A Pawfect Day Out | AD

Having three dogs can be a real handful at times but the Summer months are the perfect time of year for us to all enjoy some adventures together outside. 

UK Pet Insurance provider Petplan recently reached out to me to see if I would like to help them in raising more awareness around Pet Summer Safety. Coincidentally I already have my Dog Insurance with Petplan so this campaign felt like a perfect fit for both my fur baby family and my blog! I'm also a big advocate for pet safety in general so anything I can do to help to educate others on this subject is a good opportunity. 

Petplan have recently launched an online Summer Safety Hub which provides all of the information you need to keep your pets safe during the warmer months. It contains a whole wealth of useful information from how to tell if a pavement is too hot to walk your dog and even what BBQ food is safe for your pets to snack on! 

There is nothing I love more than being outside with my dogs during the warmer weather, however it does also come with its concerns and we always have to ensure that we have packed supplies with us before setting out on any adventure.

A Day At The Beach

There is nothing my dogs love more than running free on a beach! Our beach of choice is always Frinton on Sea in Essex as it has the most beautiful sand and is always immaculately clean. It’s a very popular dog walking spot and my little ones absolutely love having the opportunity to play and mix with other doggies too. 

A Summer Staycation

One of our favourite things to do in the Summer is to enjoy a mini break getaway somewhere in the UK with our dogs. We hate leaving our dogs behind when we go away so taking them with us always feels like a special treat for both us and them. We generally find dog friendly hotels or holiday rentals and make sure they have suitable outdoor space for the dogs. They absolutely love the adventure of staying somewhere different and being able to explore with us. They’ve even been glamping with us before which was a really fun experience!

A Walk In The Countryside 

My dogs are pretty lucky in that we have beautiful countryside right on our doorstep but we do have some favourite spots that we like to save for when we have particularly good weather. One of our regular favourite areas is the National Trust's Hatfield Forest. The wooded areas provide us with perfect shade on a hot day and there's lots of dog water bowls dotted around which we always appreciate. 

Cooling Off In The Garden

We like to make sure we have a small paddling pool for the dogs to have access to during the Summer months. My dogs aren’t massively keen on going in water but they definitely appreciate it when the weather is hot. It’s so funny watching them zoom around the garden after to dry off! They always become so playful when they’re wet. 

A Pawsome Play Date 

My three love nothing more than getting together with their best pals for a play date. My Mum has two dogs and when they all get together you can see the smiles on their faces! What’s better than hanging out with your friends in the sun!? 

Staying In Can Be Fun Too

When the weather has been extremely hot and we’ve experienced the UK heatwaves we often tend to just stay inside in front of a fan. I make sure our blinds are down and windows closed to make the house as cool as possible. On days like this we usually don’t venture outside until the evening and once the sun has gone down as it’s too hot for all of us. We’ll still entertain the dogs though with games of fetch indoors and of course lots of cuddles and treats! 

Top Summer Safety Tips For Dogs 

Always take a big bottle of water and a bowl. Keeping dogs hydrated in hot weather is so important and helps to keep them cool.

Test the ground before setting off by placing your hand on the pavement. If it’s too hot for you it’s also too hot for your dog.

Make sure you have access to shade.

Avoid midday sun 12-3pm when it’s the hottest. 

Never leave your dog unattended in the car and always make sure when travelling that the air con is on or windows are down. We also ensure our dogs are safe by strapping them in with their dog car seat belts. 

I’m hoping we still have a few warmer days left of 2019 so that we get to enjoy more days out with our dogs. I'm also really not looking forward to the muddy dog walks which always result in a bath when we get home! Having a dog certainly makes you appreciate the dry seasons a lot more than ever before. 

What would your dogs 'pawfect' day out look like? 

This post was created in conjunction with PetPlan but all thoughts are my own.