Sharing Red Cross Pet Heat Safety Tips
volunteer Michelle Adams
Pet Heat Safety Tips
Keep your pet happy and healthy during hot weather
How To Treat Heat Strokes In Pets
If you suspect pet heat stroke:
1. Get your dog out of direct heat.
2. Check for shock. Signs include: collapse, body temperature 104° F+, bloody diarrhea or vomit,
depression stupor, seizures or coma, excessive panting or difficulty breathing, increased heart rate,
salivation.
3. Take your dog’s temperature.
4. Spray your dog with cool water then retake temperature.
5. Place water-soaked towels on the dog’s head, neck feet, chest and abdomen,
turn on a fan and point it in your dog’s direction, rub Isopropyl alcohol (70%) on the dog’s foot pads
to help cool him but don’t use large quantities.
6. Take your dog to the nearest veterinary hospital.
During a heat crisis, the goal is always to decrease the dog’s body temperature to 103° F in the first 10-15 minutes. Once 103° F is reached, you must stop the cooling process because the body temperature will continue to decrease and
can plummet dangerously low if you continue to cool the dog for too long.
Even if you successfully cool your pet down to 103° F in the first 10-15 minutes, you must take the dog to a veterinarian as soon as possible because consequences of heat stroke will not show
up for hours or even days. Potential problems include abnormal heart rhythms, kidney failure,
neurological problems and respiratory arrest.
It is important to know if your pet is predisposed to dog heat stroke, which is true of dogs with short snouts
such as bulldogs, pugs and many other breeds. Other common causes of heat stroke include: a previous episode of heat stroke,
leaving a dog in a parked car, excessive exercise in hot, humid weather (this may be exercise that your dog can
usually handle but not in warmer weather), lack of appropriate shelter outdoors, thicker-coated dogs in warm weather
and underlying disease such as upper airway, heart of lung disease.
Also Available is
Pet First Aid mobile App
Be prepared to help your furry friends with veterinary advice for everyday emergencies.
