Heatstroke in Dogs: Recognising It Before It Is Too Late

Dogs handle heat far worse than most people expect, and it is worth understanding why. They cool themselves almost entirely by panting, having very few sweat glands, and panting simply stops working once the surrounding air is hot and humid enough. When that happens, body temperature climbs with nothing to check it, and organs begin to fail.

Heatstroke can kill within an hour, and dogs that survive can deteriorate a day later from damage done during the episode.

Recognising it

Early: heavy, frantic panting, thick drooling, restlessness or agitation, bright red gums and tongue, seeking shade or cool surfaces.

Advancing: weakness, wobbliness, vomiting or diarrhoea, sometimes with blood, confusion, glazed eyes.

Critical: collapse, seizures, gums turning pale, blue or grey, and panting that slows or stops.

That last sign is the one people misread. A dog that was panting hard and now is not has usually not cooled down; it has run out of the ability to try.

What to do, in order

1. Get the dog out of the heat immediately. Shade, indoors, a fan, anywhere cooler.
2. Start cooling with cool, not cold, water. Pour or hose it over the whole body, concentrating on the belly, the inner thighs, the armpits and the neck, where large blood vessels run near the surface.
3. Keep air moving. A fan or a moving vehicle window makes evaporation work.
4. Offer small amounts of cool water if the dog is conscious and able to drink. Do not force it.
5. Go to a vet, even if the dog seems to recover. Cool on the way rather than waiting until the dog looks fine.

What makes it worse

• Ice or ice-cold water. It constricts surface blood vessels and traps heat in the core, which is the opposite of what you want. Cool water is better than cold.
• Wrapping the dog in a wet towel and leaving it. A soaked towel holds heat against the body once it warms. Keep water moving over the dog instead.
• Waiting to see if it settles. The window is short.
• Stopping at the door. A dog that stands up and looks normal can still have organ damage in progress.

Why a vet visit is needed even after apparent recovery

This is the part owners find hardest to accept, because by now the dog is usually up and looking like itself again. Heat damages the gut lining, the kidneys and the clotting system, and those consequences show up hours later. A dog can walk into the house looking recovered and be seriously ill by morning with bloody diarrhoea, kidney injury or a clotting disorder.

Vets check core temperature, run bloodwork on kidney and clotting values, and give fluids. That follow-through is what separates a scare from a death a day later.

The dogs most at risk

• Flat-faced breeds such as pugs, bulldogs and boxers, whose airways make panting far less effective
• Overweight dogs, who generate more heat and shed it less well
• Thick-coated and dark-coated dogs
• Puppies and elderly dogs
• Dogs with heart or airway disease
• Any dog exercised in the heat of the day, however fit

Preventing it

• Walk early morning or late evening. Test the ground with the back of your hand: too hot for your hand is too hot for paws.
• Shade and water at all times, and more than one water bowl in case one is knocked over.
• Never leave a dog in a parked car, not with the windows down, not in the shade, not for five minutes. Car interiors climb fast enough to kill.
• Watch dogs kept on chains or in kennels, where shade moves through the day and the dog cannot follow it.
• Do not shave a double coat assuming it cools the dog. It often removes insulation that also protects against heat and sunburn. Ask your vet before changing a coat.
• Stop games earlier than you think. Many dogs will keep fetching past the point of safety because they will not stop on their own.

Power cuts and hot rooms

A room that is comfortable with a fan running becomes dangerous when the power goes and the windows are closed. Dogs shut in a small room through a long outage are a genuine risk, particularly flat-faced breeds. Leave doors open to allow airflow, leave water available in more than one place, and think about where the dog will be if the power goes while you are out.

Heatstroke is one of the few emergencies where what you do in the first ten minutes matters as much as what the vet does afterwards, and where owners hesitate because the dog has already started to look better on the way.

Emergency treatment is covered on Skeepy Pet HMO plans at any vet clinic in Nigeria, which removes the reason to stop at the door and hope, at exactly the moment that hoping is most dangerous.