I thought this might be helpful now we're coming into the warmer weather...


Heatstroke is caused by the inability of the body to maintain its normal temperature because of the environmental heat. It is often caused by keeping a dog in a locked car parked in the sun or by keeping it in any hot area without adequate ventilation.

The signs of heatstroke are excessive drooling, lack of coordination, rapid breathing, and a top of the head that is hot to the touch. Prompt treatment is urgent. Body temperatures often get as high as 107 degrees Fahrenheit/41.5 degrees Celsius, and without quick cooling, severe brain damage and death will occur.

Heatstroke can be prevented by making sure your dog has plenty of shade and ventilation. If you must take your dog driving with you, park in the shade and leave all the windows partially open.

Should heatstroke occur, use the following suggestions to help you provide your dog with the utmost care.

Step 1: Remove the dog from the hot environment.

Step 2: Immerse the dog in a cold water bath or continuously run a garden hose on its body; continue either treatment for at least 30 minutes.

Step 3: Apply ice packs to the top of the head; keep them there while transporting the dog to the veterinarian.

Step 4: Transport the dog to the veterinarian immediately after the above treatment.

Great Post Hun...

So much of this goes on during the summer, lets hope this post informs and reduces the head count of heat stroke dogs a little this year!

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DON'T SWEAT THE PETTY THINGS AND DON'T PET THE SWEATY THINGS!

Red Dog Pics @ http://www.flickr.com/photos/24819879@N07/

Odd you should put this on.
I had a chat with the lady that takes Alf for hydro, she's a dog walker too.
I asked what she did about walking the dogs when it's really hot, as most people want them walked in the middle of the day.
She says she will not walk them if it's too hot but spends time with them in there own house. If any of the owners insist, she tells them to get another dog walker

A dog should never be left in a car on it's own, if the sun is out summer or winter open windows don't cool a car down. Even on a cold sunny day a car can get very hot, remember a car body it metal and will heat up when the sun rays are on it. We have gone shopping in the winter got back in the car and said how warm it is in the car and aren't we glad we had not got the dog with us.

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Sorry about any wrong spelling, but I'm feed up of looking things up in the dictionary

Thanks Red

She's a good walker then!!

Happy Paws - I agree. A dog should never be left in a car when it's hot.

Good post! this should be a sticky i think!

Just to add to the original post. Many breeds which originate in cold climates have double coats - a woolly undercoat and a harsher outer coat of guard hairs. These coats function as extremely efficient insulation against both heat and cold. Many people, imagining that they are thinking of the dog's best interests, will have their dog clipped or shaved during hot weather. This can be extremely dangerous, can increase the risk of heat exhaustion and heat stroke, and, in the case of shaving, put the dog at risk of extreme sunburn.

Mick

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DREAMCATCHER SIBERIAN HUSKIES
Siberian Husky Welfare Association (UK)
"For I am a raindog too!" - Tom Waits
"Believe none of what you hear and half of what you see" - Benjamin Franklin
"As long as people believe in absurdities they will continue to commit atrocities" - Voltaire

That's a good point, Amber is double coated and in the summer I've been asked why don't you have your dog clipped, and when I explain that she double coated and should not to clipped they don't seem to understand and I have been called cruel not having her clipped.

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Sorry about any wrong spelling, but I'm feed up of looking things up in the dictionary

Great post - very helpful.
I'm careful not to walk mine when it's to hot, but it's good to know what to do if I make a mistake.

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A dog Possesses Beauty without Vanity,Strength without Insolence, Courage without Ferocity, And all the Virtues of Man without his Vices.