How Hot is To Hot For Dogs?

Now that the weather is warmer and the temperature is rising, it is important that you pay extra attention to your pets. They cannot withstand heat well. Overheating is extremely dangerous and can sometimes even be fatal.

How do you recognize an overheated dog?

• Your dog is vomiting and panting extremely much;
• He has fast breathing;
• He often does not want to eat and is listless;
• Your dog will be lethargic and look exhausted;
• The mucous membranes will turn red.

How can you recognize heat shock in your dog?

Due to its thick coat, the dog usually gets warm faster than we do. Because they only have a very limited number of sweat glands, they can also lose the retained heat poorly. Read all about motion sickness in a dog here.

If the overheating is severe, your animal may receive a heat shock. You can recognize this by a fast heartbeat and breathing, and little or no response to stimuli. In that case, you should immediately call the vet and start cooling!

Did you know that the dog's blood can become viscous and not be pumped properly anymore? This occurs when a dog reaches a body temperature of 42 ° C. A dog's brain can only withstand too high a temperature and is damaged the fastest! The normal body temperature of a dog is 38 ° C - 39 ° C.

How to keep your dog cool?

• Take your animal to a cool place and provide fresh drinking water. You can get dogs wet. Do this especially on the head, ears, neck and legs. Do not use ice cold water, it will continue to contract blood vessels and it will be even more difficult to get rid of body heat.

Keep your dog cool in the car:

Keeping the dog cool in the car is very important when you go out. Especially because behind a window the sun can get quite hot.

• Turn on the air conditioning or give your dog cool packs to lie against for refreshment. Always wrap it in some fabric, such as a towel.
• There are also mats for sale that, after being rinsed with cold water, can keep the coolness for up to 2 days. This way you help the dog to stay cool, both in the car and in other warm places.
• Make sure your dog has a shady spot in warm weather and plenty of fresh drinking water.

How to cool your dog in general: 

• Regular brushing removes loose hair and reduces the undercoat, allowing air to get between the hairs, which is beneficial for the skin's temperature.
• In dogs with a longer coat, you can trim or shave the hair on the stomach, armpits and groin.
• Make sure that the dog drinks regular amounts in warm weather and possible (light) exertion. This also cools internally. Do not let the dog drink large amounts of water at once.
• You can also (regularly) cool the dog externally with water. Only wet the legs, armpits, stomach and groin. Let the top of the coat dry. Wet the top of dogs with an undercoat will work the opposite way. The water closes the coat and creates a heating effect, which only increases the heat! So submerging a dog completely is not recommended!
• There are also special cooling products for sale, such as cooling mats and cooling collars.
• There are sunscreens for short-haired / bald dogs. This is also not a luxury for brown / pink noses. They can burn a lot.
• After all, you do a lot of dogs a big favor with a delicious dog ice cream! How about a popsicle made from chicken stock?

Never leave your dog in the car where the temperature can rise very quickly. Even a shade and an open window prevent it from drying out. This can be fatal after just 10 minutes!

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