Friday, October 21, 2011

Preventing Heat Stroke or Heat Related Injury to Your Dog

Overheating and Heat Stroke are silent killers. Protecting your canine from heat stroke and other heat related illnesses is easy as long as you pay attention to your dog. Symptoms of overheating and heat related stress include excessive panting, erratic movements, or in severe cases, complete collapse. If your dog exhibits one or more of these symptoms, stop hunting and get your dog veterinary care immediately.
Here are some tips to prevent heat related illnesses: 


1.Park your car or truck in the shade and keep your dogs cool when they are in the dog box and make sure your box has adequate ventilation.


2.Use a plastic kennel bottom or tote which you can fill with water for your dog to lay down and cool off

3.Keep plenty of drinking water for your hound and add electrolytes such as a baby electrolyte drink called Pedialyte or a specially formulated dog product. I carry this on my bear hunts and has allowed me to get overheated dogs back on their feet.

5.If hunting more than one dog, make sure you separate them to reduce radiant body heat.

6. Allow each dog plenty of time to cool off before calling on them to work again.

If you keep a close eye on your dogs panting and movements, you should be able to prevent heat related issues from causing problems with your hunt.

                                            
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