This month, the hottest day of the year so far was recorded in the UK on July 19, leaving the country sweltering.
If you deal with the heat by heading out somewhere cooler, and can’t take your dog with you, it can be tempting to leave your much-loved pooch shut in the conservatory. And that can seem preferable to leaving your pet in the main part of your house. But, in fact, it could potentially be just as risky as leaving your animal in the car.
If you think about it, in prolonged and severe heat, your conservatory can act like a greenhouse, so that it becomes a gorgeously warm suntrap for humans but unbearably hot for pets, especially if they are kept there for a lengthy spell.
In fact, on a sunny day a conservatory is one of the worst places to leave your pooch. Even if it’s not sunny, but warm and humid, a dog will really feel the heat, and a conservatory can get hot quite quickly. In high humidity, a dog is less able to cool themselves than a human being.
Even leaving your furry friend with water and an open window (also compromising security) isn’t ideal. However, if you really have to, try and make sure you don’t do this for very long, and that it’s not the absolute height of a heatwave. Put a couple of ice cubes in your dog’s drinking bowl, and encourage them to lie on cool floor tiles if you have them, away from the glass.
Last year, the RSPCA dealt with 8,779 reports of dogs suffering from over exposure to heat, so it’s a very common problem.
All species can be affected by the heat, with darker animals absorbing heat more and paler ones being more susceptible to sunburn. Longer-haired canines as well, can feel the hotter temperatures more keenly.
Because dogs mainly sweat through their feet, even fans aren’t much help. (Dog cooling mats tend to work better.)
Clearly, this is a great time of year to enjoy your conservatory and heatwaves rarely last very long in the UK. Just be aware that leaving a dog in a very hot conservatory for any length of time can be, at best, uncomfortable, at worst, it could make your beloved pet seriously ill.