I almost posted this under the "Stupid Advice from Vets" thread, but I have a question, so I'm posting it here. Hope that's ok.

I took Kodee for a walk for about 50 minutes today. It was about 90 degrees, and very humid. We stopped and I let him have ice water, and he drank quite a bit. He was panting super-fast, so I took him in a store into the AC. I put him in a down on the hard wood floor, and just waited a while (maybe 15 minutes) for him to cool down and start breathing a little more easy. After 15 minutes, he's still panting super-fast. Way faster than "normal panting" in my mind. So I take him back to our car (about 5 minutes away, if that. He drinks more ice water, I rub some on his muzzle and face, and I turn the AC on high, all vents aimed on Kodee. His breathing hasn't slowed down at all from what I can tell, 15 minutes later. So I call my "new" vet, and tell the receptionist what's going on (nothing really other than super-fast panting, longer than I would expect to be normal). She says they just had an emergency come in, and she'd have to try to ask someone and call me back later. Uh, NO. If he's got heat exhaustion, I need to know asap, so I can bring him in or do whatever needs to be done for him now. So she says "I'll try to call back as soon as I can." Ugh! Now I'm po'ed, but whatever. While I'm waiting for a call back, I call my old vet. Same question. This time the receptionist puts me on hold to ask, then gets back on the phone and says "Uh, panting, and maybe collapse?" WTH? She even said it like she was asking me! First off, it's July - my dog pants a lot. So that's not real helpful, I need more specifics. Secondly, I'm calling so that I can find out if something's wrong BEFORE Kodee collapses. Yikes!

So I decide to just keep an eye on him, and take him to the vet if his breathing doesn't slow down soon. I take him in the pet store, put him in a down on the cold linoleum, and wait. Finally after about 10 or 15 more minutes, his breathing starts to slow down to normal. Still panting, but not so darn rapidly. Since we've been home, he's been on the cool linoleum in the AC, and I haven't let him be outside at all except for quick potty breaks. He's been fine all afternoon now. Thank goodness!

So, since I couldn't get a vet to do it, can you guys please tell me What are the symptoms of heat exhaustion, and what do you do if you think that's what's going on with your dog?

Also, does it sound like something really was going on with Kodee, or was I just overreacting?

http://ezinearticles.com/?Heat-Exhaustion-in-Dogs&id=477797

Here is one article, and if you google with the key words "heat exhaustion symptoms in dogs" it came up with TONS of stuff.

I would say that two or more of the symptoms would cause me to call the vet as I am cooling the dog off. My dogs heavy pant when we go on longer walks in this heat as well. Shorten your time out in the heat and rearrange your schedule to do the long walks in the cooler hours of the day.

One thing: when cooling a very hot dog, pour the water on their chest, armpits, and lower areas. After the dog begins to cool down then use the water up high or just continue to cool the underside.

Rubbing alcohol is also a good thing to keep on hand to cool down a dog that may have gotten too hot as well. There is stuff on that if you google it too.

Next time (and let's hope that there is not a next time), I'd say to the receptionist, who is probably not medical personnel, "I will hold while you ask a vet whether this is life-threatening, or at what point it would be. It's not a 'call you back later' question."

Thanks for the link, Connie. I don't plan on there being a next time. I feel bad for having him out in the heat too long, I guess. At least now I know what to look for - the only obvious sign that he had was the prolonged, extremely rapid panting. I'm not sure about temperature, skin, etc, of course, since I was caught off guard and had no idea what to check for. He wasn't staggering or anything, or I would have taken him to the vet immediately. Now I know to cool him off first, before transporting.

I did e-mail my vet directly, and told him what went on with the receptionist. He seems like the type to rectify the situation with his staff, if you know what I mean. It shocks me that I called two vet clinics for advice, and got basically no help from either one of them! (Which is all the more reason for me to educate myself).

Thanks again.

One other thing to look for is paleness or graying of the dogs gums is a quick easy way to know You have to cool Your Dog off immediately.

I'm not a vet, but I'm a military officer who has been responsible for training soldiers in hot environments in the U.S. and around the world and consider myself rather informed on heat injuries.

There are basically 3 stages of heat injury, although you don't have to pass through all 3. You can jump to any of the stages at anytime without showing symptoms until you get there.

1.) Heat Cramps (rather self explanatory)
2.) Heat exhaustion - extreme fatigue, lack of concentration, and in extreme cases vomiting
3.) Heat stroke - to put it simplistically, your brain is literally "cooking"

The absolute best way to determine if your dog is in danger of heat injury is to take his temperature. Do this rectally - your dog's normal temperature should be 101-102 degrees.

The first thing we do with soldiers if their core temperature is high (we take the temperature from the ear canal), we have them strip off their fatigues and we wrap them in an ice sheet. This is nothing more than a bed sheet that sits in the bottom of a cooler filled with ice. The sheet is not frozen by any stretch - it just sits in ice water all day. Wrapping the soldier in ice sheets dramatically and rapidly reduces his core temperature. 106 degrees for humans can result in brain injury. Ice sheets as a method of first aid for heat stroke have saved lives more than a couple times.

A surefire sign of heat exhaustion is uncontrollable vomiting and an inability to keep down water. If this is the case, pack your dog with ice towels and MEDEVAC to a vet for IV therapy immediately.

If my dog can drink water and his core temperature is not higher than 102, I'd feel pretty safe. If it was a couple degrees higher and he could still drink water, I'd probably do my own ice towel therapy much like Carol described above and continue to monitor until he reached normal core temperature. If his temperature did not come down in 15 minutes, MEDEVAC.

If you are concerned about your dog overheating during exercise, bring a rectal thermometer and a small igloo cooler with some hand towels soaking in ice water. Trust me when I say it will save your dog's life.

Lastly, if you (or your dog) ever suffer a heat injury, you will be more prone to have one in the future. Once you have one, your internal thermostat will be forever skewed and you will have issues regulating your body temperature in hot environments for the rest of your life.

The best thing you can do to prevent heat injuries is to drink water. When Sitka used to come to the range with me, I'd ensure I took her by the water point at least every 15 minutes. She would drink water on command. This was not a difficult trick to teach in Fort Benning's 110 degree heat index.

I recently had a dog overheat with eclampsia convulsions/spasms. Her temp was 107.5 when I got to the vet. We did cool packs to the chest and belly and rubbing alcohol on the foot pads.

The vet told me that if you cool the dog too much (temp below normal) that they don't do well (translation--likely to die).

Overheating can cook the lining of the intestines as well as cause brain damage. If the intestinal walls die the prognosis is not good for the dog (similar to Parvo).
Miraculously my dog did not have any damage from the overheating even though she had most likely been in the brain and intestinal damage time frame.

If you go to http://leerburg.com/772.htm and watch the video, you can see what Cindy did to cool Aera off. After filming the dogs playing with the toys, Aera (the Malinois)collapsed from Heat Stroke. Cindy brought her to the kennel and cooled her off.

Please note that it does not have to be super hot outside for a dog to get heated up. The day they did the filming was only in the low 80's and Aera really didn't run that much.

Watch your dog and know what is normal for him. Keep a thermometer with you if you are going to be exercising your dog.

Cappilary refill is the easiest way to determine if a person or dog is dehydrated or suffering a heat injury.

First, and I would recommend ALL dog owners do this:

Know what your dog's normal cappilary refill rate is. Press your thumb into the dog's gums. Observe the pale spot your created, and how long it takes to return to normal color.
Do this when your dog is resting. Do this when your dog is exercising. Get familier with the range of "normal" refill.
In humans, this is done by pressing on the fingernail, and watching the color return to the nail bed.

Then, check the pliability of the skin. Know how loose your dog's scruff is. Again, just get in the habit of lifting and shaking your dogs scruff (without causing pain), so you know how loose or not their skin and scruff is.

During dehydration or heat injury, capillary refill is slowed, due to a drop in blood volume.

Skin is also tauter. In humans, skin can develop a doughy consistancy, if you pinch a bit, it doesn't just spring back into shape. In a dog, their skin isn't a loose as normal.

Also, dehydrated and/or stressed dogs, sometimes pant differently than regular panting. Their tongue will curl much more than is normal for them.

The best treatment for heat-related injuries is prevention.

With mild heat injuries- ie, the cappilary refill is affected, however the dog is not exhibiting other major signs, and his skin still seems loose, remove the dog (or person) from the heat, loosen restrictive clothing (loosen the collar slightly), keep the victim quiet and laying down.
If you can have the dog lay on their side, rather than on their stomach, than can also aid recovery time.
Give the dog cool, not cold water to drink, but try to prevent the dog from gulping too much. This can be done by providing only small amounts of water to drink at a time.

In severe heat injury- the dog is weak, disoriented, skin is extremely taut, the dog/person has tremors or is seizing, they are vomiting or experiencing diarrhea, have had any loss of consciousness, or are exhibiting signs of shock- withhold all liquids. A dog or person going into shock, can be killed by drinking even a small amount of water.

Cool the dog using the methods the other posters mentioned. Immediate medical attention is crucial.

Also, be aware that heat injuries can occur in cold weather, if a dog does not drink frequently enough.

As if that post wasn't long enough:

Many medications and medical conditions increase susceptability to heat injury. Age and poor health are big offenders.


I have been the victim of heat stroke, in the Army. I failed to realize that the sudafed I was taking for a sinus infection, significantly reduced my heat tolerance. I also refused to quit when I first felt the signs of dehydration- something many high drive dogs are prone to doing as well.

The most significant thing I remember from having heat stroke, was that I fought everyone's attempts to cool me down (my temp was 106 when we hit the ER). I did not feel hot in the least- I was going into shock, and I felt cold, and people taking off my clothing and splashing cool water on me, made me feel miserable- I was even SHIVERING.

But it also saved my life.