I wasn't quite sure where to post this, hopefully here is fine We decided to take our 7 1/2 month old black Lab to Cornwall with us instead of putting him in kennels (which I'm starting to think was a bad idea), and I've been reading all sorts of dos and don'ts. Should I put sun cream on him? Do I need to invest in dog booties for the beach/sea? And if anyone has any beach advice for a newbie dog owner I would be very grateful
I love going to the beach with Jax, and he loves it too. I only live about 15 mins away, so normally go on weekend mornings before it gets too hot. I have no idea about sun cream, so can't comment on that, but I personally wouldn't bother with booties. Having said that, our beaches here are sand beaches. Not sure if you have had him swimming or not yet, but when we get to the beach, he literally sprints to the waters edge waiting for me to throw the ball in for him. Great for fitness too. Jax is 9 months now and I haven't managed to train him yet not to bother others on the beach, he just wants to play with everyone and visit others who are trying to get some peace and quiet haha (my bad on the training front). So I tend to go when its quiet and we have the beach to ourselves and a handful of other walkers. Enjoy - sure almost all Labs enjoy the beach.
Thanks, and Leo is the same re- bothering people and other dogs. I figure I'll just have to keep him on his lead if we go in the day.
Sunscreen for dogs is quite a new 'thing' isn't it. That doesn't mean it's a bad thing of course. It is possible for dogs to get sunburnt but not common, as fur gives quite a bit of protection. But it wouldn't hurt to spray him or rub a little UV resistant cream on his nose. Make sure it's designed for dogs, what the licking etc! Probably, the biggest risk for a dog out in the hot sun all day, is probably heat stroke, so if the heat wave is still going strong when you are away, you'll need to think about how you are going to keep your dog cool. With the boots, beaches in the UK don't normally get hot enough to burn a dogs paws, but never say never, and the weather now isn't really normal Essentially, if your idea of fun is sunbathing on hot sand your dog might be better off with friends or in kennels. But if you are going to have lots of wooded walks or visit the beach in the early morning or evening when your dog can safely swim and play he'll have a brilliant time.
Because of our location, we normally have fresh water steams going into the ocean every 1/2 mile or so. We never took any thing special besides dog treats, a Chuck-it and a couple of tennis balls. I can't remember the sand ever being too hot for my feet, much less our dogs, and they spend a lot of time in the water anyway. I've never been to a beach in the UK, but even in the Summer it is seldom hot, and the water is always cold.
