{"id":588,"date":"2013-07-01T12:00:40","date_gmt":"2013-07-01T16:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/?p=588"},"modified":"2013-06-27T11:35:21","modified_gmt":"2013-06-27T15:35:21","slug":"beat-the-heat-how-to-keep-your-pet-safe-this-summer-dr-lorri-mitchell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/news\/beat-the-heat-how-to-keep-your-pet-safe-this-summer-dr-lorri-mitchell","title":{"rendered":"BEAT THE HEAT: How to keep your pet safe this summer ( Dr. Lorri Mitchell)"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Help Your Pet<\/em> Avoid Heatstroke!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ahh, summertime. We have already weathered one heat wave and we can be sure there are more to come. This time of the year there are always warnings about heat stroke, and keeping pets inside on those hot days. We have all heard the precautions about leaving pets in cars but what is the real risk?<\/p>\n

\"\"Heat Stroke<\/strong> occurs when a warm blooded animal is no longer able to self-regulate their body temperature due to environmental conditions. For our furry pets that are not able to sweat, this means the outside world is too hot for them to cool themselves down by panting. It cause hyperthermia (their body temperature gets too hot like a super fever!). What quickly follows is internal organ damage and that can lead to death or long term health problems if not immediately and aggressively treated.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>At our hospitals we usually see several cases of heat stroke per season that range from a pet being forgotten in the car to a pet exercising in the heat when they were not used to it. Sometimes, just lying outside in the heat and humidity can lead to heat stroke.<\/p>\n

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Risk Factors for Heat Stroke<\/strong><\/p>\n

Pet Risk Factors:<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0The very old and the very young (just like us!)<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0 Overweight pets<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 Sudden exercise of pets not conditioned for physical activity (even at moderate\u00a0\u00a0 temperatures)<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0 Underlying medical issues such as heart or respiratory disease<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0 Short nosed breeds (pugs, bulldogs, pekes or mixes of these) whose respiratory systems are less able to cope with extreme temperatures<\/strong><\/p>\n

Environmental Risk Factors:<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0High temperatures especially when coupled with high humidity<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0 Lack of shade, water or ventilation<\/p>\n

And of course, the CAR!<\/strong><\/p>\n

Leav\"\"<\/a>ing your pet in the car in the warm months is never a good idea. Even at moderate outside temperatures the inside of a car is much hotter. We posted this chart on Facebook recently but here is another look.<\/p>\n

How do I recognize that my pet is overheated?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Signs that you need to take action, including calling us right away are:<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0Excessive panting even at rest<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 Dark or bright red tongue and gum color instead of salmon pink<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0Sticky or dry gums<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0Extreme lethargy, staggering or appearing unaware of surroundings<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0Bloody diarrhea or vomit<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0Seizures<\/p>\n

What do I do?<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0Call us right away to let us know you are coming with an emergency<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 If you are delayed in transport move the pet to a cooler environment or at least shade. Use COOL water (NOT ICE WATER) to cool your pet. Using towels or cloths soaked in COOL water are best. Wrap around feet and head.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 Offer ice cubes or small amounts of water but do not force drinking<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/strong>It is important to remember that even if your pet seems to recover from an over-heating episode you cannot assume that all is well. Their organ systems may have been affected and will need blood tests to evaluate their health. They may require a hospital stay for intravenous fluids and other medical support. With immediate treatment, heat stroke patients can be saved and live normally. Unfortunately, some do experience terminal changes to their brain or other organs causing them to lapse into coma and death despite the best efforts. The outcome is affected by factors such as how high and how long the pet\u2019s internal temperature was elevated and how quickly aggressive medical treatment is started.<\/p>\n

So how do we enjoy summer with our pets then?<\/strong><\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0Avoid activity at the hottest part of the day<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0On hot\/humid days play indoors<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 If pets will be outside ensure they have shade and lots of water<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0Leave your pet at home when you go shopping or try to shop at pet friendly stores. If your pet must run errands with you, do not leave them in the car alone for more than a minute. Use solar shield blankets and shades for windows or kennels with portable fans and keep the air conditioning running. If you don\u2019t have AC in the car, park in the shade, open all (not just one) windows at a safe level to allow a cross breeze. When you arrive home bring the pet in first before unloading the car.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0For the techie, there are thermometers you can mount in the car with a radio transmitter to your central locking\/alarm key fob and will trigger an alarm when temperatures rise in the car. But, you must be close by to rescue the pet before the temperature becomes excessive.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0 Some pets love to swim and even kiddie pools will help keep them wet and cool.<\/p>\n

–\u00a0\u00a0Dog friendly beaches can be a fun way to stay cool and there are some in NJ. Check out www.bringfido.com to find some!<\/p>\n

Have a great summer and stay cool!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Help Your Pet Avoid Heatstroke! Ahh, summertime. We have already weathered one heat wave and we can be sure there are more to come. This time of the year there are always warnings about heat stroke, and keeping pets inside on those hot days. We have all heard the precautions about leaving pets in cars but what is the real risk? Heat Stroke occurs when a warm blooded animal is no longer able to self-regulate their body temperature due to environmental conditions. For our furry pets that are not able to sweat, this means the outside world is too hot for them to cool themselves down by panting. It cause […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,17,5],"tags":[13,51,7,75,76,21,32,255,71,72,11,36,73,74,77],"class_list":["post-588","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","category-ocvh-specific","category-pet-health","tag-canine-health","tag-cat-health","tag-feline-health","tag-keep-pets-cool","tag-my-dog-is-hot","tag-nj-veterinary","tag-pet-family","tag-pet-health","tag-pet-heat","tag-pet-in-car","tag-pet-medicine","tag-pet-safety","tag-pets-in-hot-weather","tag-too-hot-for-pets","tag-weather-for-pets"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=588"}],"version-history":[{"count":22,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":615,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/588\/revisions\/615"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=588"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=588"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.njveterinaryblog.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=588"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}