It is a common misconception to think that dogs tolerate heat better than humans. Humans dissipate heat extremely effectively by sweating and then through evaporative cooling. Think of how nice a slight breeze feels when you’re really hot and perspiring. This breeze has no benefit to your dog when he is hot. Dogs can only cool down by panting. The only place they can sweat is through the pads of their feet. If their feet are sweating, they are too hot. Panting is not a very effective way to cool down. A short walk in the foothills on a hot day can become deadly, especially if the dog is overweight or out of shape. For fit dogs, the same run that was a short easy run in the winter can be lethal in the summer.

On an 85 degree day, the temperature inside your car, even with the windows open a bit, will climb to 102 degrees in 10 minutes. After half an hour, it will go up to 120 degrees or even higher! On a 90 degree day, temperatures in that car can top 160 degrees literally in minutes! Leaving a dog in the bed of a truck is not much better. The metal bed reflects heat back up at your pet and can become extremely hot. The hot metal can burn the feet (hop in your truck bed bare foot on a warm day!). Remember, the breeze created when driving does little good for your furry friend who does not sweat (not to mention the dangers of him falling out of the back of the truck, but that ‘s another issue)!

Short-nosed dogs are particularly sensitive to heat stroke. These include Boston terriers, Bulldogs, Pug Dogs, Boxers, etc. They have very small airways and panting is an even less effective cooling method for them.
As an emergency veterinarian, I have seen many cases of heat stroke. None of these owners ever thought they were hurting their best friend by taking them outside to enjoy the day. Often times it was the same walk they have taken many times but on cooler days. Sometimes they were taken to the store with the owner and left in the car for only a few minutes. Prevention is the key. The most important thing is to avoid situations in which your pet could overheat. Monitor your pet very closely when playing in the heat. Dogs do not know when to quit and will literally play until they drop. This especially applies when jogging or biking with your dog. Play and run near water if possible and let him get in the water as he much or little as he wants to. If you are not planning to be near water, bring plenty of water for him to drink and even some to keep him wet. Avoid hot spots such as concrete, black top, or hot sandy areas with little shade. These areas can be very hot even in the shade and, again, the hot surfaces can damage the pads of their feet as well. Watch for excessive panting, agitation, hanging his head below his shoulders, inability to keep up with you on the walk/run, vomiting or diarrhea. These are signs to stop the activity, get him to a cool place, provide water, or even more effectively, wet down his fur so the breeze helps to cool him down. Seek veterinary care immediately after cooling him if vomiting or diarrhea occurs.

Unfortunately, there are many times when cooling methods are not enough and the damage from overheating is extensive. A dog’s body temperature is normally between 101 and 102°F. A rise of only 3 degrees is all it takes for your dog to be in a dangerous situation. At 108°F, the heart, brain, liver, kidneys, and intestinal tracts begin breaking down at a cellular level, and the damage progresses rapidly. Treatment with IV fluids, electrolyte replacement, IV antibiotics, and even blood transfusions may be necessary to treat the complications of heat stroke and if serious enough, the outcome can be, and often is, fatal. Again, prevention is the key.

With a little common sense and planning ahead, summer will be a fun time for both you and your pet. When considering taking your dog with you this summer, if you can’t be sure of the heat, availability of shade or access to water, leave him at home in the AC and play with him when you get home in the cool of the evening.

Have a great and safe summer!

The Doctors and Staff of River City Veterinary Hospital
www.rivercityvet.com
info@rivercityvet.com
208-888-7300

Additionally, all of us at Genesis Service Dogs are sending our very best wishes to Midas’ new family, especially Sylvia. You are in our thoughts and prayers.

I live with 4 other dogs here.  They didn’t all like me at first, but we’re good friends now that I’ve learned the rules about who owns the toys (it’s not me).  They really scared me once when I tried to chew on someone else’s toy.  I was so scared I screamed, and then when Mom tried to pick me up to make sure I wasn’t hurt, I screamed again.  I wasn’t hurt–just scared.  A few days later 2 of them had a disagreement about a toy, and I ran as far away from them as I could get.  I wasn’t taking any chances!

My mom is teaching the puppy obedience class I go to so someone else holds on to my leash in class.  She’s really nice and has treats as good as the ones my mommy gives me when I do the right thing.  I like going to class because we get to play before class starts, and there’s a Boston who is my best friend there.  I like to pretend I’m a mean dog and pin him down.  Then I let him get up and he runs away from me and runs back and lets me pin him on his back again.  That’s fun!  I think I’m going to be in the puppy class again because Mommy will be teaching it the next time.  She says I can be the demo dog and show everyone else how smart I am.

Mommy’s granddaughter has an 8 month old bulldog puppy that goes to work with her in her office.  I go in to play with him a couple of times a week.  We have fun chasing each other, but he gets tired before I do.  He has lots of really good toys–my favorite is a pretend cigar, but he says it’s his and takes it away from me.  We both look pretty funny with a cigar sticking out of our mouths.

It’s just about my naptime so I’ll say goodbye.  I hope you all are having a good time growing up like I am.

The boys got sick, again, last week and Dallin (the baby yet to be put on cornstarch) has had crazy blood sugars. His blood glucose dropped down to 60 last week, so while we were treating it we had Luke come over to him. I gave the command “Luke, check” and then let him lick the baby’s feet which is something we normally don’t allow. All the boys had gathered for the drama, but Ethan bolted from the room, and quickly returned with Karlee’s robot. He carefully placed it next to his little brother and commanded “Robot, check! There Mommy, Dallin will be O.K. Score one for Mr. Roboto.

The other evening Mark, Ethan and I went for a walk around our neighborhood. When we finally made it home, it was time for bed, bedtime snack, Jonny’s cornstarch, and to warm Dallin’s bottle. We put Luke in his crate, Mark and Ethan had started eating, and Luke freaked out. We decided to see what was wrong with him, so we opened the crate. Normally, Luke just sits there and waits for us to attach his leash. This time he bolted downstairs just like the first time he detected a low blood sugar. So, we tested Jonny first since it was time for his cornstarch anyway. He was fine. Then we moved on to Dallin- he needed to eat, but he was still in the upper 70’s. Then we tried Ethan, he was good. A little disheartened, we weren’t going to test Mark. After all, he’d been eating. We decided to anyway, just for good measure. Bingo! he was at 74 and since he’d been eating for a good 10 minutes, he must have been lower than that. Score 3 for Luke (he’s done this twice before).

Today Rebecca came over to help us train Luke. It was great! I can’t believe the stuff she can do with him. He still has a lot of work, but he’s doing a lot better than I was expecting him to by now. She did some set ups with him by placing food on the kitchen floor and then correcting him if he went for it. It only took a few tries before he was smart enough to want her praise more than the food. We also played hide-and-seek with the boys. She gave them a treat to hold and then told Luke to find that child. Needless to say, all the boys (including the four-legged furry one) want to play again.
After we brought the dog in from training outside, he bolted for the living room where Mark and Dallin were. The first reaction is to correct him, but he started acting hyper and spazzy in a really weird way. It’s difficult to explain, but it was different from just a dog that got too excited. I knew Mark hadn’t been eating very well today, and he’d been playing outside in the cold (both of which can drop blood sugar) so I decided to test him even though Luke wasn’t acting as crazy as he usually does when someone is low. Mark was fine, and Dallin still had another 30 min. before he was due for his next bottle. I went upstairs and got Jonny out of bed etc. But 10 minutes later, while Luke had calmed down a bit, he was still acting strangely. So we tested Dallin. Rebecca knelt on the floor with me, and Luke came over and started licking Dallin (which is usually not allowed) and nipping at Rebecca’s ear. Ya, weird dog. My dad joked that Luke must be jealous, but Dallin’s blood sugar turned out to be at 56, which means he was probably around the 75 mark when Luke started acting crazy in the first place. AAAHHH! We immediately gave Dallin dextrose to boost him, as well as his bottle, all the while letting Luke lick him and giving the command “Luke check” with a healthy dose of praise. I of course didn’t remember to give him a treat until after we got Dallin under control, but Luke seemed pretty happy with just the praise- and me finally getting the hint to take care of Dallin.

While he didn’t do a full scale “freak out” like he has when Mark and Ethan were low, I theorize, that is simply because Dallin gets to the 75 mark pretty much every 2 hours, so it isn’t that weird for him. He also knows that we’re more careful with how we let him interact with Dallin.

So… that brings the total score for Luke up to 4 (including the other two times) and Mr. Roboto 1. Well, at least the Robot is a cute decoration, and he doesn’t eat nearly as much as Luke.

Our new web site is going to continually be evolving and become a central hub of information for the training and raising of the dogs we work with. Subscribe to our blog to keep current on our latest information and news.
We soon will be implementing a community based portion of the site that will allow the members of our organization to collaborate and help one another even more. Our plan is to also allow members to post profile pages for themselves and the dogs that they’re working with as well as those that adopt the dogs for special service needs.

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