Since it is already warming up, let’s revisit the heat of Arizona, and take a true or false quiz to see if you can pass with flying colors.
- It takes 15 minutes for your car to become so hot your dog suffers serious physical harm.
False—It only takes 10 minutes.
- Parking in the shade will keep your dog comfortably cool if left in a car.
False—This only buys minutes, at best, to slow down rising temperatures. A shaded car still will reach high internal temperatures dangerous to pets within minutes.
- A dog’s normal internal body temperature is normally 100 degrees to 102.5 degrees.
True—Above 103 generally is seen as an emergency. If you have been exercising your dog and she seems listless afterward, do you yourself a favor, and check her temperature.
- The best practice for cooling down a dog suspected of being in heat stroke, or overheated in general, is to put ice on the animal’s body.
False —Submerging a dog in ice actually can cause the blood flow to constrict in the veins, slowing down the dog’s cooling process.
- If a dog is panting, he is cooling himself off enough to stay out of the heat danger zone.
False—This is the only way a dog can cool itself, just as we sweat. However, just because a dog is panting does not mean he will stay cool enough. It’s important to monitor your dog after exercise to be sure he has not overheated.
- If outside, as long as a dog has shade and water, there is no danger of overheating or heat stroke.
False—A dog’s internal body temperature still can go above the normal range, even if he drank water and is in a shaded area.
- If you exercise your dog in the early morning hours, she is safe from heatstroke.
False. Sadly, I personally know someone who was exercising his dog at about 9 a.m. The dog overheated, and on the way to the vet, she died. Do not underestimate the heat here. Just like people, different dogs have different tolerance levels to heat.
- If you are going to exercise your dog, you should keep outside exercise times to 10 minutes or less if the temperature is above 85 degrees.
True—Again, we’re talking about the dog’s internal body temperature, not how the temperature feels outside. The higher the temperature, the faster the animal’s internal body temperature rises.
It is very important to know your dog’s limits. Dogs often do not know their own limits. Therefore, it is up to us, as our dogs’ guardians, to take excellent care of them, just as Critter Caretakers does when we sit for your fur babies.
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Critter Caretakers Pet Sitting can be reached at (480) 553-0105. Check out our rave reviews at www.crittercaretakers.com. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/CritterCaretakersPetSitting.