Extreme Heat: Keeping Your Pet Cool In Summer
As temperatures rise here in the CSRA, our pets become more vulnerable to the extreme heat. There are steps you can take to ensure your four legged friend stays safe in our humid climate.
NEVER LEAVE YOUR PETS IN A PARKED CAR
Even on a mild day in the CSRA, temperatures inside a vehicle can rise rapidly to dangerous levels. On an 85-degree day, for example, the temperature inside a car with the windows opened slightly can reach 102 degrees within 10 minutes. After 30 minutes, that temperature will reach 120 degrees. Your pet can suffer irreversible organ damage or die in this extreme heat. Learn how to help a pet left inside a hot car by taking action or calling for help.
Humidity Is As Bad As Extreme Heat
High humidity amplifies the negative impact of high temperature on your pet. Our pets can’t sweat it out, instead they pant. When animals pant, moisture from their lungs evaporates and helps reduce their body heat. But high humidity conditions hamper that process and their ability to cool themselves, and their body temperature can skyrocket—rapidly—to dangerous, or even lethal, levels.
Signs Of A Heat Stroke
- Heavy panting, difficulty breathing, excessive thirst
- Bright red tongue and mucus membranes which turn gray as shock sets in
- Thick saliva, drooling, vomiting and/or diarrhea
- Lethargy
By the time signs of heat stroke are visible, it’s often too late. A dog’s normal temperature is between 100.5 & 102.5. If it gets up to 104 it’s considered heat exhaustion. At 107-109 it’s a heat stroke.
Dogs who are more at risk are short-nosed pups like a pug or a bulldog, long haired dogs like a border collie, a shih tzu or a lhasa apso and very young or very old dogs. Puppies and senior dogs need to be watched carefully in the extreme heat.
