How to protect your dog from overheating in hot weather

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Veterinarian advice will help save your pet from heatstroke.

Veterinarian Darrell Phillips of the Mississippi Animal Care Center shared tips for dog owners.

In hot weather, it is especially important to monitor the health of your pets. Heat exhaustion and heatstroke can seriously harm dogs. Unlike humans, they are not as well adapted to high temperatures. So don't take your four-legged friend on a day run.

“Just because you can run in hot weather doesn't mean your pet can, too,” says Phillips. - Dogs do not sweat as much as we do because of the coat. The only way for them to cool down is through rapid breathing, and that doesn't help for long. It is especially difficult for dogs of large breeds: they have to cool down longer.

Normal temperature in dogs is higher than human. Therefore, in the heat, they overheat faster.

Walk your dog at dawn and after dusk, or as close to this time as possible. If you are walking in the heat, be sure to take water for your pet with you, preferably with ice. If you have to leave your dog outside, find a place with shade.

Buy a special cooling mat or make one yourself. To do this, place a cold, damp towel on a plastic bag.

While walking in the heat, monitor the condition of the pet. “If your dog is breathing heavily, anxious, salivating, or gum discoloration, these could be signs of heatstroke,” Phillips says. "And if the temperature rises to 40 ℃, it's time to take action."

Try to cool the animal first. Phillips advises wiping the paws with a rag dipped in cold water, or even better, completely immerse them in the water. Pour cool water over your dog's neck. Try to bring the temperature down to 39.4 ℃ and see your veterinarian.