Heat Dogs & Exercise
… please read …🌡🐕🐾 I wanted to address this but this post from a vet in a facebook group is far more eloquent. Copied it from @honiahaka.wolfdogs.wolfalikes Facebook Group
Heat Stroke whats the big deal?
There are a lot of posts warning dog owners to be careful in the hot weather, but still there are dogs being exercised at inappropriate times of the day. When the weather is as hot as it is, as suddenly as it is, it may even be inappropriate to exercise your dog at all. Why does everyone make such a fuss about dogs getting too hot? Clearly there are far too many owners who dont understand the importance of the warnings. The fact is, excess heat can all too easily be fatal – yes fatal – your dog will die. Not just die, they will die a particularly horrible death. In all the many warnings and articles that are around there doesn’t seem to be any description of the process of heatstroke and how it actually causes a dog to die. Well maybe they should, because perhaps then owners would be a bit more serious in their efforts to protect their dogs.
If you are of an easily offended disposition, don’t continue reading. However, if you are of an easily offended disposition and still take your dog out in the heat then continue reading and be offended but educated. You have been warned.
Today a dog died of severe heat stroke exercised at 9 oclock in the morning. If it was a child, the parents would be convicted of man slaughter and sent to prison. The long coated dog was being exercised in the local park at 9am this morning – it was already 21°C. The owners where throwing a ball for the dog. Our loyal faithful friends will still pander to our requests of going with us for a walk or fetching the ball thrown even when they are under extreme stress of excessive heat. They don’t know to self regulate, because their pack leader has instructed them to walk with them or chase a ball etc. … continued in the comments …
Part 3: The owners took the dog straight to their practice were he was treated immediately. His body temperature was just shy of 42˚C. A normal temperature range for a dog is 38.3˚C to 39.2˚C, a rise of just 1 – 2˚C can have major effects on the dog’s body systems. The nurses commenced cooling of the dog and the vet put him on a drip with rapid infusion of fluids and electrolytes. However, within 10 – 15 mins of being admitted the dog began to seizure. Seizures are caused when the electrical impulses in the brain misfire and cause like an electrical storm in the brain so the muscle fibres of the body rapidly twitch uncontrollably. In this case, the excess heat in the brain disturbs the electrical impulses. This is an added issue as the activity of the muscles then acts to increase the dog’s temperature even more. It was at this point that the vet went to gain consent to administer anaesthetic to the dog to try and reduce the seizure and lower the respiratory rate. But as the vet was talking to the owner, approximately 20 mins after arriving at the practice, the dog began to vomit and pass diarrhoea. The vomit and diarrhoea was full of blood. This even to the untrained reader, you can appreciate is bad news. Once this was discovered, the dog’s gums were checked and small red/black spots were present, along with areas of bleeding on the abdomen. At this point the vet had to return to the owners and request consent for euthanasia.
Part 4: The dog was suffering from disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. This is a fancy veterinary term that means the dog’s body systems was unable to clot his blood and therefore he was bleeding internally. In the veterinary world, it is nicknamed Death Is Coming. The process is not fully understood, but it is thought that the excess temperature prevents the body from performing the myriad of chemical reactions that allow it to function normally. Loosely, this causes the body to activate clotting, causing hundred of clots within the body. Once all the clotting factors are used up, the blood can no longer clot, so widespread haemorrhage ensues. It causes major organ failure; the kidneys, the liver, the heart and the lungs cease to function effectively. With a bit of luck, the dog is unconscious by this stage, as this must be hugely uncomfortable and a terrifying death.
For all those dog owners who think this was because the dog was chasing a ball and that is why he overheated, this can happen with your dog sat in the sun in the garden. It can take up to 60 days for a dog to acclimatise to a change in climate. I am pretty sure 60 days ago it was pouring with rain.
Thank you for posting!!!
Part 5: Once the dog becomes mildly overheated, unless they are cooled, they will continue to overheat. Dogs cannot sweat effectively and can only really lose body heat through panting. The process of panting can in itself cause excess body temperature if it is prolonged or laboured.
So, if you think it is too hot to put a thick coat on and go for a run, don’t make your dog do the same. If you think it is too hot to sit in direct sunshine for more than a few minutes whilst wearing a woolly jumper, then don’t make your dog do so. If it is too hot to stand on the pavement with your shoe and socks off, then don’t make your dog walk on it. If you don’t want to sit in your car without the air con on even if you have all windows wound down, don’t leave your dog in the car. If you are ever in any doubt of how to care for your dog in the warm or hot weather, speak your local vet practice. Better to speak to them now than your vet speaking to you to request consent for euthanasia.
@jordieedgar I see it so often lately… and people are often so ignorant about it…
Oh my god this is heartbreaking. Question- is the white frothy saliva a sign? Is this normal in other outside circumstances?
Thank you so much for posting this!! This is so important for people to know.
@meka_the_shepherd I am not a vet, so I cannot answer you… I had one day a hike with Ninja where he started panting a lot in summer… I aborted at one used water to cool him down and digged up earth so he could lay on the cool earth below.
Thank you for posting this. I wouldnt want to be a dog in this heat.
This is SO important. Wish I could share your post.
Sooo cute this wolf lookalike
@skyhighrollins I noticed it with my first husky… got him late summer and when we were walking across a field the puppy all of a sudden started to crawl… I touched him and realized that his fur was extremely hot and the poor fellow was trying to cool in the grass… I often used a pullover or jacket to check if it was too warm to hike in the sun or if we should stay in the cool forest or at a river/lake it was quite an eye opener
What a cute wonderful picture
21° C is 70° F. That seems relatively cool! The lowest it got here last night was 26.5° C. I exercised River inside on her treadmill instead of going outside. I also purchased a cooling coat after a local dog got heat exhaustion. What is an okay temperature to exercise your dog?
@kait_hurley I think you can share as a story and thus link to this post if you click the paper-plane symbol and select share as story. Otherwise you can join the wolf-lookalike breeds group on fb and copy the text from there… thanks for reading!
@diaboliplier Indeed it is… the topic came up a couple of times these days and it frustrates me when people take this too lightly
Thanks for sharing this!
What a cute woofer
@ninja.vom.wolfstor i totally agree. This is a very serious topic that all dog owners need to know
Thank you for posting this! I can’t begin to tell you all the dogs I see being walked at times the sun is the strongest smack in the middle of summer. It’s insane how they think that is ok, I will never walk my dog unless I can walk barefoot on the asphalt and the temperature has officially cooled down. People need to be educated about this and learn to listen to their dog, they can’t speak to us so we have to pay attention
@keisha.wolfdog I really felt for a while tha tI should post about it… but the language barrier stopped me… especially in the past days I noticed this topic coming up soooo often and how reckless people are about it… yeah.. it is nice to ride a bike in summer… and not when it is cold and freezing in winter… but it is an ordeal for our dogs… and that needs to be made understood.
@nadiayadallee read the story
Extrem wertvoller Post!!!
I canceled a camping trip for this weekend because it will be way too hot. Better stay out of the sun and just go for very early morning swims.
@upnorthpets We do not „exercise“ at all in summer… sometimes I ride the bike, but then Ninja will decide speed and direction… at times he goes for the river, at times he wants to go back home…
I just noticed from 20°C/70°F on Ninja becomes lethargic. We have been visiting @kaihu_und_hadez at home who have a wonderful large garden… but during daytime dogs did not go out longer than 10 minutes… it was the early morning or late evening that they preferred to be outside… they spent the whole day lazing inside… where it was cool… on the tiles…
Truth be told!
@upnorthpets I am sure you pay close attention to your dogs and if you provide means for them to cool down, if you do not put them in the direct sunlight at 30°C then this is already better than many others do… with huskies I pay attention that they are well groomed, that the undercoat is gone… and our exercise are slow „hikes“ in the shadow or at the riverside… we do this all summer up to fall…
@akelathehuskita That is a good way to check if it is too warm outside… I used to check it wearing a jacket or sweater outside befor the hike to evaluate where to go to 😀
@ninja.vom.wolfstor I do that sometimes too! I hate the heat and sweat easily so if it’s too much for me, I know for a fact it’s too much for my dog
@judithvissernl Indeed… it is not that the dogs are like „oh cool lets do something at the hottest part of the day!“ anyhow 😀 Ninja is in lazing mode since a good month, which is why I have recycle older pictures at the moment ^^ He just does not want to and I do not want to make him pose.
@ninja.vom.wolfstor thanks for sharing this. It wasnt somethingm I ever really thought of with dogs. I dont own one currently but in the future I will and I will remember this story. I just wish more people knew.
@alexx.fenja Thank You very much 🙂
@pupina2182 Finde es auch lesenswert, aber wie erwähnt, ich hab es nur kopiert.
Yes thank you For sharing this! I always worry about this and it’s nice to see someone post about it!!
Foto maravilhosa!