THE COMMUNITY has been reminded to take extra care of their furry friends as the temperatures rise.

Recently, we saw warnings from road safety organisation GEM Motoring Assist that spoke about keeping your dogs safe from the heat when in your car.

GEM gave a short checklist for what to remember, and basic tips for long journeys with your canine buddies.

However, it’s critical to know more about keeping your dogs safe when at home. We spoke with Tia Offord-Ashton, Manager of Julie’s Mucky Pups in Chepstow who gave some helpful tips for dog owners in the community during these sunny spells.

Tia said: “With heat like this, we recommend they aren’t walked between 9am and 9pm. You wouldn’t walk outside with no shoes on in heat like this because you’d burn your feet.

“You also need to watch out for signs of heatstroke, because even if they’re not walked, they could still be susceptible.

“We don’t recommend soaking dogs down completely because it can worsen the effects of the heat. You can try to cool your dog down, always have some fresh supply of cold water. You can dampen their ears and their feet, give them cooling mats or ice cubes to play with.

The dog groomers also said you could look at making dog ice-lollies as long as they don’t have lemon juice in the ingredients. Some supermarkets offer fruit-flavoured baby pouches which can be used in ice-cube trays.

Critically, during these temperatures, Tia wanted to stress the importance of not walking your furry friend during the day.

Tia said: “Please do not walk your dog between nine in the morning and nine at night. A walk in this heat could kill a dog, and by not walking them you could save its life.”

You can find Julie’s Mucky Pups near Chepstow’s Library on 6 Rifleman’s Way.