Dogs and Sunburn: Fur Is Not a Good Sunscreen!

Oh, those long, dog days of summer. Everyone is outside planning at the park, in their backyard, and spending endless hours soaking up some rays. Before we let our children out, we slather them with sunscreen and tie their hat on under their chins. I even made my children wear t-shirts in the pool to help protect their shoulders!

And all the while as we ran about outside for hours on end, there was our family dog, running along with us, unbeknownst to me getting a sunburn.

I, along with many others, believed that the thick coating of hair on my pet was actually protecting him from the sun. Heck, I thought it was even keeping him hot in the summer months so I would make a point to soak him with the hose! But one day I noticed the all too-telling sign of red skin and blisters on both the tips of his ears and of his nose.

How to Identify a Dog Sunburn

Though the less-hairy parts of the dog are more susceptible to sunburn (such as his nose, tips of his ears, underbelly and insides of legs), any part of your dog can become sun burnt. The more pale and short-haired your dog is, the more prone to sunburn he or she is. Shorter dogs are also closer to the ground than larger dogs, leaving them more prone to sunburn from the reflection off of the ground as well as from the sun in the sky.

What can you do to protect your Dog from Sunburn?

To help keep your dog from getting a sunburn is actually quite similar to how we as human beings should go about preventing one. Here are some ideas:

• Stay out of the sun between noon and 3:00pm
• If your dog is an outdoor dog, provide plenty of shade and fresh water so that he or she can take cover and stay hydrated
• Use sun block! You can apply sun block to your dog’s nose, ears, and other areas you feel may become exposed to the sun. Distract him or her with a cookie or a treat so they do not lick the sun block off from the tip of their nose and other body parts.

NOTE: Even on those cloudy summer days, be aware that both you and your pooch can still get a sunburn. Take the very same precautions you would on a sunny day.

photo by Henrique Lopes