You may think it is too early in the season to worry about heat stroke and your pets, but spring is the time veterinarians see a lot of cases of it. Your pet can be at risk even on a 70-degree day.
Even fit, athletic dogs can suffer heat-related illnesses during the summer.
"What we see is dogs over exercised during the early hot days because they aren't acclimated to the heat and especially older dogs or dogs who have a flatter face like a bulldog can't cool themselves efficiently and they are terrible at self regulating their exercise," said Dr. Kate Wissel.
Warm temperatures and high humidity are tough on dogs. Panting is the only way they can cool themselves down.
If your dog is excessively panting, having trouble breathing or drinking out of puddles, or if their tongue looks red, they may be overheated.
"Even though we may be able to go for a ten mile run, when its very hot, a dog can not. So don't expect your dog to be able to do everything you can do on a hot day. And take cues from your dog. If your dog is telling you i'm hot, believe him," said Wissel.
It's never safe to leave your dog in a car this time of year. Even on a 70-degree day the interior temperature of a car can reach 100-degrees in 20 minutes.
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"What we see sadly is on a 75-degree day somebody runs into grocery story, they leave the windows cracked, are in grocery store for 20 minutes and the car is over a hundred degrees when they get back out and that means the dogs over a hundred degrees when they get back out. And those dogs can go downhill very very quickly," said Wissel.
If you think your pet is suffering from heat stroke, put cool wet towels on them and get medical care right away. Heat stroke can be fatal if its not treated promptly.
