Make the most of summer together

Getting out early then again later in the evening enables your dog to have a great walk and good exercise without the worry of them getting too hot, getting heatstroke or burning their paws on hot tarmac. (If the ground is too hot for your hand, it's too hot for their feet).

Never leave your pet in a parked car even for a few minutes when temperatures outside are sweltering. A couple of windows open isn't enough. The air isn't moving. Could you sit in it for 5 mins without air con or moving air? They're covered in fur and get hotter quicker, so don't take any chances.

Ensure pets have enough access to water for drinking. They may need a lot more than normal. For cats, if they prefer drinking from sources outside in the garden rather than a bowl, check there's still some water available  - you may need to top it up.

To encourage drinking round the house, keep their water bowls somewhere separate from their food, maybe present a second water bowl in a different, quiet location to encourage them to keep hydrated. Some pets prefer running water so look at water fountains for dogs and cats which may entice your pet to drink more.

There's a great range of products available to help your pet stay cool. They come in the form of special cooling jackets, cooling toys, ice crunchers and hydration toys and cooling mats to lay on. If you don't own a paddling pool, there's even tough PVC pools for dogs to enjoy.

Help rabbits cope with temperatures over 25C. Rabbits regulate body heat through their ears and can easily suffer from heat exhaustion. Keep an eye on them daily, but consider giving them an oscillating fan, or move them to a cooler location or part of the house (a tiled floor would be lovely and cool). Mist their ears with cooling water, wrap a frozen 2ltr water bottle in a towel and place it near them, so they can lean against it, add ice to their water.

Rabbits with heat exhaustion may display the following symptoms: Fast, shallow breathing, wetness around the nose, hot ears, listlessness and tossing their head back while breathing rapidly from their mouth. Take immediate action, move to a cool place, cool their ears, give cold water and get them to a vet as soon as possible.

The more exposed, less hair covered areas of skin on fair skinned dogs and cats, are more susceptible to sun burn, and as a result, could develop permanent damage to the skin that could lead to cancer. This is particularly true for animals with white ears. As well as keeping your pet indoors during peak sunlight hours, you can also consider specialist skin care and sun cream ranges from Petkin and FiltaBac  - Always check with your vet prior to use to ensure these are suitable for your pet.