HOW TO TELL IF YOUR DOG IS OVERHEATING

Though Los Angeles is a beautiful place to live, the summer months can often involve high temperatures which can take a toll on both humans and dogs. These conditions can leave dogs at risk of overheating that can lead to serious health effects and can be fatal in some circumstances. Thankfully, by learning the symptoms, you can find the best way to protect your dog.

First, you might want to look for signs of dehydration. This condition occurs when your dog doesn’t drink enough water. Symptoms might include sunken eyes, dry mouth, and a dry nose. There are a few ways you can test if your dog is dehydrated. For example, you can pull a fold of skin back, then gently let go. If it doesn’t return to its place, the skin elastically is low. The longer it takes to return to its original position, the more dehydrated the dog is. You might need to use electrolytes to rehydrate your dog. In extreme cases, you might even have to use a drip feed at the vet. Another negative impact of the LA summer is overheating. If left untreated, this can also be fatal. Some of the most common overheating symptoms include; panting and disorientation, collapsing suddenly, gums changing color to either bright red or bright blue, vomiting, diarrhea, and a change in the dog’s behavior. There are a few things you should do once you notice that your dog is overheating. First, you should contact a vet, so that they can be prepared to deal with these symptoms when you arrive at the surgery. It would be best if you also wetted your dog with tap water. To prevent these potential negative impacts, you should make sure that your dog is kept cool during the summer months. Let’s look at the best way to do this. 

First, you should make sure that your dog always has access to plenty of clean water; this will help prevent them from becoming dehydrated. You should also make sure that you have access to plenty of shady spaces for your dog. If you suspect that they might be starting to overheat, you can go for a swim. However, when doing this, you should make sure that you enter the water very slowly. Sudden temperature changes cause some internal organs to overheat, worsening the problem. Often, just standing in chilly water might be enough to help your dog cool down because they regulate temperature with the pads of their feet. Often, positive reinforcement training can help them get used to this routine on summer days. Finally, you might want to avoid doing physical parts of dog training in the hottest parts of the day. 

Often suburbs like Calabasas in Los Angeles can be prone to hot temperatures during the summer months; this can cause some dogs to overheat if mishandled, which can be fatal. So, use these tips to check for the symptoms of dehydration or to overheat and keep your pet cool during summer.