It's getting HOT!

With the temperatures rising as we get deeper and deeper into the summer months, it is extremely important to prevent your dog from overheating. Dogs cannot tell you when their temperature rises and it is our responsibility to ensure that our pets have sufficient shelter from the sun, adequate water to drink, and a way of cooling off when the summer sun rises.

Monitoring your dog closely in high heat is not enough however. It seems that pet owners tend to drop their guard when the temperatures level off, either in the Spring and Fall, and owners think the dangers are passed. Failure to realize that exersize and subsequent confinement, whether in a hot car, crate or doghouse is enough to send your dog's body temperature skyrocketing.

A dog's body temperature is normally between 101°F and 102°F. Dogs regulate their body temperature by panting, expelling heat out, causing an evaporatory reaction. If he can not expel the heat fast enough, his body temperature rises. A rise of 3 degrees to a temperature of 105°F is all it takes to send your dog into a dangerous situation. At this temperature, the dog can no longer cope with reducing his body heat and the oxygen demand goes up to where the dog can not keep up, and his temperature continues to rise.

When the temperature hits 108°F, the heart, brain, liver, kidneys, and intestinal tracts start to begin breaking down at a cellular level, and the damage can progress at an alarming rate. Even immediate treatment and effective cooling to bring his temperature down can leave the dog with internal damage that may affect his health in long term ways.

Leaving your dog cooped in a hot car is a sure way to bring on heat stroke. A hot car is like an oven, with temperatures that can rise an astounding 34°F per minute! People have been known to break windows to retrieve dogs in danger from hot cars, if they don't do it themselves, the Humane Society most assuredly will.

Early Signs of Heat Stroke

• Rapid breathing, dry mouth and nose, rapid heart rate, and gums that leave their healthy colour for dull, greyish-pink, or red, are all early stages of heat stroke. This IS an EMERGENCY! Even at the earliest stage of heat stroke, you may be fighting for your dog's life. You must get him to a veterinarian as soon as possible.
• These symptoms can be followed in minutes by collapse, seizures, coma and death.

This was written by Krista Miffin

Tags: Heatstroke, warm weather