WEST, Texas — "If it's too hot for your feet, it's too hot for their paws," said Karen Eilert, a dog owner.
That's the Golden Rule that Karen Eilert has for her two dogs, Sandy and Mable. She knows from personal experience that paws feel the heat.
"Today we parked really close so we can get them out of the car and across the pavement as quickly as possible, or we will take water and put it down on the asphalt or the concrete so that they can walk on it," said Eilert.
Megan Thompson, a former vet tech who now works for mobile grooming company Furry Land, explains why it's important to protect your pet's paws.
"It's the way they get around. If they get a sore under there they're going to constantly lick at it chew at it they're going to make it worse so you want to not allow anything bad to happen to their paw pads," said Thompson.
Here are some tips to help your furry best friend protect their paws.
"They do have protective shoes that have more of a rubber coding on the bottom. It takes some getting used to walking it but they do use them. They do have sticky pads in the shape of paw pads," said Thompson.
But another local pet owner has another way to help her dog, Mr. Jackson, beat the heat.
"We walk early in the morning in the summertime that asphalt is a lot cooler, we're usually out at 7 am and we're out by 8 am so he gets his two and a half miles in before the heat comes," Allison Kelly, a dog owner.
Both pet parents said paw checking is an essential part of a summer routine for our furry family members.
"Because they provide so much love and ask so little really in return," said Eilert.
