Summer Time!

It is that time of year again where our hoomans like to sit out in the sun all day drinking ice cold beers and pimms whilst working on their sun tans. Us doggies like to bask in those rays of sunshine too you know! But unlike you hoomans we can’t take off our winter coats or sweat like you. This makes us highly susceptible to heatstroke. This is when your body temperature gets too high and you are unable to cool yourself down. This is incredibly dangerous as it puts strain on your vital organs and if not treated quickly can be fatal! So lets talk about how to handle this very scary situation.

When can heat stroke occur?

1. Dogs left in parked cars

This is one of the least common causes of heatstroke but one of the most known about. Cars can become very hot so leaving a dog in a parked car is not allowed!

2) Inadequate outdoor housing

So I am a very spoilt scruffy puppy and spend the majority of my time in my hoomans house. Unfortunately, other dogs are as lucky and are left in the garden with little shelter. Many owners may think this is ok in the summer as the dogs are not out in the freezing cold but without adequate shaded shelter dogs are susceptible to heatstroke.

3) Excessive exercise in hot weather

I love playing ball on the field but please think how hot you get when exercising. Us doggies are the same double the heat equals twice the risk of heatstroke.

4) Sunbathing

Yes believe it or not us doggies love to sunbath! Just remember to get us to take a break and lay in the shade once in a while to cool off.

5) Seizures

Just like hoomans dogs can have seizures. During this time our bodies can’t control our internal temperature which can lead to a significant temperature rise. Keep an eye on our temperature if we start seizing (more will be covered on this soon).

Signs

• Excessive panting or difficulty breathing

• Body temp 104 degree F / 41 degrees C or over! (normal is 101-102 F or 38-39 C)

• Collapse

• Bloody Diarrhoea/vomit

• Increased heart/respiratory rate

• Gums redder

• Salivation

• Depression, stupor, seizures and coma

First Aid

1. Remove us from the heat!

Sounds too simple right? Well that is your first step there is plenty more that you can do but some dog may not know they are over heating and carry on sunbathing. Its important to get them to some shade.

2) Take the dogs temperature.

Ok so this may not be very pleasant for the dog as yes the thermometer does have to go in our bottoms. You can pick up a cheap thermometer from the supermarket (just make sure you label it specifically for your dog!) and simply put the tip of the thermometer in. Keep checking our temperature throughout so you know if what you are doing is working. It is also useful for when we get to the vets as you can tell the vet how far you have managed to get our temperature down by so far.

3) Start cooling us down.

So many people have heard that putting cold wet towels on us will cool us down. You can do this, however, please remember to soak us down to the skin and continuously keep wetting and cooling the towels. Essentially you are adding an extra layer we don't need. Instead try spraying us gently (not with a hose please) with tepid water for 1-2 minutes and retake our temperature. Carry on until we have reached a normal temperature and take us to the vets as soon as possible. Alternatively you can sponge us down with a wet sponge with the same method. Make sure you are getting the water down to our skin and not just the top layer of our coats. To further cool us down sit us in front of a fan or the air con.

Remember heatstroke can kill so please take your dogs to the vets as soon as possible whilst trying to cool them down even if their temperature does appear to be getting back to normal.