It's been hot out there! Important information about heat stroke.

It has been getting VERY hot outside and I know that there is already a sticky posted in regards to heat stroke, but I thought that I would post the information that I found about preventing heat stroke. Any other suggestions for keeping our doggies cool is appreciated! Read the info below and pass it on to your fellow dog owners...

Heat Stroke --
It can be a killer!
(by Bev Storer)
​

Don't Let Your Dog Get Overheated!

Summer has arrived and depending upon where you live it can get very, very hot. Many of you probably don't realize that your dog can overheat and suffer heatstroke.

While we humans can't wait for summer and all the fun it brings, as far as your four legged friend with the wiggly tail is concerned, summer time means hot weather, long runs, hot cars, and long, anxious stays in kennels while you are away on vacation. Frankly, dogs are not designed to take the heat.

So, you need to be a responsible pet owner when it comes to heat and your dog. All it takes is a little thought, some common sense and knowledge of your pet's needs.

Dogs cool off by panting because they can't sweat. As soon as the temperature outside reaches about 99 degrees, which is about the same as your dog's internal temperature, panting no longer cools. So, you can understand how dogs rapidly overheat on summer days. Overheated dogs drool and begin to look uncomfortable. If they can't cool down, they could suffer from a heat stroke. If it reaches this point, the dog is subject to organ failure and even death.

Help prevent heat stroke by making sure your pet stays cool. Provide shelter from the sun's heat by keeping your pet inside in the air conditioning. Don't take your dog with you if you decide to spend the day at the beach unless you can provide shade and plenty of fresh water.

Never ever leave your dog in a parked car. Parked cars, even when parked in the shade with partially opened windows, can become a furnace in minutes. Vehicle interiors can rapidly heat up to over 40 degrees above the outside temperature. For instance, on an 80-degree day, the inside of your car can easily reach 120 degrees. No pet can survive that heat.

Don't leave your dog tied under a tree. The tree's shade will rapidly disappear as the sun moves across the sky.

Dogs should have access to cold, fresh water at all times. A dog on a hike or walk needs rest and should be given water every 15 minutes. Dogs will literally run with you until they drop from heatstroke. They do not have the common sense to stop when they are overheated and you may not notice until it's too late. So you need to monitor your dog.

Also limit your dog's play during the hottest periods of day. Allow only responsible children to play with the dog during high heat periods. Some children may not notice when the dog is overheating.

Heatstroke is easier to prevent than treat. Watch for the signs. If you see your dog panting excessively, drooling, acting fatigued, anxious or wobbly, he may be overheating. As your dog gets warmer, signs of an impending heatstroke may occur. Symptoms include a rapid heart rate. Nose, legs, and ears that are hot to the touch, diarrhea, and a swollen tongue. If your pet
shows any signs of overheating, immediately stop all exertion, offer cool water, and find a cool place to rest. If not treated immediately, an animal that is overheating can suffer from heatstroke. A dog with heatstroke can lapse into a coma and die. And, I don't think that you will ever forgive yourself if that should happen.

Heatstroke is considered an emergency that must be treated immediately. Stop whatever you are doing and move the animal to a cool, shaded place. Offer tiny amounts of cold water if your dog is conscious and can swallow. Do not force your dog to drink and do not try to give water to an unconscious pet. Cover your dog's body with cool water and place ice packs around the body and head. Wrap the ice or ice packs in a towel so that the ice is not in direct contact with the body. Placing ice directly against an overheated dog could confuse the dog's internal thermostat and may actually delay cooling.

As soon as this initial treatment is completed, take your dog immediately to a veterinary hospital. Emergency care is necessary for recovery.

Be proactive and use common sense and prevent overheating and heatstroke from happening in the first place by keeping your dog cool, well rested, and with access to water. If you do this, you'll both have a great fun-filled summer.

 

Main thing is too keep your dogs tempeture down easiest way to do this is to pour or sponge water all over the dogs body before and after a run to keep him cool. Or have a sprinkler system outside with automatic timers to keep all your dogs cool.

Also dont forget that a dogs paws are sensitive so never run him on any hard surface that is burning hot.....if you cant walk on the surface barefoot without it burning your feet then Im sure the dog will feel the same way.

 

lol, I once got little dog booties for one of my females who used to bicycle with me. People laughed at me (& still do when I tell them about it), but Savannah loved her booties & I think she appreciated them!

 

Another thing that I learned in the veterinary field is that if your dog does start to get overheated, you can pour some isopropyl (sp?) alcohol on the pads of your dog's feet as well as rinse their body down with cool water in order to bring their temperature down. Always have a thermometer on hand so that you can take their temperature (rectally). Don't forget to put a little KY jelly on the end of the thermometer, your dog will appreciate it! LOL. A dog's normal temperature is generally between about 100 to 102.5 degrees...

 

ABK you just gave me an idea for a good marketing product.....Im gonna market some Dog shoes and gonna call my line of dogshoes SCRATCHERS LMAO.

 

people in ca need to pay attention to there dogs the next few days. today it was 107 were i live, and was like 105 in sac when i got off work at noon. crazy hot. if u have a few extra bucks and have outside dogs kiddie pools( like 8 bucks at walmart) with an 80lbs bag of ice seems to keep the water cool almost all day so when they get hot they can go lay in the water for a few then into the shade to finish cooling down. works miracles in this type of heat.


or a cheap misting system and a fan to keep ambiant temp down in the area the dogs are. works great for my bunnys who will get heat stroke after 85 degree.

just a couple option for outside dogs

 

100+ all week! First real heat wave of the year and many more to come. Misters are a great idea. My females been inside the males been keeping cool layed out on the garage floor i keep the garage door raised about 4 or 5 inches and the outside door stays open. Its going to get worse this is just the beginning.

 

Thanks guys for all the info! When I had a lot more dogs and had to keep them all kenneled outside, I made a lot of adjustments during the summer months to make sure they kept cool. My kennels were on concrete and we had those blue tarps over the tops of the kennels. On top of that, the kennels were under a big tree that helped shade the dogs. We also had misters in the kennels and those plastic kiddie pools from wal mart in each dog's kennel. At the end of the row of kennels, we had this HUGE construction fan ($100 at Home Depot) that pushed a lot of air and would run that during the day. It helped to keep the flies away from them as well as keep them cool. I never had a problem with heat stroke when I had that set-up. I also got these really cool heavy duty pallets from my dad that were made out of plastic and placed each dog's house on top of one of them so that they were up off the ground. That was more for the winter time though, to keep them off the cold concrete. Anyways, just thought I'd share how my set-up used to be for the summer time when I kept dogs outside. Now, they're spoiled and get to stay inside. LOL.

 

Let me tell you I experienced this first hand with China and it is a horrible experience. We were very lucky in the sense that we knew what to do and we were on the phone with the vet the whole time. My daughter had put her out not thinking about the fact she was an inside dog. By the time I got home 1 hour later, she was nearly gone.
Lot's of cold water till the temp dropped and then in the car to the vet. She couldn't walk at this point. Instead of the wait and see if her organs start shutting down, I had the vet do a blood work up on her the next day and all looked pretty good. He was really shocked that she pulled through cause other dogs that week didn't. He said it was due to the knowledge of knowing what to do that made the difference.

 

Oh wow! Thank goodness she is okay and pulled through! And kudo's to you for being a responsible pet owner and taking her to the vet and also for getting that blood work done. Good job!

 

I have those cattle waterers, the Rubbermade ones, 18'' high sides , and i empty and refill 3 times a week, they hold around 55 gals. i use the trailler and a barrel to fill the ones the hose don't reach!

They have there separate drinking water buckets next to the dog houses.

 

thought this might be of some help since were talking about it.

heres a link to the misters i use. cant hardly beat the price especially for how easy it is. bout 2/3 down the page under the art stuff and above the medicine section. i use the 1/4gph one and it does the job great. ive had myne for about a yr and it still work just as good as new and is very easy to clean.

http://www.barbibrownsbunnies.com/catalog.htm

rosewoodapbt sounds like u had all angles covered in your old setup. good stuff.

 

Yeah,the heat's awful right now here.It's been keeping me busy taking care of everything.

 

hot as hell down here in the swamp.Humidity has been a mutha too.Got to wait till 8-9 oclock when sun goes away just to work the dogs and still I been wary of doing too much.I've got my chainspots located specifically in areas where there is shade in the afternoon, and boy do they take advantage of it.Anyone use kiddie pools for the dogs to cool off in?

 

they are cheap$$$$ and they hold a lot of water!! seem like a great idea, i just use cattle waterers cause they won't get chain wear as fast and can handle the constant flipping over for cleaning , but do what suits your budget!

if they are on concrete they might wear faster as well if you drag and flip.

 

This is a great thread and lots of valuable info! Thanks.
One thing that I wanted to mention is this: instead of just pouring cold water over the dog when it is hot, or overheating which could result in shock (think being sprayed with icewater after exhausting yourself) simply soak a large towel in cold water and place that on the dog and use a cloth soaked in cold water and carefully pat down the dogs belly. You don't want to go balls out cold water from the get go but rather keep a steady pace of cooling the dog down. Once it isn't panting too heavy anymore and accustomed to the cold water would I pour it on the animal. I've been close to heatstroke with a dog before and there is a fine line between saving the animal and hurting it more.

 

A sponge will not cover the dog, only where its placed, it works fine for our hounds in the summer. a towel might hold the heat after the dogs body warms the towel up , which would only take a minute I'd think. could be wrong tho

Buck

 

I use 55 gallon barrels cut lengthways and filled with water.

 

I just use the hose and start at their legs for a few minutes and work up to the chest and belly like we do with the horses. Once the water can touch their chest and belly with no reaction then I use it over their backs and all over.

Good ideas in this thread!

 

Finally got a pic of it, the summer set up,: