When temperatures climb to the point that you don’t like to be outside, imagine what it’s like for your dog or cat. Northern Virginia Magazine turned to veterinarian Dr. D. Marguerite Adams with Adams Mill Veterinary Hospital in Great Falls for some pet care tips during hot weather. Here are our questions and her advice.
With temperatures so hot, what should dog and cat owners do to make sure their pets do not get overheated?
Since dogs and cats do not sweat, their cooling is dependent on exchanging cool air with the warmer blood in their lungs as they pant. When the ambient air is not cool enough, the heat exchange is inefficient and overheating can occur. So attention to keeping pets in well shaded areas or preferably inside with air conditioning or fans during the hottest times of the day is an important step to avoid overheating. Also, access to fresh drinking water to allow the pet to stay well hydrated helps a pet from becoming overheated.
A step beyond would be to invest in a cooling vest, which is sold to be used when being outside in the heat might be unavoidable for a pet. Certainly, swimming in clean bodies of water or enjoying a sprinkler are also great ways to cool off a hot pet when that pet is amenable to swimming or being sprayed with water.
Any advice for when to walk the dog during this heat?
Best to walk early in the day or late in the evening when the temperatures are not as intense. Even choosing these times to walk, the walks should not be extended nor overly intense. The walks should be brief and intended primarily to allow for bathroom breaks. Definitely no jogging nor running should be encouraged nor allowed.
What are signs that a pet is too hot?
Protracted or exaggerated panting especially when the tongue is lolling out of the mouth is a signal that a pet has become too hot. Frothy saliva around the mouth, involuntary urination, loss of balance, and decreased responsiveness are all signs that the heat might have pushed a pet from being hot into having heat stroke. Heat stroke is deadly. Pet owners need to be especially vigilant about car travel with pets in the heat. Never leave a pet in a car, even with the windows down, when the temperatures are hot.
Feature image, stock.adobe.com
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