Poor air quality is a recurring concern across much of the United States, and in many regions wildfire smoke creates periods of particularly poor conditions. Households in affected areas are increasingly asked to check conditions before going outside and to adjust plans when the air turns bad.
That advice now applies explicitly to animals. The EPA updated its pet-specific wildfire smoke guidance in July 2026, telling owners to use the Air Quality Index and the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map when deciding how much time their pets spend outdoors and how strenuous that time should be.
Much of that guidance depends on owners monitoring current conditions. Recent veterinary research, alongside older national preparedness data, points to a gap between how much pet owners care about air quality and how routinely they check it or plan for it.
Key Highlights
In a 2025 study of 836 dog owners in the western US, fewer than 20% said they knew the Air Quality Index well.
Only around 25% of those owners said they checked the AQI frequently, despite expressing concern that poor air quality could affect their dogs.
99% relied on veterinary professionals for pet-health information, and 91% regarded veterinarians as the most trustworthy source.
Stronger attachment to a dog was associated with a greater likelihood that owners would take protective action during nearby wildfire events.
In a separate 2025 study of veterinary clients, around one-third had a disaster plan, but only 13% said it was current and included their pets.
83% of those veterinary clients considered pet-health professionals trustworthy or very trustworthy for disaster-planning guidance, yet only 5% said their clinic had ever discussed disaster planning with them.
In nationally representative ASPCA research, 46% of pet owners had a disaster-preparedness plan, while 84% had not secured emergency pet-friendly housing.
The EPA, which updated its pet-specific wildfire smoke guidance in July 2026, advises owners to use the AQI and the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map when deciding about outdoor activity.
As of August 31, 2026, the US had recorded 52,253 wildfires burning more than 8.2 million acres, with acreage at 166% of the 10-year average.
Concern Is High, Routine Monitoring Is Not
The most direct evidence on pets and air quality comes from a study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, which surveyed 836 dog owners living in the western US about their familiarity with air-quality issues, the sources they use and trust, and whether they would act during a nearby wildfire event.
Respondents said they were concerned that poor air quality could harm their dogs' health and welfare. Yet fewer than one in five reported knowing the AQI well, and only one-quarter said they checked it frequently.
Owners expressed concern about air pollution affecting their animals without routinely consulting the main public tool used to report current conditions.
One limit matters here: the study surveyed dog owners in the western US, so the figures describe that group and should not be read as national estimates for all pet owners or all species.
The study also found that owners with stronger attachment to their dog were more likely to take protective action when a wildfire burned nearby. Attachment alone does not determine whether a household is prepared, but the finding shows that protective behavior varies measurably from owner to owner.
Veterinarians Are the Most Trusted Source for Guidance
Where the surveyed owners did show consistency was in whom they trust. 99% of surveyed dog owners relied on veterinary professionals for pet-health information, and 91% identified veterinarians as the most trustworthy source available to them.
Owners also named healthcare professionals, veterinarians included, as their most trusted source specifically for AQI recommendations, not only for general pet-health information.
A second 2025 study, published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science, recorded similarly high trust among a different group of pet owners. 83% of surveyed veterinary clients described pet-health professionals as trustworthy or very trustworthy for disaster-planning guidance, split between 55% trustworthy and 28% very trustworthy, and more than three-quarters said clinic support would be helpful or very helpful.
Only 5% said their veterinary clinic had discussed disaster planning with them. Asked what they wanted, clients most often requested guidance on preparing pets for disasters, followed by worksheets for building a pet-specific plan.
What Poor Air Quality Can Mean for Animals
The EPA updated its pet-specific wildfire smoke guidance in July 2026. The agency states that wildfire smoke can irritate animals' eyes and respiratory tracts and can make breathing more difficult.
The EPA flags several groups as needing extra attention during smoky conditions: older animals, young animals, pregnant animals, animals with heart or lung disease, short-nosed dogs such as pugs and bulldogs, and pet birds, which the agency describes as particularly susceptible to smoke.
Sensitivity is not uniform, and neither is the guidance. The EPA does not publish a single numerical AQI threshold that applies to every kind of pet, and it notes that smoke combined with heat is likely to cause greater problems than smoke alone, based on evidence in people.
Instead of a universal cutoff, owners are pointed toward current air-quality information and veterinary advice, judged against the animal in front of them.
How Owners Are Advised to Respond
The EPA's practical recommendations begin with monitoring. Owners are advised to watch the Air Quality Index and the AirNow Fire and Smoke Map during smoke events.
When conditions turn smoky, the agency advises keeping pets indoors as much as is practical, closing doors and windows when indoor temperatures allow, keeping outdoor bathroom breaks short, and easing off strenuous outdoor activity.
It also recommends maintaining access to water, avoiding indoor activities that add particles to the air, considering a cleaner-air room or portable air cleaner, and including pets in evacuation plans.
Set against the survey data, that creates a clear contrast. Public guidance for pet owners is built on the assumption of routine air-quality checks, while only around one in four surveyed dog owners said they made them.
The Wider Preparedness Picture
Air-quality monitoring sits inside a broader preparedness gap. Among the veterinary clients surveyed in 2025, around one-third had a disaster plan at all, and only 13% said their plan was current and included their pets.
Older nationally representative ASPCA research offers useful national context, though it predates the 2025 veterinary studies and is not specific to wildfire smoke.
It found that 83% of pet owners lived in a community affected by natural disasters, while 46% had a disaster-preparedness plan.
Evacuation showed a similar pattern. More than 90% said they would take their pets if they had to evacuate, but 84% had not secured emergency pet-friendly housing.
More than one in five pet owners in that survey had previously evacuated because of a disaster or emergency. Among those who had left a pet behind, nearly 30% said they simply did not have enough time once the disaster struck.
Why the Question Is Timely in 2026
Wildfire activity this year sets the context. As of August 31, 2026, the National Interagency Fire Center reported 52,253 wildfires and more than 8.2 million acres burned across the US.
Fire counts stood at 126% of the 10-year average and acreage burned at 166%, with 93 large fires active nationwide and more than 22,000 personnel assigned.
Acres burned is not a measure of smoke exposure. Wind direction, fire intensity, weather, and distance all determine whether a given household experiences poor air quality at all.
What the figures establish is that wildfire activity was well above average entering September 2026, which makes routine air-quality monitoring particularly relevant for households in affected areas.
What the Data Shows
Several findings coexist here, and they are more useful together than any one of them alone.
Among the western US dog owners surveyed, concern about air quality was common while familiarity with the AQI and the habit of checking it were not. Those figures describe that group, not every pet owner nationally.
Trust in veterinary professionals was close to universal in that study and high in the separate veterinary-client research. Despite this high level of trust, relatively few surveyed clients said their veterinary clinic had discussed preparedness with them.
Preparedness gaps show up consistently across studies and across years, from current disaster plans that include pets to evacuation housing that was never arranged.
And current guidance asks owners to do the one thing the research suggests relatively few do routinely: look up the air quality before deciding what the day outdoors looks like for their animal.
Sources
Related Reading
This article is for educational purposes and does not replace veterinary care. If your pet shows any signs of a severe allergic reaction, contact your veterinarian or nearest emergency animal hospital immediately.
