Question:

The temperature has been up in the hundreds for a few days now but I didn’t think it would be so hard on my dog. What is heat stroke and how can I make my dog more comfortable when it’s so hot outside.

ANSWER:

Heat stroke is the long, over-exposure to sun or extremes of heat and/or sun where the body cannot cool itself. In humans, we cool ourselves by sweating and in dogs, it is panting as well as sweating between their toes. Seniors, babies and the infirm are more susceptible to heat stroke as their ability to cool themselves may be limited.

Dehydration is a mitigating factor in heat stroke for both humans and dogs so it is important to monitor fluid intake. A condition that can accelerate quickly, heat stroke can become life threatening in a blink of an eye so caution must be taken to not let it begin to develop.

Symptoms include:

• headache
• dizziness
• disorientation, agitation or confusion
• sluggishness or fatigue
• seizure
• hot, dry skin that is flushed but not sweaty
• a high body temperature
• loss of consciousness
• rapid heart beat
• hallucinations

Treating a dog with heat stroke is similar to treating of a human – cooling the body as quickly as possible while attempting to rehydrate the system. If possible, place the dog in a bath of cool water – not cold, you do not want to shock the system. If you do not have a bath or tub of water, ice packs wrapped in a thin towel in the arm and leg pits work great as well as up against the abdomen. Encouraging the dog to drink is important even if it means adding something like gravy to the water to make it more enticing.

In extreme temperatures, keep your dog indoors and out of the sun. Basements are always cooler then the main floor and make sure there is plenty of fresh cool water. I always throw a few ice cubes into the bucket to keep the water cool all day and if your dog is like mine, he will use them as toys – little, cold heat stroke preventing toys.

Common sense should tell you when it is too hot to exercise your dog – if you would not want to run in that temperature, why would your dog?

Keep that pooch cool and happy! Thanks for writing in!