DOG DAYS OF SUMMER

Pups can have fun in the sun while being protected thanks to a range of new products

LOS ANGELES — On the trail, in the water or happy on the lawn, let your dogs in on some Olympicinspired fun with new gear and activities that will have them going for gold.

Safety is key when investing in summer fun or recreational sustenance for your pets. Let the games begin:

SUMMER GAMES

You like old-fashioned lawn games and so might your dog. Kurgo Products in Salisbury, Mass., sells versions of stick ball, badminton, bowling, lawn darts, horseshoes and others made just for pets.

The toys are rubber and include a “durability meter” on packaging. Other pet suppliers also sell such toys as bowling pins and dog-safe flying discs.

LIFE PRESERVER

Numbers on how many dogs drown each year are hard to come by, but Lynne Peters, president of Hedz UP Pets Inc., in Baton Rouge, La., said exhaustion plays a role.

Peters watched her dog, an inept swimmer, tumble into a pool several times. She came up with the water collar life preserver. The flotation device attaches to the dog’s everyday collar and will keep the nose and ears above water.

MEAL REPLACEMENT BAR

Kristina Guerrero went hiking with her dog Dunkan five years ago. They had been out a couple of hours when she stopped for a food break.

“I was eating a burrito as Dunkan stared me down. I realized he had expended much more energy than I had and was probably starving,” Guerrero said.

She went in search of meal replacement for pets and came up empty-handed. That’s how TurboPUP Complete K9 Meal Bars were born.

DOG GOGGLES

Aiden Doane and Jesse Emilio have two dogs and spend the bulk of their time outdoors. So when veterinarians told them that both dogs had serious eye problems that could only get worse if they continued playing in the sun unprotected, the couple went looking for goggles.

They were unhappy with the offerings, so now sell their own: Rex Specs.

The lenses are shatterproof and the goggles are used by the U.S. military for their K-9 units.

COURTESY OF KURGO A chocolate Labrador retriever named Ebb chews on the shuttlecock of a badminton-style game called Backyard Birdie made for dogs and their humans in Kittery, Maine.

COURTESY OF REX SPECS DOG GOGGLES German shepherd Tuckerman, left, and Alaskan husky Yaz wear goggles designed by their owners at Teton Pass in Wilson, Wyo.

COURTESY OF PETSMART Kristina Guerrero offers a TurboPUP meal-on-the-go bar to adopted dog Odin in Shelburne, Vt. Guerrero is the creator of TurboPUP, a portable meal bar that helps sustain a dog’s energy level while on the go.

COURTESY OF HEDZ UP PETS Four dogs wear life preservers made by Hedz UP Pets Inc. in Houston. The flotation device attaches to the dog’s everyday collar and will keep the dog’s nose and ears above water even if the dog is unconscious.