Summer Heat Guide for Dogs

 

HELLO SUMMER!!! It’s that time of year when we all want to spend quality time with our dog, outside, in the sun. Nothing better than getting out and enjoying the warm weather with our 4 legged buddies. However, we do need to be careful and think ahead before playtime outside, especially playtime which involves a car ride to the park or down to the lake. Let’s start with the car. The inside of a car can be extremely dangerous and even deadly for a dog. I want to share a few facts that will give you an idea of how hot it can get inside of a car. Please keep in mind that cracking the windows in your car will not change how hot it can get. For example, I will use 90° F as a baseline for this evaluation, as for most places in the world, a temperature of 90° F for a summer day can be pretty common. Let’s see what happens to the inside of car at this temperature. Within a matter of 10 minutes, that seemingly safe temperature can rise almost 20° F, to nearly 110° F. After 20 minutes, the temperature has risen another 10° F to a deadly 120° F. At this point, even a quick stop at Walmart for a snack on your way to the dog park is enough to induce hyperthermia (heat stroke) in your dog. What is heat stroke? Heat stroke is caused when the core body temperature of a dog reaches 106° F. FYI, normally body temperature for a dog is around 101.5° F, so it does not take much of a change in temperature to introduce a very dangerous situation. In short, please do not ever leave your dog in the car when it’s hot outside. As a rule of thumb, if you would not leave a child in the car, don’t leave your dog. How can you tell if your dog is experiencing heat stroke? There are several quick and easy signs that they are in trouble. Panting with excessive drooling, reddening of the gums, fast and/or abnormal heart beat and respiration, wobbling and loss of coordination and possibly loss of consciousness are all telltale signs something is wrong. Some breeds of dogs are more susceptible to heat stroke than others, such as long, thick coat breeds, and short nosed, flat faced breeds. Please take extra caution with these breeds when heading out in the summer. There are several things you as a dog owner can do if you feel your dog may be suffering from heat stroke. First and foremost, get them to a Veterinarian as soon as possible. There are; however, things you can do immediately, and on your way to the Vet that may just save your dog’s life. Anybody’s first reaction when they hear heat stroke is to cool the dog down as quickly as possibly, but cooling the body too fast can be very dangerous and even deadly. You can safely lower their temperature by spraying them with cool water or immersing them in cool, not ice cold, water. You can also wrap them in cool, wet towels and use fans to aid in the cooling process. Be careful not to lower their temperature too rapidly or too far. Monitor their temperature during the cooling process using a rectal thermometer, and when the temperature drops below 103° F, remove all cooling mechanisms and allow the dogs body to naturally cool from there. Never force them to drink, but you can offer them cool water, never ice water, and allow them to drink if they are able. If you have access to isopropyl alcohol, you can help cool them by gently wiping the alcohol on the pads of their feet, their groin area, and under their forelegs. Most importantly, get them to a Veterinarian as soon as possible for evaluation and care, as they have many more options at their disposal for safely treating heat stroke, such as IV fluids, electric cooling mats, and monitoring. Also remember that leather seats, metal belt buckles, and handles get extremely hot in a car, so please make sure these surfaces are safely covered to prevent burns. Besides the heat produced in the car, just having your dog out for a walk on a hot, sunny day, can introduce some dangerous conditions. Black top and cement can get very hot when exposed to the sun during the peak days of summer. Again, assuming an outside temperature of around 90° F, black top can reach a whopping 160° F and cement around 150° F when exposed to the sun during the day. Imagine yourself walking barefoot on these surfaces. Point is, you wouldn’t. You would burn and blister the bottoms of your feet within 10 minutes, and the same is true for your dog. Always try to walk them in the shade and on soft grassy surfaces, or in the early morning, or after sunset. One last thing to be mindful of during and after your walk, is during the summer, grass and weeds can die and dry out making them very sharp and almost needle-like. Be mindful of where you are walking your dog and check their paws and pads for any scrapes, burns, and imbedded grass. After anytime outside, especially in the summer, be sure to check your dog thoroughly for ticks when you get home. Have fun, be safe, and most importantly, enjoy the time you spend outdoors with your dog. They will love you for it.