By Cheri Sicard
As the weather heats up, we humans are not the only ones to feel its effects. If you are a pup parent, it’s important to know the five signs of heat stroke in a dog. The team from McCann Dog Training is here to help in the video below. They reached out to Dr. Alex Avery of the Our Pets YouTube channel to get his expert opinion.
Heat stroke can be a real killer in dogs and it doesn’t even have to be all that hot. A sudden increase in temperature can cause heat stroke, even if the actual temperature is not that high. The risk is real in this instance because the dog will not have had time to adjust to the new temperature.
Five signs of heat stroke in dogs every pet owner should know
While all of these are important signs of possible heat stroke in dogs, you should especially get your dog cool right away if they are exhibiting multiple symptoms.
#1 Heavy panting: This means their mouths are open, their tongues are fully sticking out and may be swollen. They will pant constantly without any rest.
#2 Excessive drooling: As a dog’s temperature increases, more saliva is produced. Likewise, heavy drooling is an important signal your dog may be overheating. Saliva may become thick and stringy.
#3 Dry red gums: When a dog starts overheating their blood vessels dilate in order to bring as much heat to the surface as possible. The gums will go from moist and pink to dry and red.
#4 Vomiting and diarrhea: As the internal temperatures heat up, the lining of the intestines can become damaged resulting in vomiting and/or diarrhea, possibly accompanied by blood. This is a dangerous and advanced sign of heat stroke in dogs.
#5 Nervous signs: Look for changes in behavior in your dog such as not responding like they usually do, wobbly on their feet, twitching, or even full-blown seizures can be signs of heat stroke in dogs.
Dr. Avery says that even if your dog has had a heat stroke, taking measures to cool them immediately, even on the way to the vet, can reduce their chances of dying by 23 percent. Dr. Avery made a separate video on how to cool dogs down quickly.
Thank you for this information. We were broken down for 8 days last week. We have a goldendoodle with thick, curly hair. I wondered at the time about the signs of overheating in a dog. This is good to know.
Dogs cool through their panting not because the thick hair, yes the thick coat can make them more uncomfortable. When I was a boy some friends had a Shepard type mutt with long hair. They decided the dog would be cooler without all that hair, somewhere they found a sheep sheering clipper and proceeded to shear their dog. The dog almost died from the hot sun hitting its bare skin, they had to keep it in the shade all summer until it’s coat grew back, nature has a way of protecting animals from stupid human intervention, it doesn’t work all the time but most of the time animals survive human mistakes.