Excessive Heat Poses Serious Danger To Pets
By Kristen Johanson
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- With the hot and humid temperatures gripping the Philadelphia region, it feels like the dog days of summer. Many people are trying to keep cool in air conditioned homes and swimming pools -- but what about the pups?
Some pet owners took advantage of cooler, early morning hours to walk their dogs. A.J. spent part of Saturday morning outside with his Golden Doodle, Pita.
"It's just cooler in the early morning hours, so we try to bring her out early, and then we take her for a little walk," he says. "We try not to take her out too long. And then I am going to get my run in too, as long as it is still cool."
Shmirah beats the heat by keeping her Great Dane, Dioji, out of the sun.
"We'll hose him down, because he's black, he does get really hot, really fast, so that definitely does help," she says. But yeah, when it gets up to 90 and stuff, we don't even bother taking him out the rest of the day."
And that's a smart decision. The hot weather can often be too hot for your pet -- and it's more difficult for your four-legged friend to stay cool.
"Dogs cannot sweat, so they can get overheated very quickly, so they can release heat by panting and through their pads," says Dr. Deb Mandell, an Emergency Specialist at Penn Vet in Philadelphia. "But in this extreme heat and humidity, they are going to have a very hard time staying cool."
Mandell says there are signs you should look for if your pet becomes overheated.
"First, they will just start panting and not be able to stop, they might act restless, gum color will become very red," she says. "You should feel your dogs' pulses. Their pulses will be too fast. They can start vomiting, having diarrhea, and basically that could proceed to where they collapse."
The bottom line is to keep yourself and your pet hydrated and cool.
