x
Breaking News
More () »

Hot Dogs: Keeping your pets' paws out of the heat

How 100 degree temperatures pose a threat to your pets' paws.

WACO, Texas — Texas heat is no joke. It's even tougher on your furry friends.

With temperatures north of 100 degrees seemingly everyday, there is a serious concern about pets walking on the hot ground.

"If you're not aware of it, your dog might have some unusual characteristics and might start kind of dancing on it a little bit trying to keep his paws off of it," Humane Society of Central Texas Communications Director Mike Gray said. "You know, the dog could turn, its behavior could alter you know. It could be hurting so bad that it might try to turn around and bite you to try to get away. Worst case, it could literally like get burned to where you have to take your dog to the vet."

There's been images of dogs with burned paws circulating the internet which has sparked some awareness. Some local pet owners are taking the necessary precautions to deal with the heat.

Credit: Darron Wallace
Pets can burn their paws walking outside on hot pavement

"They have one of those kiddie pools where they like run through and stuff and then we water the grass and we have trees so they just run along the edge with the trees," Shelby Hancock, owner of three dogs said. "But yeah, we don't like to leave them outside because it's way too hot for that."

Walking at cooler times of the day and walking in shaded areas are some precautions people can take but Gray suggests more options to avoid a trip to the vet.

"Those little shoes little doggy booties shoes can get formed work great," Gray says. "Some dogs war them better than others, but they're, you know, simply put them on they'll come around and they can walk on those and it's not going to burn their paws. I know we're under water restrictions right now. But what you can do is you know if your dogs are playing in the backyard or whatever or you have artificial turf, if you just hose it down, it'll cool that turf down about 14 degrees in there. They can play on it and not burn their paws."

RELATED: Yes, hot weather can damage asphalt runways

RELATED: This dog's pads burned off while on walk in summer heat

Before You Leave, Check This Out