Northern Colorado Canine Rehab

07/23/2023

Cooling myths are harming our dogs and we HAVE to counter them

In a recent Vet Compass study less than a quarter of dogs with heat stroke were given any sort of cooling treatment before they were taken to the vet and only 24% of those were cooled with the recommended methods of cold water immersion or soaking and a fan.

And of them only 10% needed any further cooling by the vet by the time they got there, which shows just how effective it is.

But for more than half of the dogs whose owners did try to cool them, outdated methods like water soaked towels were used.

And there has been NO increase in the use of the recommended methods in the last three years, despite this advice being in the public domain since at least 2016.

The insidious messaging that cold or ice water is dangerous and cooling must be slow and steady is seriously harming dogs

The advice is very clear;

🥵 Cool before transport - getting your dog to the vet is important but starting the cooling process before you travel will bring their temperature down as soon and as fast as possible, which is what will make the biggest difference to their survival.

🥵 Cold water immersion is safe for young healthy dogs and the recommended method for cooling them down. For older or ill dogs, use evaporative cooling (get them wet and in a breeze).

🥵 Ice and cold water are safe. Any water is better than non but don't be afraid of using really cold temperatures

🥵 And thick coats do NOT keep them cool!

Read the summary of these findings from the Hot Dogs - canine heatstroke education for dog owners team here;
https://heatstroke.dog/2023/07/20/myth-busting-cooling-hot-dogs/

The summary from the Vet Compass team;
https://www.rvc.ac.uk/vetcompass/news/the-rvc-urges-owners-of-hot-dogs-to-cool-first-transport-second

The published study;
https://www.mdpi.com/2306-7381/10/7/465

12/02/2022

Retrievers that don’t retrieve and Papillons that point are all possible because the genes that shape dog behavior predate modern breeding that focuses on appearance, researchers find.

09/18/2022

😂

09/07/2022

Science columnist Torah Kachur explored what drives us to love our furry friends and what they contribute to our lives in a special CBC Radio broadcast.

09/06/2022

A clinical trial for dogs to evaluate a combination therapy to treat canine mast cell tumors.

08/02/2022

I really wowed the UPS guy yesterday with my topknot, sweats and maniac dogs. 🤦‍♀️

07/19/2022

💚

07/06/2022

06/17/2022

Dogs have multi-modal mental imagery of items and objects that are familiar to them. When a dog thinks about an object, they imagine the object's different sensory features.

05/30/2022

To be clear, to , I believe dogs should be on well-fitted, non-restrictive harnesses on walks and in vehicles. At the same time, I totally understand:
- less-than-ideal front clip harnesses used in sheltering because they’re affordable.
- using flat collars/ slipleads with a stopper so it doesn’t tighten too far with dogs that are still being positively conditioned to being touched and harnesses.
- using flat collars/slipleads with a stopper for short transports
- (please see one of my older posts about slipleads on when it can be used).

For all dogs, the neck contains vital organs such as:
- Tongue bone
- Spinal cord
- Trachea
- Larynx
- Oesophagus
- Thyroid
- And more.

When it comes to brachycephalic dogs (e.g. French bulldog, English bulldog, Pug, American Bulldog, Pomeranian, Pekinese, etc) that may already be struggling with breathing, restricting their breathing through equipment around their neck is even more detrimental. This is especially due to having smaller nostrils, elongated soft palates, smaller tracheas, etc.

Some brachycephalic dogs may also be prone to getting Cherry Eye, which can be really uncomfortable. With this, having pressure on the neck can potentially put pressure on the eyes and exacerbate or prolong the problem.

On top of the health concerns, with the restricted breathing brachycephalic dogs may have, they make unusual noises as they are trying to breathe and even more so when restricted by the collar. This can be concerning to other dogs who may react in a fearful or cautious way towards them if they haven’t been socialised or conditioned to this.

Of course, it’s incredibly important to never jerk or pop the leash to punish our dogs, regardless of breed. Not only does it cause fear in our dogs and damages our dogs emotional and mental wellbeing, it is also harmful towards our dogs’ physical wellbeing and can cause serious damage to our dogs’ vital organs.

I know that topics to do with brachy dogs can be highly controversial due to the some of the poor breeding of these dogs, how much they cost in certain parts of the world, and how popular they are at the same time. But I would like to strongly discourage folks from shaming dog guardians of brachy dogs in the comments. When we already have these dogs, we do what we can to help them have a better life, starting from enabling them to breathe better on walks!

All dogs deserve to be walked on well-fitted non-restrictive harnesses, but especially brachycephalic dogs. Also, harnesses DO NOT make dogs pull.

ID: On a light beige background, on the top is a photo of two bull dogs standing on grass. They are both wearing harnesses. The text under this photo says “Brachycephalic dogs need harnesses. Refrain from flat collars, but especially refrain from using slipleashes, martingale collars, choke collars, and prong collars with these dogs. ”