Is your pet ready for rainy season?

After months of scorching heat, monsoon season provides a much-needed relief from summer. Dogs require special care during the monsoon. Looking after your pet and his hygiene needs can be a trying task in monsoon as they are most vulnerable in these months to fungal infection, allergies, fur loss problems, and stomach disorders.

While the monsoon showers are a welcome break to us, they can make our pet’s life more stressful. Just like how often your dog licks himself is an indicator of how well he has been cleaned, his toilet habits too say much about his health provided you've been keeping a close eye.

Contamination of water is very common in this season leading to many a stomach disorder among dogs. The best option is to give your dog hygienically prepared dog food and fresh water, as packaged meats on the market too might be contaminated due to excessive moisture in the air.

Monsoon rains, with high moisture content in the air, bring lot of health troubles like infections, cough, pneumonia, cold and fever (Flu), and loose motions for your pet. Therefore, we need to take special care with the onset of the monsoon season.

Diet

Owing to high humidity and heat dogs usually do not eat dry dog food during the summer and monsoon months. Home-cooked diets or wet food are perfectly suitable in these months as they contain the required amount of moisture. A natural balanced diet should be given to your dog comprising a bio available source of protein, carbohydrates, fibre, calcium, fat and vitamins.

A high source of fibre such as sweet potato, lean chicken, brown rice, and tofu can help boost your dog's metabolism, and ensure his continued health and well being.

Pet health problems in Monsoon

In absence of proper prevention, your pet can suffer various health issues during monsoon season. 

1. Due to high moisture content in air, it is likely that your canine or feline friend will suffer from several respiratory diseases. Pets mostly suffer from the infections of respiratory tract which may also be related to dog allergy and cat allergy. In order to keep your pets comfortable, you have to make sure their surroundings are warm and dry.

2. The high humidity levels in monsoon makes the wet fur smell due to breeding of fleas and worms, and it can also lead to fungal infections.

3. In addition, the cold weather can cause coughing, sneezing, and cold & fever in pets.

4. Monsoon season also brings mosquitoes which can transmit life threatening pet diseases like canine malaria, dog heartworm, West Nile virus (WNV) and Eastern equine encephalitis (EEE).

Effective pet caring tips

You must take good care of your pets during the rainy season. Here are some effective pet caring tips to keep your pet healthy and happy during this season:

     

1.       Food and water

You should not store food and water in open air because it will get contaminated and contaminated food and water on consumption can lead to digestive disorders and gastroenteritis. The ideal diet for your pet in monsoon season is clean drinking water and cooked food.

     2.       Raincoats

It is necessary for your pet to wear a rain coat in monsoon season, as it will ward off severe infections which is caused from wet paws. Further, your pet is prone to catching cold during the monsoon season; therefore, make sure they refrain from playing in the rain.

     

     3.       Exercise

Don’t forget to provide exercise on daily basis to your pet. Generally, pets feel lazy in monsoon season and hesitate to move their muscle. You should never allow your pet to laze around the day. Regular exercise and walks help your pet to be cheerful and energetic and help on proper blood circulation in the body.

     4.       Grooming

Last but not the least is grooming. Humidity level of air is high during the monsoon which cause smelly coat of dogs. You should learn dog grooming basics tips and techniques to do effective grooming during the monsoon season.

      

     -          Regular baths of pets is needed in the monsoon season.

     -          Don’t forget to apply anti tick and flea shampoo and conditioners during the bath.

     -     Your grooming process should also include ear cleaning, brushing, nail clipping and dental care.

With these practices, you can keep dirt and fleas away from your pet’s hair.

Do’s and Don’ts during Monsoon season for good pet’s health

Do’s	Don’ts
Watch for fleas and ticks in the fur of pet on daily basis and get a de-tick solution for your pet	Do not wash your pet frequently, as it makes your pet prone to fever and cold. You should never give bath to your pet more than once a month
Paws and fur must be dried and cleaned to save your pet from fungal infection	Without proper consultation from the vet, you should never use any new product or medication
Vaccination and de-worming must be done by vet before monsoon begins.	Don’t allow pet to keep smelling anything lying on the road, during rainy season. There are increased chances of infection and germs that will cause considerable harm to your pet.
Make sure to wipe your pet and dry his fur, when he comes back from walk	Don’t use any human product on your pooch, be it cleaning product or antiseptic
Dry bathing is ideal in monsoon season
Your pet must wear a muzzle while going out for walk

While you can set a daily cleansing routine for your dog in between his walks, it can be counterproductive if you are not going to feed him the right foods after all. Begin by washing his water and food bowl twice regularly, keeping his chews sanitised, and following it up with a well balanced diet, and you'll see the difference in his energy levels and the quality of fur.