Symptoms and first aid of heatstroke in dogs

Dogs are very heat-resistant animals, because dogs do not sweat and do not stop because of heat; dogs cannot regulate their own temperature, and dogs do not take care of themselves to replenish water in time; the sweat glands of dogs are all on their tongues, so seeing dogs sticking out of their tongues means that dogs are very hot and need to drink water to cool down or calm down and stop their activities. Dogs with short noses are more afraid of heat and are less likely to dissipate heat than dogs with long noses. The normal body temperature of dogs should be between 37.8 °C and 39 °C. the internal organs begin to be damaged when the body temperature reaches 40.65 °C. it is highly dangerous when the body temperature reaches above 41 °C. In a high-heat environment or a high-humidity and muggy climate, as early as 20 minutes, the dog's system may fail and die, so heatstroke is the biggest threat to dogs' health in summer or other muggy weather conditions.

What are the symptoms of heatstroke? Gasping with the mouth open, with a murmur in the lungs and saliva on the mouth; the body swings out of balance when walking; weakness; blurred consciousness, and finally fall to the ground and die.

When a dog has symptoms of heatstroke, the owner should immediately take self-help instead of waiting for the veterinarian. The most important thing is to cool the dog down as soon as possible by rinsing it with cold water (not ice water, which slows down the circulation of the skin, thus prolonging the cooling time). You can also put the dog in a cold water tub to cool down. Then the dog should be sent to the veterinary clinic as quickly as possible. Dogs generally do not drink water on their own in this case, so they should be sent to the veterinarian to take intravenous drips and other ways to quickly replenish water and other drugs for treatment.

How to take a dog on a trip? If you take the dog on a trip, or even go for a walk, even if it is only for 1-2 hours, there is no problem if you do not drink water, but you must always replenish the dog, especially in summer and muggy weather; when the dog is walking or running fast, even in winter, you also need to take a rest in 30 minutes. Take the dog for a ride in summer, never leave the dog in the car, because the temperature in the car rises so fast in direct sunlight (even in muggy weather without sunshine) that it may kill the dog in less than 20 minutes. Special care should be given to dogs with short noses, such as Jingba, because it is more difficult for dogs with short noses to dissipate heat, and they can even often spray their noses with water in summer. Most importantly, avoid strenuous exercise in hot or humid weather. Walking or exercise is best done in the evening or morning. Dogs should be allowed to calm down and have a rest every 30 minutes to lower their body temperature. Do not do strenuous exercises such as running or playing games for a long time, even if the dogs themselves do not want to stop.