We have a large number of readers looking forward to the solar eclipse taking place this coming Monday, and we all know that special eye protection is important for humans if they plan on observing the eclipse directly.
This begs the question – what about our dogs? Do they need eye protection as well?
Happily, the answer most experts give is no, dogs don’t need special eye protection during the solar eclipse since they don’t really ever look up directly into the sun. But that doesn’t mean there are no safety considerations to keep in mind if you’re planning on throwing or attending a gathering for the event.
Melanie Monteiro, pet safety expert and author of ‘The Safe-Dog Handbook,’ advises us to implement lessons we’ve learned from other holidays: “I would recommend to pet owners that you keep your pets indoors if possible and keep them confined the same way as you would on the Fourth of July or other similar occasions,” says Monteiro. “If you have the sort of pet that's normally sensitive to shifts in the weather, they might be disturbed by just the whole vibe because the temperature will drop and the sky will get dark.”
Michael San Filippo, a spokesperson for the American Veterinary Medical Association, recently reminded viewers of the Today Show that the most significant danger to your dog has nothing to do with the eclipse, but with your dog being scared by a big group of people: "I think when you talk about risks, what we're more concerned about [is] are you going to be somewhere where there are large crowds with a lot of people making loud noises, and how is your pet going to react to that?”
As with many other types of celebrations where humans gather in numbers, the best advice for your dog is quite simple, and San Filippo says it plainly: “We would recommend keeping them at home for those kinds of events.”