Now that summer is here, we should be careful about “heat strokes” on our animals. It is good for owners to identify the symptoms and know how to react in order to help them as in some cases it can turn out to be fatal.

Heat stroke consists of an increase in temperature (hyperthermia not provoked by illness) in our animals, it usually occurs almost always in summer, when the outside temperature is high, when there is no shaded place where to shelter, when there is no access to clean water and fresh during the hot hours. It is very typical situations when an animal is left in an outdoor area without shade or inside a car.

We know that our animal has hyperthermia if its body temperature exceeds 41oC. The only way to know the temperature of our animal is by introducing a rectal thermometer, no touching snouts, ears or other home remedies.

And we must also take special care with obese animals, chatty snout breeds or heart patients as these pathologies enormously aggravate heat strokes.

It is very important to recognize the symptoms of heat stroke as it is accelerated breathing, very constant and loud gasps, elevated temperature, the heart goes at a very fast rate, the color of the gums and tongue usually turn red and on occasion turn blue, much salivation, the animal may become disoriented, stagger and even lose consciousness and in the most severe cases may go into shock and ultimately provoke death.

Once we suspect a heat stroke on our animal, the first thing we will have to do is remove it from the sun and move it to a cool, ventilated and shaded area. We should never cover it or bathe it. We will start by applying fresh water cloths (not too cold or icy) along the belly, head, neck, paws and chest. We will also be able to moisturize the mouth with some water on a regular basis.

As soon as we can, we have to transfer him to the vet as it is a veterinary emergency and acting quickly and effectively can save his life.

Photo: Pierre Bamin on Unsplash