How to keep a dog cool

VETERINARY CARE

With a young dog in training this summer, have you some advice on the best ways to keep dogs cool in hot weather?

I know this question has been asked before, but the advice is so important that it will do no harm to reiterate.

Provide your dog with:

a cool bed to lie on, especially immediately after he returns from exercise. Place ice packs under the bedding or provide a wet towel for him to lie on;

cool drinking water – but don’t allow your dog to drink iced water. Run the cold tap before filling the water bowl. If you want to use ice cubes, allow them to melt before offering your dog the water to drink;

access to shade; string up a tarpaulin or use a sunshade;

access to a paddling pool containing shallow, cool water;

a bottle of cool water to drink and a collapsible water bowl to drink from when you take the dog for a walk or are out training.

Remember, dogs can suffer sunburn, as well as heatstroke. Exercise your dog in the morning or evening when it is cooler and he is less likely to burn his paws on the pavement or be at increased risk of heatstroke. Place the palm of your hand on the pavement, concrete or asphalt; if it is too hot to touch, it will certainly be too hot for the dog to walk on.

Signs of burned pads include limping or refusing to walk and/or licking or chewing at the feet in hot weather and either missing part of a pad and/or blisters or redness on the pad.

The progressive signs of heatstroke in dogs comprise:

heavy panting, difficulty breathing and increased heart rate;

a bright-red appearance to the tongue lips and gums; drooling, thick saliva and vomiting; the dog becoming progressively unsteady and maybe even passing bloody diarrhoea;

the rectal temperature rising to 40°C to 41.1°C (104° to 106°F);

the lips and mucous membranes turning pale and grey as shock sets in;

finally, collapse, seizures, coma and death will ensue.

If you are concerned that a dog might be suffering from heatstroke, move him to a shaded/cool area immediately and douse him with cool water or use wet towels and/or place the dog in the breeze of a fan. TB