As the temperatures get higher, so does the amount of safety risks that can affect your household pets.
Dr. Erin Brown, emergency director at Huntsville Veterinary Specialists and Emergency,Ìýsays that heat stroke is the most serious form of heat injury that can affect both humans and animals.Â
Heat stroke occurs when the body's temperature is above 104 degrees and it can be detrimental to dogs affecting every organ system in their body.
Brown says it doesn’t take long for a dog to overheat in the temperatures we will see this week.
“We’ve actually had anywhere from 5 to 6 cases coming in this year and unfortunately not all of them make it. Several of these cases were only outside for a matter of 10 minutes,†said Brown.
The dogs that are the most susceptible to heat stroke are dogs with dark colored and thick fur, large dogs, old dogs, and dogs that have restricted airways - like bulldogs and pugs.
Some signs of heatstroke can include heavy panting, difficulty breathing, excessive thirst, and vomiting. However, once its identified in your dog, it could already be too late.
“Honestly prevention is really the best and the only way you’re going to be able to stop this," said Brown. "When an animal does come in with heat stroke and they're truly having multi-systemic effects from it, I mean their chances of survival can be very low in these cases.â€
If your dog seems to be having heat stroke, Brown says to cool your dog down immediately and take them to the clinic as soon as possible.
However, like Brown said, taking simple precautions when the weather and humidity gets to unsafe levels is really the only way to prevent heat stroke.
Making sure your dog has adequate shade when outside, shortening the amount of time spent outside, having access to fresh water for drinking and cooling off, and taking walks in the cooler hours of the day should help keep your dogs safe and healthy during this heat wave.
