| You might think the most important bit of dog | | | | abdomen, groin, and inside of the legs. |
| health advice would be to let your furry | | | | Being close to the ground, they not only are |
| loved on spend all day enjoying the outdoors. | | | | affected by the downward sunlight, but also |
| But you'd only be half-right. | | | | by sun reflecting up from pavement or hot |
| | | | sand. |
| You know we must protect our children and | | | | |
| ourselves and from the sun. But do you know | | | | Some breeds, like Weimaraners and Boxers, are |
| that leading canine health experts now say | | | | predisposed to cancer. |
| that the most important dog health advice | | | | |
| they can give is to protect your dog from the | | | | Therefore, they must have extra protection |
| sun, too? | | | | from the sunburns and UV rays to avoid a kind |
| | | | of skin cancer. |
| Dog Health Advice: Identifying Dog Sunburn | | | | |
| | | | How you can protect your pets: |
| Like us humans, dogs need sunlight to help | | | | |
| balance their bodies' levels of calcium with | | | | Think about the precautions that you take to |
| their metabolism. | | | | prevent yourself from sunburn and UV |
| | | | exposure. You stay out of the sun at the |
| Yet too much ultraviolet radiation can | | | | peak hours like noon to 3PM, use sunblock and |
| irritate our dogs' skin as it does our own, | | | | cover up, don't you? Those same suggestions |
| causing sunburn. | | | | can work for your dog. |
| | | | |
| Identifying Dog Sunburn | | | | Here's more dog health advice: |
| | | | |
| Dog sunburn begins as redness and hair loss. | | | | Be sure that your dog is inside the house or |
| | | | in a shaded area during the sun's peak hours, |
| Where sunburn first appears | | | | even on overcast days. |
| | | | |
| - bridge of the nose | | | | Apply sunblock to the bridge of the dog's |
| | | | nose, ear tips and other small, sensitive |
| - tips of the ears | | | | areas whenever the dog is outside for more |
| | | | than a few minutes. |
| - belly | | | | |
| | | | Consider some sort of covering for your dog. |
| Dog Sunburn Dangers | | | | Some veterinarians say that the most |
| | | | important and effective protection is a type |
| - aggravates any existing skin problems | | | | of bodysuit for dogs, which is designed to |
| | | | block ultraviolet rays and prevent sunburn. |
| - skin ulcers (sores) | | | | |
| | | | Our dogs give us hours of pleasure and years |
| - infection | | | | of unconditional love. In return, all we |
| | | | must do is love and keep them healthy. |
| - cancer | | | | |
| | | | It's still good dog health advice to let your |
| Sunburn and Dog Breed | | | | dog play outdoors. But spare your "best |
| | | | friend" the pain of sunburn and its |
| Pale and short-hair dogs are particularly | | | | consequences. |
| prone to sunburn,usually on the nose, | | | | |