Summer is the season of having fun under the sun. It’s for long hot days spent outside, soaking in some rays, grilling on the barbecue and enjoying the company of your best four legged friend. For a lot of people, summer weather is a welcome relief to the melancholic gloom of autumn and winter. Feeling starved of sunlight, people are all too happy to spend extended periods of time outside under clear blue skies but often wind up with skin redder than a tomato and crispier than a potato chip. It’s easy to forget that too much of a good thing isn’t always healthy.

Just like people, dogs need to be properly protected from heat, dehydration, and sunlight. There are a vast number of tips out there about how to protect your pooch from the dangers of summer. We’ve consolidated the most important ones into an overview that will give any dog owner a strategy to enjoy summer alongside their pup.

When summer gets into full swing and the heat cranks up, it’s a good idea to pay a bit more attention to your dog and how they’re doing. A simple trick is to remember that whenever you’re feeling the effects of the sun, odds are your pup is feeling the heat too! If you grab a cold beverage to cool off or put on a hat for some shade, take a second to check in with your dog and see how they’re doing. More importantly, make sure they aren’t displaying any signs of heatstroke or dehydration.

Early symptoms of heatstroke aren’t necessarily huge blaring signals on their own, but combined, they can signify the beginning of something more serious. Ceaseless panting is a sign that your dog is trying to cool themselves down, and uncontrollable drooling is a sign of overexposure to heat. Dogs succumbing to heatstroke also often display rapid non-stop breathing and extreme lethargy. Sometimes they even have trouble keeping their balance. While many of these symptoms can be exhibited in day to day behavior, it’s up to pet owners to be familiar enough with their dogs know if these behaviors have stretched beyond ordinary levels.

Dehydration and heatstroke aren't necessarily fun topics so here's a puppy on a surfboard for a quick refreshing breath of cuteness.

Dehydration is another important peril to look out for. Some symptoms overlap with heatstroke, but symptoms unique to dehydration are dryness around the nose and gums, thick saliva, and a loss of skin elasticity. The easiest way to test this last symptom is to gently but firmly pinch the skin between the shoulder blades, lift it up and let it go. If it springs back into place quickly, all is well. However, if the skin slowly creeps back down onto your dog’s body, then that is cause for concern. If your dog is showing signs of either dehydration or heatstroke, it’s time to give your vet a call.

While some breeds (Australian Cattle Dogs, and Weimaraners to name a few) are naturally more at home in the harshness of summer weather, others can be acutely ill-affected. If your pooch is of the thick-furred or short-snouted variety they might be more prone to overheating. Despite their distinctly cute smoosh-faced quality, brachycephalic dogs, or short nosed dogs, have a harder time regulating body temperature than other breeds with longer noses. If you’ve got a bulldog, pug or any other dog with a smooshy face keep an extra sharp eye on them and make sure they get a bit of extra attention during the summer months.

Owners of long coated breeds, might think a seemingly logical solution for their extra furry friends might be to visit the groomer for a summer cut. However, this strategy can easily backfire. Your heart would be in the right place, but there are better ways to help (keep reading we’re almost there) and shaving down a dog’s coat can have unexpected negative repercussions. For one, they can get sunburned if they don’t have their full protective layer of fur. Another issue that arises for shaved dogs with double layered coats is that they might not regrow their outer coat in time for next winter. Dogs have a natural solution to this problem. While we might not love the blanket of fur they leave in their wake, shedding is a natural and healthy way for them to regulate their own body temperature. Taking a dunk in a pool every so often doesn't hurt either.

While certain breeds need some more specialized attention, there are a few rules that all responsible dog owners should know. A good number of these are intuitive and logical but reiterating the basics never hurts.

First of all, never leave your dog in the car alone. Even with the windows cracked, the car can become a sweltering heat box. This should go without saying and logic should explain why locking a dog in an oven-like car is a bad idea. However, letting them sit in style in your convertible? That's one cool pooch.

Another simple bit of logic is to make sure that your dog always has access to plenty of cool clean water. This holds true especially if you’re bringing your dog on an extended walk. Bring an extra water bottle and a portable dog bowl that you can put down for them in a pinch.

While it’s not necessarily intuitive, dogs might also need protection for their paws for outings. Often, asphalt, sand or other materials that soak up heat can damage the pads on your pooch’s paws. If a surface is too hot for you to walk on barefoot, it’s quite possibly too hot for your dog to walk on. One solution is protective dog boots. These help protect paws against the elements, hot or cold!

Another tip is to make sure that they always have access to shade. Dog houses might provide shade but they trap heat and can become more like ovens than igloos. If you’re looking to provide your dog with relief from the sun while outdoors, make sure they have access to shade more along the lines of a beach umbrella or a miniature pet bed canopy.

We’ve got a few more tricks to keep your dog cool so summer doesn’t turn into a bummer. A big chilled glass of lemonade is a classic beverage people turn to for relief on a blisteringly hot summer day. Dogs don’t mind having a cold treat to cool them down too. Homemade frozen treats are easy to make and enjoyable for your dog to eat. Recipes range from simple to elaborate. A basic treat would be freezing some dog healthy broths in an ice cube tray. More elaborate recipes include chopping up multiple ingredients (like your dog’s favorite fruits) blending them together, then freezing them in cute bone or paw shaped molds. The article 8 Homemade Frozen Dog Treats from The Dog People is a great jumping off point.

Making sure your dog gets healthy exercise during the hottest stretches of summer isn’t an easy task but it’s doable. One of the absolute best (and incidentally entertaining) ways to provide exercise opportunities for your dog while simultaneously cooling them off is to get an oscillating sprinkler. Not only is it incredibly cute to watch your pooch chomp on jets of water, but it helps cool them off too. Dogs don’t expel heat the way people do. Panting is their method of cooling their body temperature down, so taking a dip in a plastic wading pool or frolicking through a sprinkler allows them to utilize evaporative cooling (the same way that sweating cools people) as a means of lowering their body temperature.

Summer is a special time that is full of opportunities for outdoor fun like hiking, enjoying the park, days at the beach and more. Take advantage of the weather while it’s nice. Just remember to keep an eye out for your dog’s health so you can enjoy your summer safely and successfully with your best furiend in tow.