Heat Stroke - What it Is and How to Fix It.

For those of you in the United Kingdom, like us, we are in the middle of a huge heatwave at the time of writing this and it's that time of year where we have some hot weather coming.

Before we start this blog it is important to note for those of you in much hotter areas than we have, that acclimation is a very real thing. Our dogs here in the UK do not get sufficient time to acclimate to the hot weather. Full heat acclimation can take up to sixty days, and here in the UK we just never get sixty days of consistent heat. It's been well over thirty degrees today and yesterday, and by tomorrow it will be down to nineteen. Our dogs just do not get the consistency needed. If you want to check out a paper on acclimation there's one here >>> http://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7337213/

Anyway, let's get into it. The first and most important thing we want to share on this topic is that your dog will not die because he misses a walk or two. Your dog will die if he encounters severe heat stroke. So let's look into what heat stroke actually is before we look at ways to live a happy life with your dog in the heat.

Heat stroke is known as a multi organ crisis, and happens when the dog's core temperature ticks over 40.5 degrees. Their natural cooling methods no longer work and it's a bad road with bad things along the way.

There are a multitude of issues that occur at this temperature but lets look at some of the most poignant things that happen.

SIRS, or Systemic Inflammatory Response Syndrome. What does this mean in normal language? Basically the cells become damaged and they release a load of toxins into the blood. Them toxins send the immune system into a thousand miles an hour. Fast breathing, fast heart rate and a tonne of extra white blood cells.

Circulatory Collapse and Shock - This happens because all the blood vessels expand to try and throw blood towards the surface to cool it down, the heart can't pump very well at that point and we have another very bad day on our hands.

Cellular Thermal Injury - Another load of big words, which basically means the proteins in the cells literally break down. The cells themselves are breaking apart and dying. There is unfortunately a 'point of no return' after about fifty degrees for a minute. The proteins denature and the cell walls rupture to a point that cannot be reversed even once the dog is cooled down.

Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation - Even bigger words than before! This basically occurs once high heat and inflammation have got to a point where the body's clotting mechanisms don't work anymore. Massive internal bleeding and

micro clotting within the organs.

It's safe to say everybody reading this wants to avoid all of the above, but what do you do if your dog is showing signs of heat stroke?

Strange Behaviour - Watch out for severe lethargy or restlessness. This seems counter intuitive because of the opposing behaviours but both can occur at different states of heat stroke. It is also worth watching out for pacing or stumbling too.

Fast Panting - We're not saying normal panting. Heat stroke style panting looks frantic and fast. There's often a lot of drool alongside it too. Just because your dog is panting does not mean you have a heat stroke scare. Look for the panicked, fast paced type of panting.

Dark Gums - Gums can be dark purple or bright red. This happens because the dog's body is trying to redirect blood flow, desperate to cool it down. If it's a really severe colour you may also have poor oxygenation and even shock at play as well.

Check The Body - A dog's physical body when in heat stroke can be a really obvious identifier. You will often see a strange, glassy look in the eyes accompanied by muscle shakes. Checking the heart rate is worth thinking about as well. A fast heart rate with the other symptoms is a sure sign to head to the vet.

And finally if you have very severe heat stroke you may find vomiting, vomiting with blood, diarrhea and in extreme cases the dog will collapse or fall unconscious completely.

Now we've looked at what happens and how to spot it, what do you do if your dog does fall victim to heat stroke?

The first and foremost objective is to cool the dog down but do so SLOWLY. In no circumstances should you cover the dog in ice, or throw them in a freezing cold bath as tempting as it might be. This fast cooling restricts blood vessels and actually makes it harder for the dog to cool down. The other tempting thing to do which is an absolute no go is to drape wet towels on the dog. These can end up warming very quickly and trap heat like a blanket.

What you do want to do is pour COOL water on the dog, get them in the shade immediately, get a fan on them and offer them water to drink. When offering water, do not let them guzzle. Allow only small sips, little and often.

If you are worried the dog is indeed in heat stroke and isn't just warm, it's absolutely worth a trip to the vets even if your dog looks like it is cooling down. Unfortunately as we discussed above, heat stroke can cause multi organ damage so getting there quickly is paramount.

Your vet will likely get your dog straight on an IV and perform blood work to check for organ functions. It is far better to have this done, waste some time and money, for your dog to be fine, than to not do it and realise your dog is in multi organ failure and you get there too late.

Keep your dogs out of the heat of the day, in the shade and calm as much as you can. As was stated at the start of this post, no dog is ever going to die because it misses some walks. You can always take your dog out first thing in the morning or last thing at night and if it's still too warm to do that there are plenty of enriching activities you can do inside away from the blazing sun.

Stay safe until next time.

The Team

British Institute of Canine Science