After a long, cold winter, you're probably itching to get outside and enjoy the sunshine. However, if your pet suffers from heatstroke, your trip can be cut short.
To keep your pet cool during the dog days of summer, be aware of the symptoms of heatstroke and take preventative steps.
When your pet's body temperature increases above the usual range of 100 to 102.2 degrees, heatstroke, also known as overheating or heat exhaustion, occurs. Dogs and cats have less sweat glands than humans and cannot cool themselves by sweating, so they overheat more quickly. Pets cool down by panting, which helps to reduce body temperature by evaporating moisture from the oral cavity. Heatstroke is most often caused by leaving pets outside on hot days, but it can also occur if the following occurs:
- There is high humidity, even if the temperature is lower
- Your pet doesn’t take breaks from playing to cool off
- Your pet doesn’t have adequate access to water in warm temperatures
- Your pet is left in a closed-up house on a hot day with no ventilation or air conditioning
- Your pet is left inside a car, even if it does not seem hot outside
So take care your your furry friends to make sure they don't overheat this summer!