Sunbathing...

[RachS]

Tyler absolutely loves to lay on the carpet in the spot where the sun is coming through the window. It is the best babysitter for him. He just lays there all day and when the sun moves he moves spots to be in it. Yesterday, when i came home from work to take him out, i noticed parts of his body were a little warm and red. I closed the shades and i felt so bad. I came back to work and read all the threads on BW about sunscreen and the dangers of too much sun exposure. I will put sunscreen on him when we are outside in the sun, but i dont think i'd want to put it on him every day. I feel bad taking his sun away but I dont think its' worth the risk of him laying in it every day. I read that the bad rays go through glass. He is a brindle boxer with no white on his face, but some areas, like the tops of his ears and side have thin fur. What do you think?

 

[kproducer]

My family and I have always put sunscreen on our dogs. Maybe you could ask you vet what would be a safe one for you to use and one that is ok if it gets licked a bit and hopefully will not come off that easy. Maybe that's a tall order but I say to check with the vet and see what they have!
Stormies mom

 

[ForeverMama]

I have read a lot on here about using sunscreen for white boxers or for the white areas on other boxers, but never anything about fawn or brindle colored areas on boxers. Balboa is reverse brindle and he does get warm when he laying in the sunlight coming thru the window, but I never thought about him getting burned. Interested in what others have to say.

 

[gmacleod]

...but never anything about fawn or brindle colored areas on boxers.

That's partly because it's near impossible to tell LOL

The coloured areas on a boxer are far less at risk of sunburn. Rather like people with darker skins versus those with extremely fair skin. Pigment doesn't make it impossible to burn, just less likely, or not so quickly. Added to that, the dog has a certain amount of protection from his hair. But in the areas where the dog's skin is dark and there is hair coverage - can any of us actually tell if the dog is burnt or not? I think it would have to be a pretty severe case

Coloured dogs do still get melanoma though, and not only on any white areas. I think it's therefore fair to say that they can and do get burnt. That doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed out in the sun, of course. But some degree of caution should be exercised, or the length of time they're in strong sunshine kept to a reasonable level, I think.