As every owner of a shaggy dog knows, whilst summer opens up our doors and lets in all those lovely vitamins, for our furry pals it represents a whole host of issues. Most importantly the paralysing fear of letting our dog overheat.

Only last summer, our neighbour’s beautiful little dog Frankie ran away on a hot day (not the really hot ones that made us all cry – like a rather temperate 26 degree one), returning only an hour later (after one hell of a play) suffering multiple organ failure… and died that evening. The news really upset us and for an already neurotic dog owner, it has made it my full-time summer mission to keep my own fur baby comfortable and hydrated. That’s all well and good…until you meet Edgar.

• Meet Edgar
• First things first
• What products have we tried?
• What is our winner?

Meet Edgar

Edgar is a long-haired Jack Russell Terrier with very shaggy hair. He also hates the puppy parlour. We have tried to have him shorn on multiple occasions (and will continue to try) and have been called up to come and collect him. The furthest we ever got was a shave from a mobile groomer who gave our boy a kind of reverse Brazilian: after one strip off the butt, he mad-dogged so much she couldn’t keep him still to finish it off… you get the picture.

So, while you could judge and try offer unsolicited advice (we have a trainer helping and an appointment next week) you could also accept that we have learnt a huge amount about keeping a fluffer cool in the hotter weather. And while our situation isn’t ideal, it is not a one-off and many friends have since confessed they have had similar ordeals at the pup parlour.

These tips are to help. After trying and testing multiple products, we can tell you our top five products we use to keep Edgar cool in the summer.

First things first

Whilst products and buying things can help us, the absolute most important thing is to make sure that your pup always has access to shade and water. Even with this, things can still go wrong: one horror story about a beautiful French Bulldog called Bruno dying whilst lay in the shade only last week was shared to really help dog owners remember that hydration is absolutely key and on the hottest days, we are often better keeping them indoors. You should also never walk them on hotter days anyway… remember the saying about mad dogs and Englishmen? Enough said.

I should also protect myself and say, I am not a vet nor an “expert”, so whilst these tips have helped us with young Edgar, it’s always worth looking into it from a valid source, because hydrating or drenching your hot pet with water that is too cold can also have detrimental affects.

What products have we tried?

Kitty Litter Tray

Whilst a strange suggestion, these are cheap and Edgar sits in this little cool bath very regularly. The water is slightly warm from the sun, so not a shock to the system – it is also great for an outdoor bath. The one in the photo was about £14 a few years ago (*here). This one is only a fiver though – *Click here.

I honestly reccommend this as he can relax quite happily in the shade in it. He is however a JRT, therefore, JRT sized. I wouldn’t reccommend it to my pal with three Newfies.

Doggy Ice-cream

These are a little bit of a rip-off. I am not that sure many dogs even like them. Every time I get carried away and  buy Edgar one, thinking I am some sort of dog influencer, most of it goes in the bin or to another dog owner. In fact, most day trips out at this time of year seem to include being offered one by another dispondent dog owner… for Edgar to then also turn his nose up. I should also add that Edgar ain’t fussy. This is a dog that eats pretty much everything and would chow down on a turd given half the chance.

My tip would be to make your own: banana and peanut butter icecubes for example – absolute winner and a few pence each! The custom-made ice-creams set you back a few quid and are apparently not all that… according to Edgar anyway (his little pal Mouse agrees and actually spat hers out!).

If you are feeling cute and want to make some, then this ice cube tray is designed specially for this purpose. *Click here.

Recipe:

I use this one.

Paddling Pool

Let’s face it! This is the exact same principle as the Kitty Litter tray, but with the added fun that I can sit in it with him! My niece spent a great amount of last summer sitting in this with Edgar so what’s not to love? They come in so many different sizes but this one seems pretty sturdy as is now in its third summer and still going strong. My friend’s lab absolutely adores hers too.

My only downside would be that Edgar struggles getting into it a bit. So sometimes he does need a little helping hand. Again, this is simply Edgar playing us. He does agility and is a great little jumper when he wants to be. He clearly just fancies that extra little cwtch. So, if your Dog simply stands next to it and looks at you with paws outstretched… you are to blame. This is not the fault of the paddling pool … it is the fault of the human (me) treating their dog like a tiny helpless ant.

This is the one we have.

Cooling Towel

I recommend this item to everyone! I initially got one from Pets at Home for about a fiver (four years ago), but needed to replace it (due to age, nothing sinisiter) so went for this one. It is a bit more money at £14.99 but has become invaluable when the heat crawls up. I pop this on Edgar (as the picture shows) and he wears it for as long as he needs. Sometimes it can be like a game of hoopla, throwing it to land on his back and stay on. He smoofles round wearing it all day and doesn’t overheat.

When he starts panting, this goes on and it works within a minute. I have bought one for my Aunty’s dog (a collie) and she also agrees with it’s instant relief.  It is so good I got one for myself last summer. I slept with it over my feet when the temperature got silly and whilst it didn’t stop me panting as much as it does Edgar, it is one of my favourite summer must-haves.

What is our winner?

It is easily the pet cooling towel. He can be in a proper pant and within seconds his breathing is fine and he is mooching round like a little show pony ready for dressage. It took ages to find the right cooling product due to him being quite particular (which dog isn’t?).

The cooling mat –  wasn’t used and he didn’t get on it. My mate’s lab loves her one though. This is the one she uses: *Click here.

The cooling coat – was a source of all evil and he took it off. My neighbour however uses one on her Cavapoo and seems fine, so I included it anyway. *Click here.

The cooling bandana – did very little to cool him.

The towel, however, was the cheapest in the range and we recommend them to absolutely everyone. Absolute cool-dog summer game changer. So in true Hitchhiker’s Guide style, always know where your towel is. This is the exact one Edgar basically swears by. *Click here.

The post Keeping Your Dog Cool in Summer: A Guide appeared first on MoneyMagpie.

I think it’s fair to say that I love my little dog more than I love most people, so is pet insurance a necessity?. I got him at a time my health was bad, and his company and relentless positive little face became my absolute saviour.  

This feeling isn’t unusual either. Speak to any pet owner and a huge percentage see them more as a family member. In fact, according to a 2017 survey of 2000 dog and cat owners conducted by Lily’s Kitchen Pet Food: 96% said they regard pets as part of the family, and a whopping 60% admitted to being closer to their pet than to some members of their family. Therefore it is fair to say we would do anything to protect them.  

A Little Bit About My Dog 

Rupert is a 4 year old Jack Russell Terrier. He was supposed to work as a ratter, but due to a large overbite and a far too gentle nature for such work, he came to me as a puppy. He is now very much a pet. A bed-sharing, sofa-hogging, agility-doing pet with a capital P. He has everything he wants and I cater to his every whim.   

An Emergency Occurred  

One fine day – or not so fine as you’re about to discover – we had a friend over for a garden picnic. The sun was shining and we had some nice treats on the table, including a bunch of grapes. What we didn’t see was one of the grapes rolling off the table, so when Rupert appeared scoffing something down, we discovered in horror that he’d eaten one of the grapes. Too late to stop him, and aware that grapes and dogs don’t mix, we Googled what to do. All the advice said SEE A VET IMMEDIATELY, so we phoned our trusted local vets and they said yep, we should bring him in for tests. For those who don’t know, grapes and grape derivatives like juice and raisins can poison dogs. In fact the vet said if we didn’t flush out his system (he’d already digested it), there was a 50% chance of imminent liver failure: yes, it’s that serious. 

We had no choice but to leave Rupert at the vet overnight – in fact for two nights – while he endured a very painful-sounding procedure where his system was flushed out with charcoal, just to make sure all traces of the grape were gone. Thankfully, despite us having to leave him for 48 hours, the most we’d ever left him alone for, he was fine despite the ordeal. Then of course we were faced with a lovely vet bill for £700. Now, since this horror we went and did some homework and realised that if we had had Petsure insurance, then that wouldn’t have taken a hefty bite out of our accounts. Had we opted for the £5000 of cover, with £100 excess, which would have cost us just £17.40 monthly (£208.75 annually), this whole ordeal would have been covered in a much more manageable way.  

 So while of course we would have paid anything to get Rupert the best care, immediately we saw a huge need for insurance and why everyone had warned us. Had we signed up for Petsure insurance, the financial stress could have been saved. 

HOW DOES PETSURE MEET MY OWN NEEDS? 

Petsure is designed to meet the demands and needs of those who wish to insure against unexpected veterinary costs. The levels of cover may vary depending on which cover option you choose. 

 You can navigate the site easily as you search for the best policy for your pet, with easy to use sliders that show how much cover you’ll get and then how much it will cost. This is all easily changeable if you alter your cover level options. You can then click forward to a quote that lets you pay monthly or annually.  

OPTIONAL EXTRAS 

That’s for the standard  cover most pet owners will need. Petsure also offer optional Dental Illness cover, Farewell cover, Missing Pet cover and Travel and Holiday cover that will of course alter the cost, but again, the option to chop and change until you’ve adjusted the insurance to your liking is very easy to navigate. 

Was Rupert OK?

Rupert is currently running round the garden absolutely fine. We managed to deal with it quickly and no long-term damage occurred. We are however, never buying grapes again.

The post Is Pet Insurance Really Worth the Money? appeared first on MoneyMagpie.