Are Humidifiers Good For Dogs? – A COMPLETE Guide
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Humidifiers are helpful devices that provide us with a better quality of life. However, are humidifiers good for dogs as well?
In the case of dryer environments, or when you are continually running a heater on full blast to keep the house warm, the dry air caused can take a toll on our dogs.
Therefore, a lot of questions arise for the health of the pets.
Are all humidifiers safe for dogs? How do you know if your dog actually needs a humidifier? Are there specific humidifiers that are better than others? (hint: yes)
What can help you and you dogs?
In this article, we provide the answers to the important questions and the courses of action we can take for our precious pups.
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What a Humidifier Does?
Humidifiers will help to maintain the moisture in the air. The humidifier will produce cold or warm mist after having water in it.
According to the different environmental protection agencies, the humidity levels at home should be between 30% - 50 %.
That humidity level is significant for both the owners and their pets.
Both humans and pet can get benefits of the right humidifier by using filtered water because the tap water might have microorganisms and inorganic materials that may cause breathing issues.
How Are Humidifiers Good for Dogs?
There is always one question that arises related to the humidifier, and it is “are humidifiers are good for dogs? The answer to this question is yes.
And, there are several ways that a humidifier can be beneficial for dogs:
1) Open Air Passages
Firstly, humidifiers can help dogs to breathe better.
This is especially the case when our dogs are suffering from allergies that result in an inflamed nasal passage.
In some cases, allergies can also lead to scabs and sores inside the nose, causing a nosebleed.
These factors will make it difficult for the dogs to relax during the day and sleep through the night.
Humidifiers can help by releasing water vapor in the air. With an increase in moisture, the uptick in humidity allows clogged and blocked mucus in the dog’s nasal passages to flow.
In short, humidifiers may help to relieve cold-like symptoms, provide our dogs with much-needed relief throughout the day.
2) Soothes Skin
A low moisture level in indoor air can result in dry skin on our gods.
In dogs, this often manifests as restlessness along with consistent scratching and understandable hair loss.
Moisture from a humidifier can help to soothe their dry skin. After a few days, a change in its fur, leather, and demeanor can often be seen.
3) Eases Snoring
There are several breeds of dogs, like bulldogs and pugs, that are more susceptible to snoring due to their psychological makeup.
Some dogs do snore due to obesity and excessive tissues on their neck and throat as well.
The mist produces by the humidifier will help to moisturize the nasal passage of the dog, allowing them to breathe more easily through the nose.
Moreover, this can also prevent the mouth and throat of your dogs from getting dry.
4) Allergy Relief
Dogs, like humans, can suffer from seasonal allergies.
Allergens in the air don’t just make our eyes water and our noses itch, they can affect our beloved dogs too.
Therefore, with the development of the allergic reaction, a humidifier device can be suitable to complement the dog’s treatment by alleviating symptoms of allergies in dogs (eg: a runny nose, itching eyes, and sneezing) by dissipating more moisture into the air of our house.
How to Tell if Dogs Need a Humidifier?
Before rushing out to buy a humidifier for our dogs, it is essential to determine whether or not our dogs need a humidifier in the first place.
To do this, we can lookout for signs of colds or allergies.
If the dog is having a runny nose, sneezing issues, or if their allergy is spreading, then the humidity level could be the problem.
While a humidifier enhances the moisture in the air, it may also help the dog’s nasal passage as well, aid in getting rid of cold symptoms, restore the skin, and permit them to breathe normally.
Furthermore, as microorganisms, like bacteria and viruses, thrive and can spread rapidly in dry air, a humidifier can assist in contesting them by bringing up the humidity.
Are Humidifiers Safe for Dogs?
Humidifiers are typically almost always good for dogs.
However, there are some situations where a humidifier may not be safe for our dogs. This makes the selection of a humidifier challenging.
To answer this, we have to look at the different kinds of humidifiers.
In general, there are two main types:
- Cool-mist humidifiers
- Warm-mist humidifiers
A humidifier that generates warm mist is suitable for cold places. Along with that, the warm mist will help to kill other hazardous bacteria in the air.
However, warm mist humidifiers can be harmful to our dogs since they operate by boiling water.
A dog may accidentally (or even try to) topple the device which can accidentally burn them!
In this scenario, it is, therefore, essential to place the warm mist humidifier in a separate room, tucked away safely so that dogs cannot reach it.
On the other hand, cool mist humidifiers often offer a better option for pet owners. These cold humidifiers are safer and quieter as compared to their warm mist counterparts.
Therefore, it keeps the dog in a more calming environment along with the owners!
Which Humidifier is Best for My Dog?
Ultimately, if your dogs are suffering from any sort of allergy or asthma, a cool-mist humidifier is a safe choice.
However, if the humidifier is shared between you and your canine, a warm mist humidifier can serve as a suitable, and often effective, choice as well; just make sure that it is out of the reach of any four legged friends.
TAKING IT ALL TOGETHER
Warm-Mist Humidifier
This type of humidifier warms the water placed in it until it reaches its boiling point.
Then, it escapes from the nozzle of the humidifier as warm steam. Warm steam kills several harmful bacteria floating the indoor air and keeps the room a little warmer.
These kind of humidifiers are not ideal for the family having young children and the same applies to our dogs as well.
This is because they have to maintain a consistent boiling temperature for as long as you run the machine.
Warm water in the humidifier can cause burns if someone knocks the tank over.
Cool-Mist Humidifier
On the other hand, these cool mist humidifiers are a safer option for the entire family. They can work in one of the two ways:
Traditional Cool-Mist Humidifiers
The traditional cool-mist humidifier turns water into vapor using an internal fan.
This humidifier is safer as compared to the warm-mist humidifiers, however, the only disadvantage of these traditional cool-mist humidifies is that the fan typically produces noise that may interrupt yours and your dog’s sleep.
Ultrasonic Cool-Mist Humidifiers
Lastly, we have the ultrasonic humidifiers.
This humidifier is a modern type of cool-mist humidifier. They work to turn water into vapor through a high frequency, low noise, vibrating diaphragm made from either ceramic or metal.
The vibrator will produce a mist that is fine, effective, and safer as a traditional type of cool mist humidifiers.
Other Precautions to Take
Does high humidity affect dogs?
Too high humidity, coupled with moderate temperatures can make it difficult for dogs to cool down.
This is because the air can making it tougher for perspiration to evaporate.
On top of controlling the humidity level in our home, do ensure that you open a window every so often so that the stagnant air can leave the room.
Additionally, it is also always better to keep them hydrated, have a lot of exercise, and a cosy place to sleep.
If the dog is showing strange behavior like loss of appetite, lethargy, or is experiencing a cold, then it is better to call and consult your veterinarian on an immediate basis.
While a warm or a cool humidifier can help to alleviate the symptoms by getting you to an optimal humidity level, a trip to the vet can help to tackle the root of the problem by providing professional advice and treatment.
Points To Keep In Mind
Humidifiers are excellent additions to the home. However, before the installation of a humidifier, there are a few points to keep in mind.
Conclusion: Are Humidifiers Good for Dogs?
The result of the above discussion shows us that humidifiers are good and beneficial for dogs. The moisture generated by humidifiers provides greater comfort and eases inhalation.
Moreover, it is safe as it is only water being dispersed.
However, warm-mist humidifiers could be risky for the dogs if knocked over. It can burn the dog’s skin due to boiling water.
Therefore, cool-mist humidifiers are safer for everyone; dogs and young children alike!
