Dehydration in Pets
Don't let your pet suffer. Protect him from dehydration and heat exhaustion. Like people, pets need a cool, shady spot to hunker down and wait out the daytime heat. Provide plenty of fresh water. The only way a dog can cool down its body is by drinking water. They do not sweat like people do. Overweight or older pets are especially affected by the heat.
If your pet becomes severely dehydrated and cannot drink, try giving it fluids by using a squirt bottle and squeezing the fluid into the cheek pouch. You can use something like Pedialyte to replace the electrolytes. You can also try soaking his body to lower his temperature. Use a rectal thermometer to take your pet's temperature. It should read from 100 - 102. Anything higher than this is extremely dangerous. If these methods do not work, bring your pet to the vet immediately. Fluids will have to be replaced intravenously.
Another thing to keep in mind is that your pet does not wear running shoes. If you decide to go for a run on a hot day, it is better to leave your pet at home. Paws can get burned on the hot pavement, and body fluids depleted quickly. Keep your pet's walks short. If you have to take your pet along, make sure to bring bottled water for your pet to drink from frequently. Exercise is not always a good idea on a hot day.
Your dog trusts you to take care of him. He will do anything you ask him to. He will run, play Frisbee, sit in a hot car or lay on a boiling beach just to be by your side. Be the sensible one, and keep your pet safe. Enjoy each other's company lounging around at home together. Stay cool with an iced tea for you and a Frosty Paws for your pet.
Published by Karen Curley
I have been a freelance writer, child care provider, and artist for many years. My experience also includes agility and obedience dog training, as well as a dog day care business. In my spare time, I p... View profile
-
Prevent Heat Exhaustion This Summer with These Alternative Treatments
Prevent heat exhaustion this summer by trying the following alternative treatments.
-
Heat Exhaustion and Heatstroke Symptoms and Treatment
The following information will help you recognize the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heatstroke, and will provide information on treatment for this potentially life-threatening...
-
Homemade Treatments for Heat Exhaustion
The next time you, or someone else, is suffering from this condition, use these homemade treatments for heat exhaustion!
- Heat Exhaustion in Canines: What to Look For; What to Do Knowing the signs of heat exhaustion in our family pet will help us to provide adequate medical attention.
- What You Need to Know About Heatstroke and Heat Exhaustion With summer just around the corner, here is some helpful information on heat exhaustion and heatstroke.
- Do You Know the Difference Between Heat Stroke and Heat Exhaustion?
- Canine Protection: A Guide to Prevention and Treatment of Heat Exhaustion in Dogs
- Severe Heat Exhaustion: A Personal Account
- Motorcycles, Dehydration and Heat Exhaustion
- How to Prevent Heat Exhaustion
- Warnings Signs of Heat Exhaustion
- A Guide to Prevention, Symptoms and Treatment of Heat Exhaustion
10 Comments
Post a CommentI agree you should not leave any animal in vehicle for long period, but you talk about summers that reach 80 with car temps over 120, well must be nice! I live in theSW part of country where temps reach 120 and car temps are well over 180. So leaving an animal in a vehicle isnt and option. The animals,like the people in an area will adapt, they still want to play and run and do whatever.If t hurts them they wont do it.
Give your animal all the comforts but dont limit them. You all sound like summer is the end of the world. Wimps!
My friends' dad takes his dog running with him on 10 mile runs everyday. I don't know how that dog manages. I have seen him squirting the dog with people's water hoses and letting him drink though. Not to mention he doesn't know the people who's water hoses he is using. LOL
Such important information~Well written, too! Great job!!
thanks for sharing. brandy is inside in the ac most of the summer (except potty breaks) we dislike the heat we walk at night.
Great aticle!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you, thank you, and thank you again for writing an article that warns people away from running with their dogs on hot days. I'll share a story with you. I once told an old man that I was going to start running, and he asked glibly, "From what?" He had a point. Let dogs run when they want to run... not when you want them to run! Great article!
Pedialyte works great. I once came home from vacation and picked Jake up at the kennel. He was so dehydrated, suffering heat exhaustion. Lethargic, wouldn't eat. I gave him Pedialyte, just a bit to start over a five hour period. He was just fine. He was forever susceptable after that. I always kept a generic brand of pedialyte around. Still do as Josie came to me with the same intolerance to heat. I always get the flavored kind. Good job.
Great article! I have needed to pick my pet up from boarding her in the hot months here in VA and I always, always took my pet home first before I went anywhere else I needed to go, regardless of how inconvenient it may have been. A quick trip into a store often isn't very quick.
It's not only sad to see a dog slobbering on the window of a car on a hot day...it's illegal. It's just as illegal to leave dogs, cats, or children in a car alone, on a hot day. If you see it, call the police and report the license number. They'll drive to the location and if the owners haven't returned, they'll go into the establishment and find them, give them a ticket, and make them leave to attend their pet. That's a horrible and unsafe environment for animals and they should be protected from stupid and ignorant owners.
Thank you for this information, it is going to be my Jack Russel's first summer.