How to help pets in the heat - tips
Kyiv • UNN
Overheating can cause serious disorders of internal organs in animals. Veterinarian Yelyzaveta Babiy named the symptoms of heatstroke and the rules for helping pets.
The heat poses a danger not only to people but also to pets. Overheating can lead to serious disruptions in the functioning of internal organs, and in some cases, even threaten life. In a comment to UNN, veterinarian Yelyzaveta Babii explained how to recognize the first signs of heatstroke, when to urgently contact a veterinarian, and how to properly help your pet survive the heat.
When overheating becomes dangerous for an animal
As Babii notes, first of all, it is necessary to understand that overheating is a condition when the animal's body inefficiently releases heat.
"The temperature can rise, and this poses enormous risks because it itself affects internal processes. Plus, the mechanisms by which the body tries to balance itself have the greatest impact. That is, this is expressed in the fact that, first of all, blood vessels dilate. There is an increased blood flow to increase the area of heat release. If this is a minor moment, it can cause only minor, for example, swelling of tissues around large vessels. But, if it is already a serious process - prolonged overheating or at very high temperatures - then it can affect primarily the functioning of the brain and kidneys. That is, these are very important organs for life," says Babii.
She emphasizes that the main symptoms that owners can suspect that something is not quite right are severe shortness of breath, profuse salivation (the body tries to release excess warm fluid to also gradually lower the temperature with it), lethargy, bright red mucous membranes, and reluctance to move and passivity.
"These are the initial stages, where the owner can still try to fix the situation at home. If vomiting, diarrhea, unsteady gait, convulsions, loss of consciousness occur - this is already very serious, you just need to drop everything immediately and run with the animal to the veterinary clinic. And such symptoms can still be somehow corrected in large animals. If, unfortunately, this occurs in rodents or exotic birds, then, most likely, it will not be possible to help them, so you need to be very attentive to them," adds Babii.
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Walks in the heat
According to the doctor, walking an animal in the heat depends on many factors.
"In general, a comfortable temperature option for an animal is 24-28 degrees. Everything above that is already a stress factor. And, if we are talking, for example, about an animal with long hair or a very thick undercoat, then this value, let's say, shifts even more and should generally be from 16 to 20 degrees. Therefore, if, for example, your dog takes you for a walk in the morning… as recommended, very early and late in the evening, then it can be in the sun until the recommended 10 am. If it takes you out, for example, at one o'clock in the afternoon, then, I think, no more than 10-15 minutes will be safe for you and your dog to be in the open sun, no more," the doctor notes.
At the same time, she emphasizes that changing the animal's walking schedule can affect it.
"Animals are very sensitive to any changes, especially in routine. But the risks of any undesirable, say, reactions to a change in schedule are much smaller than all those conditions that can be caused by overheating. Therefore, this is usually more justified. So, our main problem begins with the evening walk, because the time interval between them increases. Morning walks, as a rule, are completely calm. In such a case, if possible, you can make an additional walk in the middle of the day. Just to take care of natural needs: 10-15 minutes there, conditionally, you went in, got coffee, and while you drink it, the animal did its business, and you went home. In this case, it's great," adds the veterinarian.
How to cool an animal in the heat
According to Babiy, a sharp cooling of an animal can cause serious consequences. She emphasizes that sudden temperature changes should not be made, such as taking a "heated" animal and plunging it into a river, lake, body of water, or an ordinary bathtub.
"The problem is that there is a reflex reaction of blood vessels. When overheated, they dilate very much. And if you apply cold stimulation very quickly, it can cause shock - the blood vessels constrict very quickly. Thus, this provokes a very strong rise in pressure, which will cause at least nausea and dizziness, and, unfortunately, sometimes in animals at risk, which, say, are not clinically healthy, it can even cause rupture of large vessels. That is, it is a very stressful factor that may not always be treatable even on an outpatient basis," adds Babiy.
She also emphasizes that another mistake owners make when trying to cool an animal is applying ice packs.
"This is a great idea in itself, but there are two nuances. First, they cannot be applied to all places. Second, you need to use the technique of so-called 'dry cold'. That is, the pack is not placed directly on the animal, but through some fabric. A towel, I don't know, anything. Well, the point is that it should be more diffused. It is important that the cold is diffused," notes the doctor.
In addition, animal owners often leave them in closed cars, which has a very bad effect on the pet.
"This is probably the worst thing you can do, because nowadays cars are made with a small amount of metal, and mostly from plastic, which heats up very quickly and then retains heat for a long time. That is, the temperature in the cabin will rise very quickly and rapidly. Plus, there may be contact issues. For example, an animal simply places its paw on plastic elements of the cabin, which can cause burns," the doctor noted.
Also, according to her, protecting the paws of animals outside is important, so you should use shoes or protective creams.
"The most effective method, probably, is special slippers. These are elements that can be put on the paws like a sock. They are both the most effective and safe, because, in addition to protecting against thermal effects, they also provide protection from some mechanical impact - cuts, scratches, etc. There are protective gels or ointments. They create a minor protective film, but you need to remember that the paw pads are derivatives of the skin. And they will absorb all this quite quickly. That is, for a short, very brief walk - this is an option. But if something more prolonged is still planned, then you either need to go home after all, or constantly renew this layer on the pads," emphasizes the doctor.
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Animal diet in hot weather
In addition, according to the veterinarian, animals may refuse food in hot weather, which is a completely normal reaction. In this case, without changing the diet, you can switch to a single feeding in the evening to have a reserve of substances for an active evening walk when it becomes cool.
"Or if it is feed, then simply add more water to it. If it is natural feeding, you can add elements that contain a larger amount of liquid, that is, in our reality, these are more vegetables rich in fiber. This is the best thing you can do. This will also help the gastrointestinal tract. Because completely revising the diet, for example, making some changes to it, is not always appropriate, as the animal may react to the change in diet. And if, for example, this is an animal that has some medical indications, it must constantly eat one stable medicinal feed according to its health needs, so there is no need to change it completely," Babiy summarized.