Weather and seasonal topics
Weather Conditions
• Cold Weather: Extreme cold temperatures can be dangerous for pets. While you should always make sure that you are wearing appropriate cold-weather clothing, such as a jacket, gloves, scarf, ear muffs, etc, you should also make sure that pets are safe outdoors in cold weather as well. Frail, thin, or otherwise tiny breeds should be wearing a sweater if spending more than 5 minutes outdoors. If you are unsure that the dog has his/her own cold-weather apparel, ask your manager to ask the client to avoid hypothermia.
• Hot Weather: Extreme heat can be dangerous for pets. While you should always make sure that you are wearing appropriate warm-weather clothing, such as short sleeves, etc, you should make sure that pets are safe outdoors as well. If a pet is going for a walk in hot temperatures, you may bring a bottle of water to allow them to drink during the walk. Also, make sure they drink water when returning from a walk. Large breeds and breeds with a dark colored coat, especially, will become hot quickly and you must avoid hyperthermia. Employees should use caution during warm temperatures that dogs are not guzzling water too fast as the risk of bloat will increase.
• Rain: Wear a raincoat. Put a raincoat on the dog if he/she has one. Wipe paws and body upon return. On days of extreme rain, employees may modify the walking time in order to leave enough time to dry the dog and wipe paws. HOWEVER, the length of the actual visit must never be cut short.
Pesticide Applications (Year Round and Very Common in Spring and Summer)
Year round, landscapers and home owners will treat their lawns with toxic chemicals. There are usually little yellow signs sticking out of the grass to suggest that a pesticide or other toxic chemical application has been applied. AVOID the grass in that area. A dog should NOT walk on grass that has been chemically treated. If a dog accidentally comes in contact with lawn pesticides or other chemicals, wipe all paws with a wet paper towel.
Ice Melts
In cold weather and after snow or ice, many homeowners will throw ice melt down on the sidewalk. Many of these ice melts are toxic to pets. Usually our client will use PET SAFE ice melts, but since you cannot be sure that neighbors are using PET SAFE ice melts, you should make sure to wipe the dogs paws well after each walk the day of, and a couple days after snow.