05/16/2023
OVERHEATING DUE TO A THICK COAT?
There is a lot of ignorance about hyperthermia, or overheating in animals. Concerned owners often ask groomers to shave, thin, or remove the undercoat from their dogs. I would like to stand up for the preservation of an intact coat...and hope to bring clarity to both professional groomers and concerned owners through this supporting story.
The body of a dog or cat must maintain a constant temperature under all circumstances, 38° to 39°C*. This applies during an icy winter walk (-11°) but also while you warm up in front of the fireplace with the dog (+26°C) an hour later. Both on a warm summer day on the terrace (+28°) and on the cool kitchen floor, and of course also during a clear cold summer night (+12°).
The thermos
The guard hairs, the undercoat, the skin and the subcutaneous tissue (with fat cells) together form the insulating factor.
The behavior of the animal, breathing and blood circulation, among other things, participate in the monitoring of that body temperature.
The fur is 'only' a part of the insulation, but a very important part.
Think of your thermos, which keeps the chocolate milk warm when skating and the lemonade cool in the summer. If you put those drinks in a regular, single-walled bottle, your chocolate milk would cool down and the lemonade would warm up. The thickness of the wall, and especially the insulating layer of air in between, is therefore clearly important. Such a layer of air is present to a large extent between the hairs, especially in the undercoat of the coat. The air molecules are 'trapped' between the many hairs. Less air storage is possible in a coat with few hairs.
In addition, the fur acts as a parasol, so that the sun's rays cannot reach the sensitive skin directly. Sunburn from UV-B radiation, and DNA damage from UV-A radiation is prevented by an intact, pigmented coat.
Very short-haired and also all white/light-tinted animals are therefore extra sensitive to sunburn.
Think again about the difference in operation of a thermos that is hidden in the bath bag between the towels, or one that is standing directly in the sun...
FUR COAT...?
Unfortunately, pet fur is mistakenly seen as an extra fur coat that could be shed in the summer. But that comparison does not hold.
Of course, when people wear a fur coat in the summer (consisting of a thick animal skin with undercoat and upper hair of the fur animal) they get incredibly hot. We have a regulation system that allows the skin to give off heat. Then that body should not be covered with a hairy piece of leather.
When people are in a 'too hot' environment (+25 degrees) or create a heat surplus through exertion, our body wants to lose that heat. The blood vessels dilate (small vessels and then color your skin red) so that the blood can give off heat to the cooler environment. In addition, exocrine (opening on the skin) sweat glands drain body fluids. That moisture evaporates and creates cooling.
This system does not work in dogs and cats. They have numerous sweat glands, but they have a different structure and function than ours. They flow into the hair follicles and, together with sebaceous glands, keep the skin, hair and skin flora in good condition. This has nothing to do with heat regulation.
The exocrine glands in the soles of the feet that discharge onto the skin are mainly intended to leave scent marks. This is how a hunted, runaway dog finds you and the car back in the woods. The soles of the feet only make up such a small area of the body; those mountains have too few sweat glands to cool an entire dog's body.
Putting the feet in a layer of cold water to cool down does not make much sense. The blood vessels in the lower legs will then constrict, as happens in cold conditions (snow) where no heat must be lost.
GIVE THE DOG HIS WAY...LET THAT CAT GO
So what is the way to safely get through the summer with a fully furred pet?
Let's see what the beast itself does.
First of all, it is noticeable that dogs pant quickly, both after exercise and in a warmer environment. It is a mechanism by which the heat is released to the environment through respiration. In fact, the warm exhaled air is exchanged with cooler ambient air, a very efficient system.
Panting is not pathetic, it is part of the dog's behavior pattern to stay warm. However, people do become alert, concerned, or perhaps even irritated by this panting. Rather just let dogs pant, and don't pity them. The extra attention they get with it makes them like to come and pant close to us. Dogs are communicative animals and inform our packmates of their well-being and state of mind. We also reward them with a kind word or gesture.
Cats hardly pant in warm weather conditions, but choose a position and a lying place where they are least bothered. Make sure they don't accidentally get locked up (garden house, attic) where they are deprived of drinking water and litter box.
An additional way to dissipate heat is to lie flat on your stomach or stretched sideways on a cool surface. The blood vessels in the (scarcely hairy) armpits and groin will dilate so that the increased blood supply can transfer heat to the colder surface along that route. After a while the animal stands up, perhaps takes a sip of water (it loses moisture by panting) and flops down a little further on on a new cool lying place, after all the previous one has become heated. "He doesn't know where to look for it"? He knows that damn well!
TROPICAL lattice
The biorhythm of the domestic dog has completely adapted to our lifestyle. During warmer periods we should rather let this go. Plan the walks in the edges of the day, stay out of the (then strong) sun between 12 and 3 p.m. Many dogs are sun worshipers and you sometimes don't understand how they can survive in the blazing sun. As long as it concerns a healthy animal, this should not be a problem. The colder surface usually forms the counterpart of the hot sun, so that the body temperature remains in balance.
In warm periods, pay attention to animals with osteoarthritis. Warmth makes stiff joints more flexible, but lying on a surface that is too cold for a long time results in stiffness. Consult with the vet whether medication is possible.
Cats are usually less affected by 'our' rhythm of life, and naturally adapt their activities to the ambient temperature.
PROTECTIVE COAT
Be aware that a thin or trimmed coat allows solar radiation to pass through. This applies even more to a light-tinted coat with little or no pigment. The animal itself does not know about this and can therefore get burns and worse. Also (not to) moderately pigmented, short haired ears and muzzles of 'normal coats' are susceptible to sunburn and ultimately to skin tumours.
We prefer not to leave sensitive sun lovers outside between 12 and 3 pm; siesta!
In summary... leave the cat alone and your dog to pant. Allow them to find the coolest place and don't take a dog on walks. Don't let him work, don't provoke play, and avoid confinement in a smaller space. In short, let them have a lazy summer holiday. If a dog is of a very active type, force it to rest and leave the ball at home.
Leave the indispensable, skin-protecting coat alone as much as possible. Of course it must be tangle-free, but leave the undercoat intact as much as possible. These hairs and the air molecules between them form the insulating thermos layer!
For dogs that need to be clipped, shaved or plucked, it is important to save a coat length of at least one and a half, and even more centimeters for light-skinned animals.
Another thing to think about...
Most households are heated to 22°C or even more in winter. Then they also keep their coats inside, right?
Feel free to spread this message with acknowledgment of the source.... And have a nice summer.
Jet and Wim Bees
