Keep Your Pet Safe in the Heat with tips from VCA California Veterinary Specialists
California Veterinary Specialists provided some helpful tips to keep your pet safe this Summer. Read below to find out how to protect your pet's paws from hot surfaces and signs of over-heating and what to do to cool down your pet...
Surface Temperatures Can Burn Paws
Be aware, the high temperatures impact the temperature of surfaces which means the pads of your pet's feet are susceptible to burns. Dog's paws do not blister like human skin so you cannot use that to tell if it's a safe temperature or if their feet are ok. Dr. Sarah explains the dangers to your pet from the environmental summer heat in this video here located on California Specialists website. Consider the surface your dog walks on during morning and mid-day so they don't burn their paws this summer.
How do you know when your pet is dangerously over-heated?
Sandra Cosgrove, an emergency critical care technician with VCA California Veterinary Specialists, shares what pet-parents should look for and what they can quickly do to safely cool their pets. Below is a recap of the video from Sandra or check out the video here.
Signs that we can look for in heat exhaustion is heavy panting, drooling, difficulty breathing, dizziness, weakness, dry bright red or pale gums and rapid heartbeat. If you think your dog is suffering from heat stroke, it's important to get them wet immediately to have their body temperature lowered. Below are 3 steps of what you can do to lower your pet's body temperature:
1. One way to do that is to make sure they have cold water to drink.
2. Then take some towels, soak them in water and ring it on-top of them until their breathing starts to settle. It's important not to lay the towels on-top of them because that can actually keep the heat in.
3. The fastest way would be to hose them down. If your animal has signs that they need to come to the hospital make sure to water them down first then bring them straight to the E.R.
We hope you found this helpful to keep your animal safe from the heat this Summer. For more safety tips on keeping your pet cool this Summer, sign-up for The Scoop E-Newsletter from California Veterinary Specialist. Check out their website to sign-up here!