Sunny Days - Protecting Your Pet

It's not just us that are vulnerable to the sun's rays, our pets are too! Plenty of information is advertised about protecting ourselves when the weather warms up, but many tend to forget that our animals also need protecting too. And with the weather set to heat up this bank holiday weekend, it's worth remembering there are products available for your pets and plenty of tips to keep them cool.

Pets at Home kindly sent me some of their latest sun products for dogs to test and so before taking my friend's dog Penny out for a walk, I thought I'd give them a go!

Penny is a 7-year-old lurcher. She is a short-haired, light-coloured dog and so the sun's rays can filter through the hair to the skin. It's worthwhile remembering that dogs can burn on other parts of their body including their muzzle, ears, nose and any other pink areas that are at risk from the sun.

First were the doggy sunwipes. With a SPF of 15, all I had to do was simply run the wipe over Penny to give her instant protection. What was great about these was that they were really convenient and it didn't take two seconds to wipe Penny's ears and muzzle. There are 20 wipes in a packet, so these will last a good couple of weeks during the summer too.

Next up was the doggy sunmist. This can be used on both grown dogs and puppies and has a nice smell of vanilla coconut too. This is a fast way of applying suncream to your dog and helps you to give them complete protection. What was good about this product is that when you spray this on your pet, it's just like our suncream because you can see where it has been applied and then it disappears once it is rubbed in. I also liked that it was not too greasy and so didn't leave much residue on my hands.

Lastly, I used the doggy sun stick. Penny was very patient while I applied this, but I can understand that some dogs may not like it because when applying it to their face you have to get quite close. I used this on Penny's nose because this is an area that is always exposed to the sun when we are out walking. This is quite a handy product too, because you can easily fit it in your pocket, so when out and about the suncream can be topped up.

In warm weather our animals' body size can make them more susceptible to heat stroke, so it is hard to tell how warm your pet is because of their fur coat. Some of the signs of heat stroke include: lethargy, drooling, lack of coordination, vomiting, diarrhoea and rapid shallow breathing.

Some top tips for looking after your pet in warm weather:

• Even if it's just for a few minutes, never leave your dog in a car alone. Although the windows may be open, temperatures can soar in minutes and can cause heatstroke. 

In June 2011, two Met police dogs were left inside a baking car for six hours. This was one of the hottest days of 2011, when temperatures outside the car reached 29 degrees (84 farenheit). Both of the dogs: Chay a bomb detection dog and Tilly a five-month-old Alsatian puppy died despite being rescued and taken to an emergency vet.

• Ensure your pet is not kept in direct sunlight. This is especially relevant for small animals that live in outside hutches, such as rabbits and guinea-pigs and even birds kept in cages, because many simply wouldn't think that they would get hot when placed near a window.

• During the summer months, flystrike can be rife among rabbits, especially if they are susceptible to getting dirty fur. Flies will lay eggs on the rabbit and maggots will then hatch. This is a life-threatening condition.

This happened to one of my rescue rabbits Millie. She had trouble cleaning herself and so would sometimes get dirty, even though we would clean her every day. Luckily, I caught this condition just in time, but others should be vigilant and you should check your rabbit at least twice a day. If you do find something, contact your vet immediately.

• Ensure there is plenty of fresh water available for your pet during the day and also change this regularly to prevent it from becoming stale. 

All of the three Petkin products I tested out are available online at the Pets at Home website. At the moment, customers can also get three products for the price of two, which includes these doggy suncreams. Visit www.petsathome.com 

• Doggy sunwipes - £2.99
• Doggy sunmist - £5.49
• Doggy sun stick - £4.99

The Olympics - A universal celebration

Last weekend Britain staged the Anniversary Games, just one year after we hosted, what is pretty much, the biggest sporting event in the entire world: the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

I will talk about the Paralympic Games in a separate post, but for now I'm going to relive my experiences of the Olympic Games because I was lucky enough to attend one of the events! I managed to purchase five tickets for myself and my family to visit Greenwich Park to watch the cross-country (one of the Equestrian events).

It was so exciting to go and see so many famous horse riders all in one place and the atmosphere was electric with excitement. I even came within walking distance of one of the greatest names of all time: Mary King who has represented Great Britain at six Olympics between 1992 to 2002. Here I am just inside the venue with my dad and sisters!

There are three different challenges riders must face over a four day period within the equestrian eventing (dressage, cross-country and show jumping) and all test a different aspect of horsemanship. On the third day, riders must contend with a tough cross-country course, which is about 6km (3.7 miles) long. Equestrian is the only sport at the Olympics where men and women compete against each other.

Although this doesn't sound like much to some, during the cross-country course riders can face as many as 45 obstacles along the way and against the relentless ticking of a clock. The jumps aren't easy either, they are often pretty high and can be quite wide. As well as this, there are numerous distractions, so both horse and rider must work as one to get round the course in one piece.

The jump on the left was called the "chess table", which is a straight-forward jump, but at the maximum height and near the maximum spread it could be, it still demanded respect. The jump to the right was known as the "royal herb garden". This was the biggest and widest fence of the cross-country ends on a significant turn of the course.

The Royal Greenwich Borough jump also gave many riders plenty to think about. From the top of the initial step, it was a long way down and then the next jumps came up very quickly, leaving no room for deviation. All riders who walk the course before going round ensured they counted the number of strides between each obstacle and even tested out some of the jumps themselves!

When going around the cross-country course, the horses' legs are covered with grease to help protect them. It also helps them to slide over a fence if they get too close.

During the course, each rider is given penalty points for any time penalties and/or jumping errors and these are added to any penalties awarded during the dressage test to give a total score. The 3-day event then ends with show jumping where riders are again awarded penalty points dependent on any errors or time penalties. The top 25 riders with the least of these points then jump a final round and any points are again added on to their score to determine the individual result.

Here are some of my photo highlights:

Did you know?

• While the jumps have become less solid over the years, before they used to be almost immobile, which did cause some riders and horses to become injured. Riders also now where a inflatable body protector, which inflates if they hit the ground. This has saved many from quite serious injury.
• This discipline returned to the Stockholm Games in 1912, but until the 1948 Games, only people from the military could compete in the equestrian. When this ended in 1951, just one year later both civilian men and women competed.