07/25/2024
Here are some safety reminders to help everyone have a fun summer:
🚗Don't leave your pet in a vehicle. Even with the window cracked, the temperature inside a car can quickly climb to more than 110 degrees. Dogs don't perspire, they pant. Heatstroke is life-threatening for animals and can happen when dogs are left in cars with the windows rolled up or cracked slightly. If not caught in its earliest stages, heatstroke can be fatal. Symptoms of heatstroke include: panting, dehydration, excessive drooling, increased body temperature - above 103° F (39° C), reddened gums and moist tissues of the body, the production of only small amounts of urine or no urine, and a rapid heart rate.
💦Provide your pet with plenty of clean, cool drinking water. This is very important in order to avoid dehydration. However, do not let your dog drink a lot of water before, during, or after exercise because a condition called gastric torsion, or bloat, may result. A dog, especially a deep-chested breed like the German Shepherd, can die from bloat. Its stomach may swell and even rotate like a wringing towel, which cuts off blood supply through the stomach.
☀ Avoid exercising your pet during the midday summer heat. Exercising your animal is important, but it is better to do so in the early morning or evening hours when the temperatures are lower, and the pavement isn't so hot. Your dog can get damaged or blistered feet from hot asphalt. Consider running on the roadside or grass, or walking your dog early in the morning or later in the evening.
🏃If you jog with your dog, it is important to ensure that your dog is healthy enough to jog with you, enjoys it, and that you have gradually built an exercise program that your dog can handle. Dogs can suffer from heatstroke if overworked, particularly in hot weather.
🏞You and your dog may be tempted to go into a river, lake or stream to cool off. Make sure to be aware of current toxic algae advisories, for your health and that of your dog: When in doubt, stay out.
https://www.oregonvma.org/toxic-algae-advisories?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR08KHIoM_pzp5bGbwVaudfM8TPMbApVvp9fRXwQgwiEqNEiJHIJ9jSdcgI_aem_hMR01kbD47Yt91hhUPM2iA
