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Summer heat can be especially lethal to pets

  • Symptoms of heat exhaustion in dogs include excessive panting or labored breathing, increased heart and respiratory rate, drooling and lack of energy. (Press photo James Grob.)

  • Symptoms of heat exhaustion in dogs include excessive panting or labored breathing, increased heart and respiratory rate, drooling and lack of energy. (Press photo James Grob.)

  • Symptoms of heat exhaustion in dogs include excessive panting or labored breathing, increased heart and respiratory rate, drooling and lack of energy. (Press photo James Grob.)

By James Grob, jgrob@charlescitypress.com

If the summer heat is too much for you, it’s definitely too much for your dog.

This according to Dr. Phyllis Frost, veterinarian at Avenue of the Saints Animal Hospital in Charles City. She said that preventative measures are the best way to avoid heat stroke, because oftentimes when pet owners realize their dog is overheating, it’s too late.

“If you’re sweating, they can’t sweat, so it’s best to get them out of the heat,” said Frost, who has been practicing veterinary medicine for 25 years, and has been in Charles City since 2010.

Frost said the reason dogs get overheated easier than people is because their bodies don’t sweat to cool down the way a person’s body does.

“The only place they can sweat is on their paws, and so they have to pant to be able to cool themselves down,” she said. “When they pant they lose a lot of moisture, so they need to consume more water during that time.”

Panting takes more exertion than sweating, and can bring your pet to respiratory distress quickly. Panting helps animals cool down because it helps evaporate fluids from the respiratory tract.

A pet owner can help replace these fluids and prevent dehydration and heat exhaustion by giving a dog fresh, clean water throughout the day. A dog should also avoid heavy activities during the day.

“Take shorter walks,” she said. Frost suggests taking walks in the evening or the morning before the sun heats things up.

Symptoms of heat exhaustion include excessive panting or labored breathing, increased heart and respiratory rate, drooling and lack of energy. More severe symptoms can include seizures, bloody diarrhea and vomiting and a body temperature of over 104 degrees.

Frost said that if you’re feeling too hot, your dog is probably too hot as well.

“If you suspect your pet is somewhat overheated, it’s best to cool it down gently with a cool blanket, cold water on their paws, or even alcohol on their paws can be extremely cooling, too,” she said. “If they’re vomiting, have a seizure, or are super-lethargic and not wanting to move, then they need to be seen by a veterinarian immediately.”

Dana Szymeczek, a certified veterinary technician who has been working at Avenue of the Saints Animal Hospital in Charles City for the last year-and-a-half, said that if a dog seems to be suffering from heat stroke at home, “do not put them in a cold water bath. You can shock them and they can go into seizure.”

Szymeczek, who has worked in an emergency pet clinic in Des Moines and has seen dogs suffering from heat stroke many times, added that putting the dog in cold water can also can trick the pet’s body into thinking it’s cooled down, so it stops trying to regulate its body temperature when, in fact, the pet’s temperature is still too high.

Frost agreed that a cool blanket is much better than putting an overheated dog in cold water.

Frost said there have not been any cases of heat stroke at the animal hospital yet this year. She said she usually sees about one case per year.

“When we do see them, they’re bad. When they finally get to that point, they collapse quickly,” she said. “People often don’t realize that they’re at that point until it’s too late. There are not a lot of warning signs.”

Frost also said that once a pet has had heat stroke, they’re more likely to have problems with it later.

“It seems like their thermal regulator gets turned off,” she said.

Frost also said that leaving a pet in a car in the summertime is always a bad idea, regardless of the outside temperature, because a car in the sunlight heats up much higher and faster than most people realize, and can quickly become lethal. Temperatures in an enclosed car on a sunny day can shoot up to 140 degrees or higher in a matter of minutes, much too hot for a dog to tolerate.

“It’s very rapid, Within 10-15 minutes the temperature in a car can get up there and be dangerous,” she said. “You shouldn’t leave a pet for even five minutes in a car, unless the air conditioning is on.”

Frost added that although cats can better tolerate warmer temperatures and so are less likely to get overheated than dogs, cat owners should still take the same kinds of precautions to prevent heat stroke during the hot summer months.

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