Yes, Your Dog Can Get Sunburned. Here’s What to Know

If you want to be good in the good summer, make sure that it holds the balls instead of the rays. Dogs can get sunburn as people warn, and sometimes it becomes an emergency.

“Especially during the hot summer months, we see a group of pets that come with sunburn,” says Veg Anheim Hills, who provides veterinary sponsorships in emergency. “We think about people who get the skin, and then with our pets, we think,” Oh, they have fur, and they like to be outside. “Most pet owners” do not realize the potential risks of sunburn and the intensity through which they can try them. “

We have asked the veterinarians exactly about how to know if your dog is burning from sunlight, what you do about it, and how to prevent sun damage in the future.

Signs of sunburn in dogs

The dog’s fur provides some compact protection against UV rays. But all breeds are vulnerable to sunburn – lighter weight or thinner fur, and the higher the danger. Strains with short hair such as bulls, drilling, dlamcion, boxers, salukia, and obedience to combustion in particular, as well as fangs that are not pricing such as American hair hole and Chinese dog.

Cliff Redford, owner and director of the Wellington Veterinary Hospital in Ontario, often sees sunburn in dogs that have been shaved – either because of surgery, because her fur was full, or for another reason. “It seems as if someone had a haircut, and suddenly, the back of his neck is burning because they moved from the mullet” to much shorter, they do not consider that change means more sunlight.

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Some sites are likely to be burned on the dog: the bridge of the nose, abdomen and thigh (a danger of sunbathing upside down), and anywhere else without much fur, such as the area around the lips. “The biggest of which I see is the tip of the ears,” says Villanueva. “They can burn badly because the ears do not get a good blood flow, and do not have a lot of hair, which is a thin piece of skin.”

Sunburn looks the same whether you have legs or four. When ultraviolet rays from the sun harm the top layer of skin cells, it causes redness, heat and pain. If on the most moderate side, the dog’s skin will turn pink; The more red, the worse. Over time, the burning may become dry and scale, and you may see your dog scratch it or chew on it, because it can become itching, says Villanueva.

Meanwhile, the most dangerous burns are usually darker red, and may develop blisters or begin to stimulate the pillar – both signs that need to take your dog to the veterinarian. “If you see the skin turns red or dark purple, it is liquid and unwilling to wake up, or run fever, these are signs of severe sunburn,” says Villanueva. “If they show signs of severe pain” – such as screaming when you or combing pets – “we want to look at them immediately.”

Burns that require emergency care really tend to harm. “Imagine that you are getting burned at your hands,” she says. “It is an open wound, and it is very painful. It is like a sore, so we want to realize that they do not touch them in those areas.”

Treat options

If your dog has moderate sunburn, you can usually handle treatment at home. Place a cold cloth, moist over the affected area, or rub a thin layer of pure aloe. “Look at the ingredient’s label, and make sure that it contains aloe only, and nothing you don’t know,” says Colin Gilvoel, the vet with the best animal community friends.

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When Villanueva treats northern burns dogs, usually begins to evaluate the affected area and then start them in pain medications. If there is a lot of pus, she and her team clean the wound and disinfect it properly, and they may apply a topical ointment to reduce inflammation. Some dogs need the fourth antibiotics. Sunburn also increases the risk of dehydration, which can be dangerous on its own. “If we can see clearly that they are dried, we may have to deliver it to the hospital on IV fluids to help moisturize them, and get some electrolytes,” she says.

Even in severe cases, sunburn usually heals within a week or two. Sometimes, dogs have to wear a shirt or collar Elizabethan (known as the dreaded shame cone) to ensure that they do not lick their burns, as Villanueva adds.

How to protect your dog

As in humans, sunburn can lead to skin cancer in dogs. About half of the skin cancer treated every year is linked to burns. He says: “Every time there is a cell damage, even if it does not cause burning, it takes you to the veterinary clinic, there is little risk but not zero of skin cancer,” although most diagnoses are caused by repeated burns.

Early detection of skin cancer makes a big difference, so be aware of signs such as masses or unusual bumps, slow healing sores, or changes in the appearance of moles. “If you arrest him early, it will have a very high treatment rate,” Redford says. He once treated Baggal 14 -year -old and had a golf ball tumor on the edge of his lips. He says, “We have successfully removed all of this.” “I just got a little plastic surgery.”

However, it is necessary to make sunburn priority. Here are the steps that must be taken:

Bring your dog inside

Redford recommends limiting the time of your dog outside – at least in direct sunlight – in getting the hotter part of the day, which ranges from 10 am to 3 pm

Sunfed application on your dog

Anytime you dismantle sunscreen on yourself, place a safe brand on the dog as well. This is true: The sunscreen is present and available in most pet stores. (Do not use the human sun eyebrow, warns Redford: Many varieties include ingredients such as zinc oxide and salicils that can be toxic to dogs.) The dog version is manufactured with ingredients such as titanium dioxide, benzovinone, oxenox, and aminobinzoic acid, which provides protection without shattering the skin. It should be applied to high -risk spots without any fur, such as the nose bridge, ears tips, thigh area, abdomen, and skin surrounding the lips of the dog, as well as areas with very high hair, where you can easily see the skin.

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An exciting sunscreen comes in painkillers, preparations, sprays, and the American dog club Advice Apply it 20 minutes before the dog exit. “The best wash, mostly because people realize how to apply it – it is a similar consistency of what I will use and I am, so there is a little better control in determining the amount you put on,” says Redford. He found a sunscreen that does not bother his four -legged customers. “Unless you have a singer dog, they generally believe it is not a big problem,” he says.

“What I recommend is to apply it and then pay their attention for 5 minutes – I may play with them, get a game, and feed them.” In this way, he says, sunscreen can be absorbed into the skin without your dog’s attempt to hand. Most of the products are designed so that you do not need to wash them at the end of the day, but if you want to remove them, you only need to run a moist towel on the areas where you apply sunscreen.