Vacations and Your Dog

Great, summer is here! I am sure that in most homes this thought probably causes a lot of positive feelings. Plans of all kinds are made and enjoyment is in the air.
Summer is typically synonym of relaxation, sun and beach, hikes, flowers and soft breeze and even perhaps traveling. All those give us a sense of freedom that we really enjoy, and that is fine. We make plans of all kinds with family and friends to go places and do things that fill us with pleasure. Perfect. But, if we are dog owners, how do we include our dogs in these plans?
We have repeatedly stated that a dog is part of the family; therefore, it is really important to stop and think about how are we going to include them in those plans and what other measures do we perhaps have to consider to make them also enjoy. Let’s use, for example, a trip to the beach. Beaches are beautiful, open spaces and the sea is the most magnificent way a person can refresh him or herself and relax. We carry our stuff, may it be food and refreshments, beach umbrellas and comfortable chairs to sit. If we have children, we make lists of things they need to play and enjoy. Again, do we consider taking our dogs and also bring with us what they may need to have a pleasurable trip?
Talking about trips…how do we plan for our dogs when we are considering traveling away from home? It is easy to just put them in a place where they will feed them and make sure they are safe, but do we ever consider what impact is the separation going to have in our dogs? Have we prepared them throughout their lives to not suffer while we are away? Are we familiar with what separation anxiety disorder is all about? Many dogs experience very painful effects when they imagine their owners are leaving them behind. The sense of abandonment can be very painful. It infuriates me to hear people react to this saying: “it is only a dog”. It is only a dog? What do they mean by this? They seem to forget animals have feelings, that very important thing that makes them special. Try to separate a baby form his parents. The normal reaction will be crying, right? I have never associated crying with anything positive, except when the classical emotional reaction to something really significant in the person’s life takes place. Crying is usually associated to a negative reaction to a painful situation. I have even learned that some wild animals, like elephants and rhinos, when raised by humans, have literally died when separated from them.
Dogs do not speak, so they cannot tell us what they are feeling. They also do not cry, so we cannot deduce their reaction by their tears. They seem to be stoic in that sense, but they are not. They do feel and we have to be very aware of this when thinking about our pleasure against their pain.
There are also considerations to keep in mind about what affects them and what does not when we take them with us to certain places and in certain temperatures. The reason for this is the danger of exposing our dogs to heatstroke, a condition that can be even potentially fatal. We have to remember that dogs do not sweat, so the way they try to cool down is by panting. Even this limits them often because there are times when panting does not dissipate heat fast enough for them. Knowing that when a dog’s temperature rises above 104 degrees and this is not due to fever, the dog is starting to be in danger is really important. All sorts of damage can take place if this happens, including the possibility of the dog going into a coma-like state or even dying.
Also important to know is how we can help our dogs to cool down, because we may do the wrong thing with the right intention. Dogs need to be cooled gradually and not just by hosing them or throwing them in the pool. Wet towels should be used initially when we think our dogs may be suffering from heatstroke or overheating. After this, gently mist them with water, provide a fan in front of which they can lay down or help them be able to lay on a cool surface. As soon as their temperature is back to 103 degrees, everything is back to normal and you can relax, but this cannot be done quickly or they can go into shock and organ failure.
The last consideration I would like to mention here is the one we have when exposing our dog to many other people it may not be familiar with and the way these know how to treat a dog, especially children who may incur in cruel acts because of ignorance.
Vacations should always be pleasurable to all, including our dogs. If we are careful in the decisions we make regarding our own enjoyment and also theirs, it will always be that time of year to look out for.