The Perils of Sunshine for Pups
It seems that almost every time I go to the dog park, someone shares a story that makes me think, often of something I’ve never given much thought to before. Today it was dogs with sunburns. A man I spoke to told me that one of his dogs had died of skin cancer, and now he was always careful to put sunscreen on his dogs before spending any serious time in the sun. I had always thought of dogs as immune to the minor irritations that plague us, shopping addictions and sunburns included.
Dogs as young as four years old can develop skin cancer, and prevention efforts range from solar protective t-shits, children’s sunscreen to just plain limiting long term exposure.
Animals with the highest risk of skin cancer are those with short, white coats, light skin, and thin tummy fur. They breeds, exposed, include dalmatians, bull terriers, Staffordshire bull terriers, whippets, Italian greyhounds, and greyhounds.
June 1st, 2008 at 10:52 pm
Saint Bernards can burn easily and develop skin cancers if they are shaved. I strenuously object to people shaving Saints in the summer. The dog needs the heavy coat as protection from the sun and to help regulate body temperature. What a horrible thing to have to suffer through when it can be completely avoided.
June 2nd, 2008 at 3:37 am
Good warning. I had never heard of this until a close friend lost her little white Chihuahua to skin cancer.
June 2nd, 2008 at 7:56 pm
That’s a good reminder. I haven’t thought about dogs and sunburn because I used to own long-haired dogs. I think my mutt is pretty safe because of his dark fur and skin, but it is still something to keep in mind when we are outside for a long time.