Are you planning a trip to Arizona with a dog? I’ve seen a lot of posts with great info about Arizona (especially with the upcoming BlogPaws Conference), but as an Arizona native, there are a few things that I’d like to share that will make your visit to the Grand Canyon state better for you and your pet.
Summer in Arizona
It does cool down at night…to a lovely 85+ degrees Fahrenheit. By June, we will be in the beginning of our monsoon season, so there is added chance of humidity (and maybe even a storm). If you plan on walking your dog outside on sidewalks, rocks, or ANY hard surface. You will need to provide them with THICK soled shoes.
This is a picture of a friend’s dog who ended up with third degree burns from walking on dirt in MAY. She sent me this picture after he already had received veterinary care which included oral antibiotic, antibiotic ointment, and paw wraps. You can see the burned edges around the blister on his pad.
Any hard surface heats up fast and retains the heat here, so make sure your dogs are wearing shoes!
The Best Shoes for Your Dogs for a visit to Arizona
You can buy quality shoes at most pet stores or Amazon. There are a lot of different choices when it comes to dog booties, but the best ones for an Arizona summer have thick, hard soles. I like the sandal-designs for the breathability, however those seem to come in more limited sizes. I recently ordered the following shoes, and I loved how easy they were to put on (as well as how well they stayed on):
If you need more help with dog shoes for an Arizona summer, I’d be happy to answer questions in the comments.
Even once it is dark, the hard surfaces oftentimes retain the heat for HOURS. It is best to apply the shoes rule until at least 9:30pm. If you’re not sure, hold your hand against the ground for at least 10 seconds to check the heat. When I work on commercials this time of year, American Humane Reps check the temps of the sidewalks in 5 to 10 minute intervals even in the shade and when they are being wet down by the crew. Our heat can be intense!
Training Your Dog to Wear Shoes
Training your dog to wear shoes is as much about the motivator as it is about the behavior. Know your dog…does he prefer treats, toys, or praise? When introducing your dog to shoes, apply the highest motivator for your dog. Some dogs will progress quickly, others will need more time. For dogs that are hesitant to move, you can reward them by removing the shoes after tiny steps (such as the dog at the end of this video). For sensitive dogs, it can also be beneficial to let them wear the shoes (with supervision only) around the house with no planned outings or pressure to use the shoes….similar to harness-training a puppy. If you’re having trouble training your dog to wear shoes, feel free to ask me questions in the comments!
Keep Your Pet Cool When Visiting AZ in the Summer
If you have a dog with a short nose (or fuller figure), be extra careful of the heat as they can overheat more easily. If you can manage packing one more thing for your trip to Arizona, it might not be a bad idea to pack a bag for ice or a reusable ice bag of some sort.
In the event that your dog (or someone else’s) is exhibiting signs of overheating, Dr. Jill Patt of Little Critters Veterinary Hospital in Gilbert, Arizona recommends using ice packs along the trunk area of the dog and rubbing alcohol (for it’s evaporative cooling effects) on the dog’s feet to try and stabilize them while on the way to a veterinary professional.
Dr. Patt stresses that by the time dogs show signs of over-heating it is often already critical. “We have to monitor heat safety for the pet and stop strenuous activity early when hot.”
Also, contrary to popular belief, a thick coat does not keep your dog cool. If your dog has a thick coat, you can pre-treat their coat with water or a cooling jacket to aid with evaporative cooling.
You can also take a drive through Dairy Queen for a cool treat for you AND your pup…check it out here!
Staying Hydrated While Visiting Arizona in the Summer
Don’t just drink water! Water intoxication is a real problem here, as the desert reminds you to stay hydrated…however, if you do not eat or balance your (and your dog’s) electrolytes in some other way, you CAN end up hospitalized. I have a post on water intoxication here.
Ideas to Keep Your Dog Entertained when Visiting AZ in the Summer
A big concern people have when visiting Arizona in the summer, is how to keep their dog entertained. Remember, a mentally tired dog can (and will) relax sooner than a physically tired dog. Those of us who endure the heat of an Arizona summer year after year use those months as an opportunity to train our dogs new tricks. There is a LOT you can do inside ranging from fun parlor tricks (like a hold and carry) to simple body awareness and strength training exercises (such as the ones done on balance discs). Need some ideas? Check out this video of our dog Popeye performing some of his puppy tricks:
Valley Fever – What You NEED to Know Before Visiting a Southwestern State
Valley Fever is caused by a fungus that lives in the desert soil of low desert regions including Arizona, New Mexico, southwestern Texas, and the central deserts of California.
From the University of Arizona:
The fungus grows in the soil and matures, drying into fragile strands of cells. The strands are very delicate, and when the soil is disturbed – by digging, walking, construction, high winds – the strands break apart into tiny individual spores called arthroconidia or arthrospores. Dogs and people acquire Valley Fever by inhaling these fungal spores in the dust raised by the disturbance. The dog may inhale only a few spores or many hundreds.
Once inhaled, the spores grow into spherules(parasitic cycle) which continue to enlarge until they burst, releasing hundreds of endospores. Each endospore can grow into a new spherule, spreading the infection in the lungs until the dog’s immune system surrounds and destroys it. The sickness Valley Fever occurs when the immune system does not kill the spherules and endospores quickly and they continue to spread in the lungs and sometimes throughout the animal’s body.
About 70% of dogs who inhale Valley Fever spores control the infection and do not become sick. These dogs are asymptomatic. The remainder develop disease, which can range from very mild to severe and occasionally fatal.
The most common early symptoms of Valley Fever in dogs are:
- coughing
- fever
- weight loss
- lack of appetite
- lack of energy
- intermittent or persistent lameness
DON’T PANIC! I have lived in Arizona my entire life (with dogs), and only have two dogs who have contracted Valley Fever. Both times it was easily diagnosed and treated, and both dogs are alive and well today. If you know your dog, and know their normal behavior, this is not a dangerous disease. I only mention it, because many veterinarians would not think to perform this blood test if your dog normally lives in a state that does not have this fungus.
Now that you know how to visit Arizona with your dog (safely), have fun, and enjoy all that the Grand Canyon state has to offer!
What an absolutely amazing, informative post with information I can use RIGHT now! Let’s just hope the shoes arrive with 2 day shipping! Thank you so much!
Wow! Thank you so much Denise! Amazon is typically great about fast delivery (which is part of the reason I use them for my orders too). I’ve had requests for a Part II to this article, and I’m thankful that everyone is enjoying it so much!
That is great! I’m definitely up for a part 2 as well! We are Amazon prime members and I chose the style based on their 2 day shipping…. alas they didn’t arrive today and I received a weird message they may not arrive until the 21st. But we will already be on our way to AZ. We’ve got 2 more days to have them arrive…. Figures most of the time stuff arrives WELL BEFORE it’s scheduled date… Fingers and paws crossed!
Those are some great tips! I lived in Tucson for 6 years and remember my friends dog getting burns on his pads. I’m taking Stetson with me to BlogPaws and I plan on getting him some dog booties for the trip. I’m going to try and keep him indoors for the majority of the trip especially since I saw temperatures close to 120 degrees next week. YIKES!
Great information. When I lived there for five years I just knew I had to practice caution — just as I would in NY when it was brutally hot. Great reminders and love the video on getting your dogs to wear booties — Henrietta absolutely refuses, thankfully she is tiny so gets carried a lot!
What an informative post! As a pug owner I’m alway concerned about the weather. These tips are not only specific to Arizona but anywhere and anytime the temps rise. Mind you, I’ve not heard of Valley Fever before!
I wish everyone a safe and great time at the BlogPaws conference. I wanted so much to attend this year – of course Miss Edie would have to stay home 🙁 not only because of the weather but because of the length of the flight from Canada.
Maybe next year I’ll get a chance to meet up with my fellow bloggers!
Excellent, excellent post! This is such important information to have if you’re bringing a dog to Arizona, especially during Summer. I moved to Phoenix almost 10 years ago and although I had traveled there on business several times during Summer, I was completely unprepared for the intensity of the Summer heat. It can be quite shocking for those of us from cooler states who are used to Summer being our prime time for outdoor activities with the dog. It’s kind of the opposite in Phoenix, we stay indoors much of the time during the intense Summer heat. I love your egg videos, I’ve always wanted to do that in Phoenix!! I knew it would cook, LOL! See you at BlogPaws2016!
Love & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
I’m not much of a hot weather person, so I don’t think I’d ever visit Arizona in the summer, lol… but great information for those who are!
Great, informative, post! Sadly Kilo the pug won’t be joining us in Arizona, but these heat safety tips are fantastic for the summer months here in Canada! As a brachycephalic breed, Kilo’s cute squishy face makes it harder for him to dissipate heat like longer nosed breeds, so we always take extra care on sunny days. Those egg videos are amazing! I just had a chat with someone recently about how hot it has to be to cook food on the pavement! Boiling! Thank you for the info on Valley Fever, wouldn’t have thought to order specific bloodwork. Wish you the very best!
Excellent and potentially life saving information and advice. Thanks so much for posting this!
Glad you added the bit at the end about not panicking! Yikes!
I won’t have my dogs at BlogPaws, but I know many will. Hope everybody stays cool and properly hydrated. (Shoot, I hope *I* stay cool and properly hydrated.)
Thanks for this post. See you next week!
Great post and very informative! It could literally save some paws and even lives! I know living in the South we are hitting some heavy temps and we have such high humidity that it is hard to be outside. Heat indexes have been in triple digits the last few days. But, we have never saw temps like you have there eek!
Ouch! It’s quite scary how quickly those sensitive little pads can burn. I hope your friends dog has recovered from the injury. Thank you for this much needed reminder and the additional information.
Great post! I’m used to the heat and humidity in the deep South, but not the high temperatures in Arizona.
I plan on bringing Mr. N’s cooling coat and keeping him indoors as much as possible.
These are wonderful tips, living in New York state, I’m not used to hot weather like that, and didn’t know a lot of these things.
This was a really great post. We are not bringing Ruby with us, but my 10 year old daughter and husband are coming. We are going to be looking for fun indoor activities for them while I am at the conference. The Phoenix Children’s Museum looks great.
It’s not indoors, but Wet N Wild is a really great waterpark for her age. The Children’s Museum is also nice, as is the Musical Instrument Museum. Hope they have fun and stay cool!
The Arizona Science Center is also a lot of fun for kids!
This is great information, thanks!! I have a slightly different piece on the same topic, would love for you to add this post to my comments so people can get this great info too after reading mine. http://naturalpaws.net/summersafety/
Hi!
Planning to go to Arizona with my dog the last week of September. How is the weather there at that time?
Thank you!
Hi Jen! September can still be really warm in Arizona, however, that is also when our lows start dropping. You can expect nice, cool mornings of around 70 degrees F, but highs will still reach anywhere from the mid 90’s to low 100’s. I hope you enjoy your visit!