sunscreen?

[sakirby]

anyone out there with white frenchies? or any other dog...have you used sunscreen when out for longer than an hour or so? oscar is all white and i have noticed that his ears and his head get a bit pink when we go out for a couple of hours on a sunny day. any suggestions? do people use sunscreen on their dogs? could it hurt oscar to get burnt or should i just ignore it? thanks!

[gmacleod]

Definitely use sunscreen - the non-toxic sort for babies (or one made specifically for pets) and in stick-form if you can find it (harder to lick off). Dogs, just like humans, can get skin cancer and then other cancers from sunburn, so sunscreen or not it is wise to avoid long periods in the sun especially around the middle of the day. It's a problem for many white dogs, or dogs with white markings, especially round areas like the face and ears where there isn't a lot of hair.

Here's a short article with more info: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=0&cat=1276&articleid=1118