How to keep your pets safe during the heatwave

A dog walker from Wolverhampton has offered expert advice on how to keep your pets cool during the heatwave, and has warned of potentially life-threatening signs to look out for.

Clair Igoe runs Waggly Walks, a dog walking business covering Bilston, Wednesbury and the surrounding areas.

She spoke to BBC Radio WM about walking dogs during the heatwave, saying: "Its just a question of getting up early at 6, 7 o'clock, get out. Once it gets to 24 degrees, we stop walking. It's home visits from that point on [and] letting customers' dogs out in the garden."

The Met Office has put in place a red weather warning for extreme heat on parts of the Midlands until 23:59 on Thursday.

Igoe, who is canine first aid trained, spoke about the concerns her customers have about their pets in hot weather, but warned of a potentially life-threatening condition to look out for.

She added: "So a lot of people think about the obvious things like burning their paws which is obviously awful. But the more dangerous and potentially fatal thing is heatstroke because when you see the signs, sadly you've got a matter of a few minutes and sadly it could be too late."

Signs of heatstroke in dogs include confusion or disorientation, dehydration, and in some cases when severe, they may potentially collapse.

Lauren Bennett, dog welfare expert at the RSPCA, said: "Contrary to popular belief, cold water rarely causes shock in over-heating dogs - dousing or immersing the over-heated dog in cold water is vital to their recovery."

As for top tips on how to keep your dog cool, Igoe had the following advice.

"If they have to go out, people will leave things like frozen peanut butter, frozen yoghurt... which I see when I do my visits. Ice cubes in a bowl, things like that to cool them down and make things more comfortable."

Emily Shearwood from Evesham Dogs Trust told the BBC: "For any dog, these temperatures are dangerous. We're advising not to walk your dogs. It's just not worth the risk."

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