2021 Has been an interesting year in the month of June.
We recorded the highest ever temperature measured in Canada at a whopping
121.3 degrees Fahrenheit. South of the border. Boise,
Idaho has reached at least 95 degrees for a record 20 straight days.
As a scorching heat wave returns to the north,
Western US and Canada this weekend as a dog owner,
if there's one video you watch today, this is it.
You likely know that your vehicle has a potential to heat up and become lethal
for your dog locked inside.
You probably also know to avoid exercising your dog in the heat of the day,
and to make sure that they have lots of water and shade available,
but did you know that even on an average summer day,
the pavement can get hot enough to burn your dog's feet in seconds.
Did you also know that shaving your dogs coat can actually put them at a greater
risk for heat emergency?
Did you know that your dog's breed can actually make them more likely to suffer
from heat stroke? Even with the best of intentions,
you may be unknowingly setting your dog up for a heat emergency.
And in today's video, I'm going to make sure you don't make that mistake.
I'm Ken Steepe. This is Grand Slam. Welcome back to McCann Dogs.
As humans, our thinking often stops at us on a hot day.
We might be feeling comfy wearing a t-shirt and shorts because when we get hot,
we sweat, but dogs don't sweat through their skin. They do have sweat glands,
but they're a little bit different.
Let's find out how dogs actually regulate their temperature from Dr. Alex Avery,
the veterinarian at the, Our Pets Health YouTube channel. You probably.
Know that dogs don't sweat like we do. As humans in hot weather,
they do have sweat glands at the base of their feet,
but sweating really plays an insignificant role in temperature regulation in
your dog.
Instead they primarily lose heat through the panting mechanism.
So this works mainly through convection and evaporative heat loss as air
moves across your dogs, moist tongue and gums.
And that takes heat away from the large blood vessels that are very close to the
skin and the surface in that area. We experience a similar sensation.
When we get out of the swimming pool or out the shower,
and you get to sudden chill as the water evaporates,
it takes heat away from our skin. And it's the same with your dog.
And this is a really effective way for them to lose heat.
Panting also enables another form of heat loss for your dog, though.
It allows air that has become hot in the lungs to be removed and replaced by
colder air.
And the act of panting means that your dog is replacing this air a lot more
frequently, again, allowing them to dump more heat and to keep cool.
So now that we've established the dogs sweat through their feet,
it's not just air temperature.
That's a concern we need to think about ground temperature.
Think about any time you've gone to the beach and kicked off your sandals,
started walking across the sand only to discover how uncomfortably hot it is.
You might be surprised at how quickly some of these really common surfaces can
get dangerously hot today. It's a comfortable 73 degrees Fahrenheit outside,
but the asphalt temperature is 107.8.
Recent temperatures have been well above average.
So with a 95 degree air temperature,
the asphalt can actually be 149 degrees.
So you need to be very aware of the risk to dog's feet,
but there is something you can do. It's called the seven second test.
If you can hold the back of your hand on a surface for more than seven seconds,
it's likely safe for your dog, but if it's too hot for the back of your hand,
it's too hot for your dog's feet.
So if you need to be out for a walk with your dog,
try to avoid these hot surfaces, walk on the grass.
But if you're out for a walk,
you've been careful of the hot surfaces and your dog starts to act a little
funny. They may be having a heat emergency time is of the essence,
but what is a heat emergency like heat stroke.
Can come on incredibly quickly. So it's important that you know,
the most common signs, the first of these is excessive panting.
So panting is normal after exercise,
but a dog who is resting shouldn't be panting excessively.
Their mouth may be fully open their tongue fully extended.
It may be that you notice that their tongue is a little bit larger than normal.
Also, if your dog has been exercising, but they're continuing to pant for 10,
15 minutes after they stop exercising,
that's a pretty sure sign that heat stroke might be developing alongside this
panting.
You might notice your dog drooling a lot more as the body tries to lose more
heat through that evaporation, as well as this excessive saliva,
which may actually even drip from their mouth.
You might also notice that the saliva becomes really thick and stringy.
It hangs off your dog as they become a little bit dehydrated,
which only makes things worse as the situation develops.
And that dehydration progresses.
The gums may actually become really dry because the body is simply not got the
resources to produce that saliva.
You're also going to notice as well as the tongue getting enlarged that the gums
can become very, very red. That happens because the blood vessels dilate.
So the body's trying to lose as much heat as possible.
Your dog's mental state is then going to become affected. They may be dull.
They may not respond to commands.
They may simply refuse to move or be on able to get up. As things get worse,
they may start twitching. They can even develop seizures.
And then as the inside of the body effectively starts to cook.
The internal organs start to be compromised.
And a common thing that we'll see first off here is vomiting and diarrhea.
We might see some fresh blood in that vomit and also the diarrhea really
dark and tar light.
As I mentioned earlier,
the breed of your dog can actually increase their chances of suffering from
heatstroke researchers from Nottingham Trent university and the Royal veterinary
college study. The medical records of 900,000 dogs across the UK.
They concluded the bulldogs were 14 times more likely to suffer heat stroke than
Labrador retrievers. In fact, brachycephalic dogs may even generate more heat,
simply gasping to breathe. Than they lose by panting.
And what about the dogs that were bred for colder temperatures?
If they're bred for ice and snow, how did they handle the heat? Well,
for the answer to that, we reached out to an expert. Hello.
Everyone. We are Gone to The Snow Dogs, and this is Memphis and Kira.
They are both purebred, Siberian Huskies, which means there's no dogs,
but we don't live where there's snow all the time.
So we have to figure out how to beat this summer heat with these dogs,
Siberian Huskies are a double coated breed and that double coat is very
important in helping them maintain their body temperature,
both in winter and summer. Never, ever,
ever shave a double coated dog doing this can actually increase the
chance for them to overheat and get sunburned.
So how do we help our snow dogs beat this heat? Well,
we try to make things really fun.
Swimming is a wonderful way to keep your dogs cool in the summer,
having a big pool or even a small pool and a splash pad can be really,
really fun for your dogs.
We introduced our dogs to water very young so that they would enjoy it as they
grew up. We helped them build their confidence up over time.
And now they swim like champs, but not all dogs enjoy swimming,
but even dipping their toes in a little small kiddie pool or a splash pad is
enough to help cool them off.
And of course you can always throw some ice cubes in there as well.
Another thing we try to do is walk our dogs later in the evening,
after the temperature has dropped,
don't forget to do your pavement check before your walk. Now,
get out there and have some fun with your dogs.
And let's beat this heat together.
Jessica mentioned how much her Huskies love to play in the water,
and that's a great way to keep your dog cool,
but there are actually some other really simple ways that you can use to keep
your pup cool. In these temperatures short exercise times,
if you need to be out in this heat,
make sure you keep those exercise sessions short,
always have water available for your dog. It doesn't need to be ice cold,
but having water available to them can make a really big difference.
Never leave your dogs out in this kind of weather.
If you have a dog who loves to hang out in the backyard, it's days like this,
that you need to make the responsible decision and bring them inside.
If you're out in one location for any length of time with your dog,
there are things like shade, tarps,
and battery fans that are available that can help make those areas a little bit
cooler plan your exercise times for late evening or early morning.
As we mentioned earlier,
the ground is likely to be a little bit cooler then as well.
You've done everything you can to keep your dog cool.
But now you're recognizing that they're going into heat stroke every second
counts. So let's hear from Dr. Alex about what you need to do. So If you think.
That your dog is suffering from heat stroke,
then it is really important to get them to the vet as soon as possible,
don't mess around because heat stroke definitely kills.
And I've seen that in my own patients.
We do though know the importance of owners actually taking action to cool their
dog down before they get to the vet. And if you take this cooling action,
it can actually half the likelihood of your dog dying from heat stroke.
And there are five simple steps that you can take to cool your dog down.
So the first is simply to move them into a shady cooler area and encourage them
to drink next.
You can spray their coat or soak their coat with lukewarm or tepid water.
It's important that this water isn't cold or they're fully submersed because
that's actually going to trap heat in as the body's blood vessels are forced to
contract next, you want to blow air over your dog.
This can simply be turning that air conditioning up and opening the windows on
your way to the vet.
And then you can also place ice packs or cool packs in their groin under their
arm pits or over their neck. These are where major blood vessels run.
They're not going to constrict to any great degree,
and you're going to really cool that blood and then placing a damp cloth or
towel over your dog is going to help cool them faster by increasing those
evaporative losses. Those super simple,
these steps really could save your dog's life.
Now, I hope you never have to make this emergency trip to the vet.
And I hope that by understanding some of the things that we've talked about
today, you'll be making better choices for your dog.
One of those choices might be doing exercise indoors on hot days.
And if you're looking for some fun ways to exercise your dog indoors,
click that card right there. And if you're in the process of training your dog,
make sure you check out the links in the description below to our online
training programs,
where you can get your questions answered daily by one of our McCann Dogs,
instructors,
and they can guide you through your specific training challenges on that note.
I'm Ken, Happy Training.