Latest news with #dogOwners
BBC News
29-06-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
How to keep your dog safe in a heatwave
As a guide dog handler of 26 years, my heart falls every time I hear the fatigued pants of dogs in heatwave welfare charity the RSPCA says that dogs are 10 times more likely to suffer heat-related illnesses from exercising in hot weather than from overheating in cars. Both are tremendously bad for your is because canines have a very limited ability to regulate their do not sweat like humans – only perspiring a small amount through the pads on their paws, with their often thick fur coats meaning their core temperature can rise quickly in high temperatures. Heavy panting, difficulty breathing, excessive drooling, lethargy and drowsiness are all key signs that your dog is too extreme cases, dogs vomit and finally lose consciousness. If your dog is in trouble, the RSPCA says you should move the dog to a shaded and cool area and immediately pour cool, but not very cold, water over the dog, avoiding their head. The charity says wet towels should not be placed over the animal because it could cause heat to become trapped. If possible , allow the dog to drink small amounts of cool water and continue to pour cool water over them, but not so much that they begin to shiver. When breathing settles, head straight to the plea to dog owners is not to walk or exercise your dog in hot weather. Please understand that this is not fear-mongering. Your dog can overheat in moments and it is totally avoidable in most cases. How to sleep in the heatWhen is a heatwave 'really' a heatwave?What are the heat exhaustion and heatstroke symptoms?How to keep your home cool in hot weather It struck me as unbelievable frankly this weekend that while I, as a blind person was being sighted guided by my girlfriend in 30C (86F) weather because it was too hot for my working dog to be out, we passed nearly a dozen dog walkers obliviously walking their best friends into danger at around 1pm.I know not everyone is an experienced dog handler – but I can't begin to imagine how anyone could fail to notice the obvious discomfort, the heavy panting, the foot-dragging and laboured breathing in direct sunlight that had us reaching for our iced-water bottles. So what can we do to protect our animals in hot weather?For starters, when the mercury hits 20C, I place the back of my hand on the pavement to check I can comfortably keep it there. It's a great indicator that your dog's pads will be ok too. I always pack a folding water travel bowl and carry chilled or iced water. In addition, when the temperature hits 24C or above, I start asking whether it's safe to be out at all and usually decide at 25C and above that it's too hot to walk my dog more than a few feet from my front door to an air-conditioned what about exercise?Your dog needs life more than it needs a walk. On super-hot days, keep your dog indoors and ideally air-conditioned or in a cool room with a dog will be fine without a walk for a few days but you could provide playtime at home by throwing a toy. If you are planning to walk your dog, do it in the very early morning or very late evenings. If you walk your dog in extreme heat you are literally putting their lives at risk. They're too important – keep them safe, cool and reporting by Molly Stazicker.
The Independent
20-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- The Independent
Help… I can't stop ‘heatwave shopping' at night!
We're plum in the middle of a British summer heatwave – that blissful time when my overseas friends briefly stop complaining about the cold and recline, lizard-like, in contentment. As a redhead, this is not my time to shine. I should really be hiding in a cave for the duration. Yet while I'm prepared for the sheer stickiness of it all, and the temperatures, I'd forgotten the deathly combination of late-night sleeplessness and heat-induced shopping delirium. As the heatwave began on Wednesday, I headed home to pass out in the muggy heat of my south London bedroom. Instead, by half-midnight and for the next two hours, I was scrolling the internet. On Thursday morning, I discovered that I had bought two balls for the dog, a cotton shirt for myself, and a diaphanous white dress from John Lewis that looked like an audition costume for Star Wars. The screenwriter Mollie Goodfellow, similarly compelled to while away her sleepless hours by online shopping, had bought 'a vintage bomber jacket for an American country club I've never been to'. Here's the important thing: mad heatwave shopping is not about sensible things like portable air con or linen clothing. It's doing what one friend did and buying £150 of smoked fish on the basis that 'we won't be able to eat hot food for months'. It's the friend who opened her door one month later to take delivery of a three-foot-long stuffed panda, at which point the completely forgotten memory of ordering it pinged back to life. Another has simply come to terms with the fact that she will end up wallpapering in summer, as she ends up ordering rolls of it in the middle of the night every time. And for sheer tombola value, credit to my friend who has bought 'secateurs, running sunglasses, vermouth and a leaf blower.' (All of these are real, by the way. If they were made up, they'd all be something sensible but unreachably out-of-stock, like tower fans.) It's not the same as parasomnia, the disruptive umbrella sleep disorder, which can see people genuinely shopping while they are asleep. It's more that the stifling heat and the usual small hours weirdness combine to seemingly short-circuit your brain into buying the oddest things. If you're adding hormones on top, whether pregnancy, post-partum, or perimenopause, things can get even spicier. My friend Grace has form with small-hours shopping anyway, especially as the parent of a small baby, but her heatwave purchase of '200 superglues at 3am' is a personal best: 'I still to this day don't know what I had planned for them,' she said. Grace is usually my benchmark for insane shopping stories, but in heatwave terms, she is easily trounced by the comedian Liz Johnson: 'I once bought a horse, unseen, from Ireland. I regretted my decision when I had to collect it from a service station on the M6 at the crack of dawn two weeks later.' Fortunately, Liz is a vet by day, so her impulse purchase was at least in good hands. When I impulsively bought a horse, sight unseen off the internet – as if this is a common occurrence! – I didn't have a heatwave I could blame. While riding in 2019, I got a concussion. The next day, I bought a horse on Facebook. It was only while booking the transport that I came to my senses. It took me a month and some very strongly worded solicitors' letters to get my money back – and I am happy to say that the horse, very much the injured party in all this, soon found a very capable and non-concussed home. With that in mind, I wish you a very happy heatwave, and suggest those of us prone to small hours scrolling lock our phones away overnight until at least Monday, when the weather, in south London at least, should plummet to a sanity-restoring 23C.
Yahoo
09-06-2025
- Yahoo
New Orleans police officer to face jury trial for shooting puppy
A New Orleans police officer who fatally shot a puppy while responding to a call is set to face a jury trial Monday in federal court after being sued by the dog's owners.
CBS News
30-05-2025
- General
- CBS News
San Francisco dog owners urged to stay alert amid coyote pupping season
It's coyote pupping season, and this is the time of year people may encounter more confrontations with them. Those at Golden Gate Park recently noticed park rangers educating dog owners about an incident over the past weekend. Howling coyotes at Golden Gate Park near Lindley Meadows, a popular spot where dog owners walk and play with their pups. Brandon Hartstein and his dog Oden encountered a pack of coyotes in the area about a year ago. "We were walking on a trail that's not too popular and all of a sudden, three coyotes just appeared and started kind of stalking us," said Hartstein. Similar stories of coyote encounters are surfacing this year. Lauren Roche watched her dog get chased by coyotes. "She was running along the grassy area and I was running in the path that doesn't have cars, and there were two coyotes that started chasing after her," said Roche. "And I look over, wow, they're going so fast, and it was two coyotes chasing after her. Luckily, she was fast enough to outrun them, and I called her back over and they ended up going away." Signs like these are posted in Golden Gate Park to warn people about these potential run-ins with coyotes. Experts say coyotes are just protective during pupping season and are not displaying unprovoked aggression. They say the best thing to do is to shorten the leash and walk in the other direction. Something Hartstein tried to do. "We kept on walking away," said Hartstein. "I was making loud sounds trying to scare them off, and eventually we started running. Luckily, a biker came by and I flagged him down and he helped to chase them off." Some dog owners have noticed coyotes getting bolder and becoming used to humans in their territory. They say with these canines all over the Bay Area, the key is to limit conflicts and coexist with each other. "I just kind of try to adjust my way of living because it's part of where they live," said Roche. "I wouldn't have to adjust for someone coming into my home."
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Yahoo
Police warning after illegal snares found at popular Pembrokeshire walking trail
Police are investigating after illegal snares have been found at a popular Pembrokeshire walking trail. The snares were discovered near a footpath in the Fishguard area and are believed to be targeting badgers who have setts in the vicinity. Snares have been illegal in Wales since 2023. (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police) Dog owners and walkers are being warned to be vigilant. Dyfed-Powys Police's Rural Crime Team has issued the warning. Officers posted that the snares were placed on the badger trails/setts in the Fishguard by-pass picnic area, and have reminded that snare use has been illegal in Wales since October 2023. The Fishguard by-pass picnic area, where the snares were found. (Image: Dyfed-Powys Police) Officers added: 'They were placed near a footpath posing a serious risk to dogs.' The Rural Crime Team is now appealing for information from any witnesses and they can be contacted on 101.
