups hot water
• Honey

Directions

1. Pour just-boiled water over sage and honey, stir once and allow to cool. Pour through strainer over ice and serve. Dilute with water if desired.

Mint Sun Tea

This is a fun one to make with kids, who like to watch the sun brew the tea. You’ll need a large sun-tea container; you can get them at most kitchen stores.

Ingredients

• 2 mint tea bags
• 1 cup macerated mint leaves
• Lemon slices for garnish
• Optional: honey or stevia

Directions

1. Simply toss the ingredients into the sun-tea container, fill with filtered water and leave it in the sun for 6 hours or so.

Which iced tea recipe sounds most delicious to you? Do you have any special iced tea recipes that you make at home?