03/08/2024
Some accurate advice for dog owners over the summer 👍🐕☀️
The weather is finally warming up, which is wonderful but it does mean our dogs are at a greater risk of heat stroke.
Prevention is the best cure for heat stroke & if you are worried about your dog, here are two golden rules to remember;
Cool them FIRST & cool them FAST
Get them WET & to your VET
The longer a dog’s temperature remains in the danger zone, the greater the chance of them developing permanent damage or even dying. So lowering their temperature as fast as possible is vital.
Dogs cooled by their owners before heading to the vet have lower temperatures on arrival & therefore a better chance of not suffering serious illness or death.
Cold water immersion is a great way to cool down fit young dogs & results in very quick reductions in body temperatures.
For older, flat faced or unconscious dogs, thoroughly dampening their coats & putting them in a strong breeze can be preferable because then we avoid water in their airways but the advice about water temperatures is the same.
Any water cooler than your dog will cool them down but we should not avoid cold water.
There have been concerns that vasoconstriction would slow heat loss but this is not significant and we shouldn’t be afraid of them shivering (although if they shiver that is a sign we can stop cooling them) because it won’t send them back into the danger zone.
With good cooling, some dogs can become hypothermic & while we should try to avoid this, the development of hypothermia does not increase the risk of death.
Once you have started cooling your dog down by whatever method is most suitable at the time, you need to get them to your vet.
Start cooling the car before you get in it, if it’s a hot day it will be warm in there! Open the doors & windows, turn on the aircon & make sure your dog benefits from a breeze of the open windows on the journey.
There are lots of myths about heat stroke in pets and how to treat it, especially when it comes to home care, where you really can be instrumental in saving a life if you do it properly.
Which is why combatting and correcting them is so important!
For more great Heat Stroke information, check out Hot Dogs - canine heatstroke education for dog owners
References;
Hall, E.J., Carter, A.J., Bradbury, J. et al. Proposing the VetCompass clinical grading tool for heat-related illness in dogs. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86235-w
Hall, E.J.; Carter, A.J.; Bradbury, J et al Cooling Methods Used to Manage Heat-Related Illness in Dogs Presented to Primary Care Veterinary Practices during 2016–2018 in the UK. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci10070465
Shapiro Y et al Experimental heatstroke. A model in dogs. Arch Intern Med. 1973 May;131(5):688-92. PMID: 4701378.
Hall, E.J.; Carter, A.J.; O’Neill, D.G. Dogs Don’t Die Just in Hot Cars—Exertional Heat-Related Illness (Heatstroke) Is a Greater Threat to UK Dogs https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10081324
Hall, E.J.; Carter, A.J. et al Risk Factors for Severe and Fatal Heat-Related Illness in UK Dogs—A VetCompass Study. https://doi.org/10.3390/vetsci9050231
Anne J. Carter, Emily J. Hall, Jude Bradbury et al Post-exercise management of exertional hyperthermia in dogs participating in dog sport (canicross) events in the UKhttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.jtherbio.2024.103827
Kanda J, et al Association between active cooling and lower mortality among patients with heat stroke and heat exhaustion.. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259441
Canine heat-related illness – new perspectives from recent research
Jude Bradbury, Emily Hall, Anne Carter, Dan G. O'Neill https://doi.org/10.12968/coan.2023.0015
Davis MS, et al Comparison of Postexercise Cooling Methods in Working Dogs. doi: 10.55460/2ATZ-TMQ7
Parnes, S.C. et al A Randomized Cross-Over Study Comparing Cooling Methods for Exercise-Induced Hyperthermia in Working Dogs in Training https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13233673
Post exercise changes in compartimentai body temperature accompanying intermittent cold water cooling in the hyperthermic horse
D. J. Marlin et al https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.1998.tb04085.x
Hanel RM et al. Best practice recommendations for prehospital veterinary care of dogs and cats. https://doi.org/10.1111/vec.12455
