[Brooke&Ryan]

Originally Posted by Lookie

Can someone post "signs" to look for before it's too late!

I live in B.C., and we have the most beautiful hiking trails shady, water, everything...but maybe even just the heat and her constantly moving with us, would be enough to cause heat stroke? Or is it just the direct sunlight on her that would cause it?

Here is something that I just found:

Death from heat stroke can occur pretty quickly. The shortest interval between exposure to high heat extremes and death is about 20 minutes, based on our practice experience, but these have
been "closed car" cases. It is probably more common for dogs to experience heat stroke in the first few days they are acclimating to heat and for it to occur in conjunction with excitement or exercise. Most dogs probably take an hour or more to develop heat stroke in these circumstances but if they were struggling with the heat prior to exercising it is possible that the problem could develop more quickly. Any illness that is contributing to an increase in body temperature can also shorten the time period for signs to become severe.

The most common clinical signs of heat stroke are weakness, loss of balance, excessive panting, roaring breathing sounds, excessive salivation, decrease in mental awareness, collapse and death. Any time that heat stroke is suspected it is best to get an immediate rectal temperature reading and to begin treatment immediately if the body temperature is over 106 degrees Fahrenheit or to stop all activity and move indoors if the temperature is less than this but elevated above 103.0 degrees Fahrenheit. Body temperatures over 107 degrees Fahrenheit are a critical emergency, because organ damage can occur at this temperature and at higher temperatures.

Treatment consists of cool water (not cold water) bathes or rinses. If the water is too cold, or if ice is used to cool a heat stroke victim it can cause a decrease or loss of skin circulation, which can delay cooling. This should be done immediately for a few minutes and then the dog should be taken to the veterinarian's office or to an emergency veterinary clinic immediately. Most dogs will not drink water at this stage of heat stroke and it is not a good idea to spend time trying to get them to. Just go to the vet's as quickly as possible. The veterinarian may want to use cool water enemas, cool water gastric lavage (rinsing of the stomach), corticosteroids and specialized intravenous fluid therapy using colloids to maintain blood pressure. If there is any evidence of disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), intensive therapy for several days may be necessary if a successful outcome is possible.

Immediate treatment is critical to success when dealing with heat stroke, so delays are potentially harmful, or fatal. Many people do not associate the clinical signs they are seeing with heat stroke, though. Especially when their level of suspicion is not high.

Also found this but not sure if it's true or not. I'd be interested in hearing if this is true from someone....

One way to check your pet's tolerance to the temperature is by looking at the colour of its gums. They should be a light pink colour. Press your finger gently in one spot and release. Watch how fast the pink colour returns. A dog with heat stroke will have dark reddish gums and there will be a delay in the time colour returns to the spot you've pressed.

:)
Brooke