Heat Stroke and Dogs

This week the prediction is for temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius. Hiking wearing a fur coat can be tough. May be a good time to leave your dog at home. If you take your dog, choose your hike carefully. A hike following a creek or that ends at a lake, as opposed to a mountain top with no water sources, would be a good idea. I am amazed at how quickly my dog cools down just walking for a short distance in a creek. On a warm day starting a hike off with a swim will also help keep your dog cool for some distance.

Some signs of heat stroke in dogs:

• Noisy breathing that may indicate upper airway obstruction
• Excessive panting
• Bright red mucous membranes (gums, conjunctiva of the eyes)
• The gums may appear pale and dry
• A body temperature of about 105 degrees or higher
• Staggering
• Weakness
• Collapse
• Coma

If you start to see signs of heat stroke, cooling your dog down is vital as is getting your dog to a veterinarian immediately. Taking your dog to a veterinarian can be a problem if you are several kilometers into the backcountry. The key is to cool your dog slowly and get it back to civilization for its trip to the veterinarian. Dogs have very few sweat glands and the only means of dissipating excess body heat is via panting. This movement of air over the moist tongue and airway surfaces cools your dog. If possible, place your pet in cool running water being sure the cool water contacts the skin and doesn't simply run off the coat. Thoroughly wetting the belly and inside of the legs will help as will running the cool water over the tongue and mouth.

As I already indicated, just letting my dog walk in a cool stream seems to cool her down in only a few minutes. Here is a photo of my dog demonstrating the proper technique.

One caution and this is important, if your dog is in distress and you think it is suffering from heat stroke do not let it jump into a glacial lake and swim around. Force your dog to wade in the water until it seems to have cooled down. Jumping into the glacial lake may cause a decrease or loss of skin circulation, which can delay cooling. This actually traps heat in the dog's core which is the area you are trying to cool down.

When you get back to civilization, even if you think your dog is fine, take it to the veterinarian. Dogs who suffer from heat stroke can develop delayed complications that are really serious, including death, if they do not receive properly care and monitoring.

For more information see The Pet Center.