Speaking of summer and dogs, it’s important to know how to take care of your furry friends during hot weather. While these pets instinctively change their behaviors to adapt to warmer climates, they might not always notice or be aware that they’re overheating.
Usually, dogs seek out cooler spots when they’re feeling hot, so they might lie on colder surfaces like tile floors or areas under shade, which helps to reduce their body temperature. They also stretch out their bodies to maximize the exposure to cooler air.
One other way dogs cool down is by panting. Since they can’t really sweat except through paw pads, which aren’t really effective, they compensate for it by rapidly exhaling and inhaling.
This helps to exchange warm air from the body with cooler air from the outside. The moisture from their tongue also evaporates during it, which takes away heat from their body. However, when the weather itself is humid, this becomes impossible. Therefore, the combination of heat and humidity is especially risky for dogs.
Other changes in dogs' behavior that help them cool down include becoming less active and eating less. Some may confuse these cues as signs of overheating, but they’re actually not.
Indications of overheating are excessive panting, drooling, thirst, bright or dark red gum/tongue color (they should be pink), disorientation, stumbling, weakness, and in more extreme cases vomiting and diarrhea.
In case these symptoms become noticeable, immediate action to cool them down needs to be taken. They should be brought indoors to a cool place and given wet cloths or towel compresses on their neck, armpits, or behind their hind legs. Cool, not cold, as the cold can further trap the heat.
Try also gently wetting their ears and paws, and offering something to drink without forcing them to. If the signs of overheating continue or the dog collapses, they should be taken to a vet.
Fortunately, there are ways to avoid overheating and support doggies' natural cooling-down abilities. First and foremost is ensuring that they have plenty of fresh water and shade. Following this, make sure that you limit the amount of activity outdoors on extremely hot and humid days. If it’s more than 70°F (21°C) outside, you might want to stick to walks and any other activity in cooler hours, such as early in the morning or evening.
In 80–90°F (27–32°C) temperatures, it’s best to take short walks only to let the pet relieve themselves. Since dogs’ body temperature is higher than humans', this puts them more at risk for heatstroke, which occurs when their body temperature increases by only 4 degrees and can lead to death. The moral of this is that caring for dogs during hot weather should be taken very seriously.
