There has been a lot of publicity in the last few years and even recently about dogs being left in hot overheating cars in the hot summers, by now most people know that hot cars are a real danger for dogs but there are still some of you out there that don’t seem to take the situation serious enough, or don’t realise how quickly the situation can change.
Every year dogs die because they are trapped in a heated car while their owners go into a shop, store, or any other situation when the dog will be left for long periods of time.
Dogs do not have the ability to sweat in heated conditions causing them to overheat a lot quicker than humans, along with the dog’s big fur coat; this makes a recipe for disaster on a hot day. As the heat rises outside it can be less than 10 minutes before your dog is screaming to get out in the agonising heat of the car.
You may think that your car windows being slightly open will help your dog and keep them cool, but this is not the case. If your car windows are slightly open then there will not be enough fresh air coming in to cool your dog quickly enough and if you have your windows fully open you risk loosing your dog in an unfamiliar place or even get stolen.
When a dog overheats it causes a very agonising death, if you have to rescue or treat an over heated dog you should cool them down with cool water ( not cold, this could cause to much shock to the system), or use a wet towel and wrap them in it, feed them cool water or a nice ice cube to lick and then proceed to consult a vet about the situation and get a full examination for your dog.
Jan 03, 2010 | | Dog Training Tips
Your dog may be the best trained dog in the world, understand your commands perfectly, and you may think that your dog understands the roads and can cope with cars well, but there is always a chance your dog could get knocked over by a car and knowing what to do in this situation is vital.
As stated above, you may think your dog is well suited to roads and can avoid cars and know when and where to cross the road, but from a dogs perspective this is all guess work and learnt from previous situations and near misses. Even after many years of crossing roads and viewing cars, dogs can still get caught up in situations that are dangerous and harmful.
If your dog does become the target of a road accident there are certain rules that should be adhered to when arriving at the scene and these rules can be the basis of how much pain and how healthy your dog will be afterwards.
The first thing to do is not panic, if your dog is conscious and can sense you panicking then they will panic also which won’t help the situation. Common injuries of a dog being run over are cuts and bruises so there is a good chance your dog is fine.
Dogs should not be moved after a car incident and until you know and are sure of the injuries they have, should remain in the same place or moved using a few people and a sheet or blanket as a stretcher if totally necessary.
Always check their breathing, your dogs breathing may have stopped as a cause of the accident and will need respiration by holding the muzzle closed and breathing air through the nose. If there is any severe bleeding you will need to add pressure to stop the bleeding and then seek urgent medical treatment.
If you are not sure of the seriousness of the damages, then contact your vet and explain the conditions to get advice on how to deal with the situation properly.
Dec 24, 2009 | | Dog Training Tips
