With the summer come the beautiful evenings. We meet friends near the fire and around the pool while a good meal sizzles on the barbecue. Unfortunately, those relaxation moments can be spoiled by a trivial incident. Here are some dangers to our pets at these gatherings. BARBECUE A barbecue or flames, it burns, but our animals do not necessarily know! Briquettes, hot fat, barbecue metal, utensils and food are all potential sources of burns. As for the bonfire flames, they could burn your animal if it gets too close; and hair, it catches fire quickly! PANCREATITIS, BONE AND SKEWERS Barbecue smells are attractive! You might like to share it with your companion, but hold on! Large amounts of fat in one’s diet can cause digestive disorders, such as inflammation of the pancreas. And bones and skewers are disasters: they can cause serious damage, including perforation of the digestive tract. Do not forget to protect your trash so that your dog does not have access to it. Barbecuing without a problem means never leaving the barbecue unattended and always keep an eye on your pet.
TOXIC FOODS AND PLANTS Here is a list of plants, foods and other items that your pet should never eat because they could seriously affect his health:
SWIMMING POOL AND LAKE When you are lucky enough to have the right water on
It is a brutal and rapid attack characterized by a body hyperthermia caused by a too high ambient temperature, so that your animal can no longer maintain a normal temperature (38.5 °C - 39.5 °C). Most animals cool down while breathing fresh air, but when they are in hyperthermia they must act quickly by putting them in a shady place and cooling them with compresses of cold water. We can then make them drink, but very small quantities at a time. Heatstroke occurs most often in summer between May and September. An animal can suffer from sunburn even without the sun because:
The terraces of wood, cement or, worse, asphalt, are islands of heat drastically increasing the ambient temperature. Thanks, keep your animals in the shade and away from heat islands!
TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND ILLICIT DRUGS If ingested in large quantities, these products can be lethal to animals. Serious symptoms of coma may follow those more innocuous of imbalances and vomiting. That’s why we have to keep them out of their reach.
INSECTS AND OTHERS In our region, various stinging insects and arachnids are having fun! After being bitten, your pet may have simple red lesions on his skin, but also a more serious allergic reaction, with local or generalized blisters, or even breathing difficulties, tremors and fever. Natural and nontoxic repellents for our animals are sold in specialized shops and in veterinary clinics. @ Martine Lavallée, B.A.A. and animal health technician |