First I am NOT a vet all the information I’m giving is informative ONLY, if your animal is suffering from heatstroke bring them to their vet immediately!!!
#1 Different ways an animal body can cool down
1- Cats pant and lick themselves to cool down
2- Dogs can’t sweat through their skin like we do, Dogs do sweat through their paw pads, but it’s by panting that dogs circulate the necessary air through their bodies to cool down.
3- Horses, like humans, sweat to cool down.
#2. 7 Tips to Cool them down
This might be a no brainer for some but I’m going to say it anyway! Do NOT use alcohol to cool them down!! It will dehydrate them even more than they already may be.
- Offer an ice pack or wet towel to lay on or buy a cooling mat
- Add ice cubes to the water dish.
- Offer access to a wading pool with shallow, cool water.
- Offer access to cool shade by stringing up a tarp, cloth, or use a shade screen.
- Bring a collapsible water dish on your walks.
- Dogs love cold treats — ice cream, watermelon (remove those seeds first!), frozen chicken stock cubes — you name it! I posted 2 recipes to my fb page. BTW my cats love ice cream
- Seriously, Sunburns Stink! We all know the feeling of spending a nice day outside, then getting burned in the process. Lather sunscreen on your animal — they need protection, too! Look for sunscreens that are specifically designed for animals. (Consult your veterinarian for recommendations.) Big Tip: Avoid zinc oxide, which is a common ingredient in sunscreen. It can be toxic to dogs or cats if ingested.
Hear more tips on episode 46 of the Animal Experience
#3 If your furkids has heat stroke..what do you do?
If you think your animal is suffering from heat stroke, here are a few things you can do to help them out.
- You’ll want to bring down their body temperature. You can do this by wrapping wet, cool (not cold) towels blankets for larger animals; around them. Make sure that you’re not covering their nose or mouth.
- If your animal is OK with water, you may want to consider providing a shallow pool of water (for example in your bathtub) that they can lay in.
- Get reduce remedy and have it on hand! It’s fantastic for any kind of stress the body may go through and heat stroke is definitely on the stress list. put some drops on your finger tips and rub it into their gums or into INSIDE of their ears..be gentle.
- Another option is to apply an ice pack to their head. Keep in mind you don’t want your animal to become *too* cold, as that can lead to hypothermia. So a count of 80 or 120 seconds interchanging until they are out of distress or on the way to your vet.
- While doing all of this, bring your animal to the coolest part of your home, and offer them as much water as they want. This is especially true if your animal was laying in the sun. Turn on a fan or place them near an air conditioning vent; the cool vent will help with evaporation which cools them off.
- Once your animal’s temperature has been reduced, take them to the vet. Even though the episode may appear to be over, there may still be a few symptoms and issues that your vet should take a look at. Depending on how serious the heat stroke is, your animal may also receive sub q fluids or other medications to help them.
#2 How do the animals feel about the heat and what do they want you to know?
1- They’re more tolerant of it than you think, but of course it can still overwhelm them.
2- What did the animals teach me? Get down on their level….Animals are lower to the ground than humans, you may think it’s a day is nice day but the lower you go the more oyu made have blocking that nice breeze light bushes or cars ot even people. Even after the sun goes down the heat is still coming up from the concrete or asphalt because it takes a while for it to cool down. So, get down on their level experience the world how they do.
The bottom line
We’re about to come into the hottest month of the summer. Being prepared is what it’s ALL about. Get rescue remedy have it on hand and give it for ANY type of stress situation. Remember don’t put the dropper in their mouths, put some on your finger tips and rub into their gums or gently into the side of ears. Make them ice cube treats or ice cream treats or give them ice cream (my cats love it, just make sure there’s nothing is toxic to them). Get down on their level and see how it is on their side of the fence, a day that feels good to you might be harder on them because the cooler air might not be as cool as you think especially if their on concrete or asphalt. Enjoy your summer and I hope your animals enjoy theirs.