# Heat exhaustion caution



## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

It has been unusually hot here in Northern California...high 90s. Yesterday, we were preparing for a dinner party and Ray was hanging out outside quite a lot. I noticed he was panting heavily and that his tail was down. I gave him some water and expected him to be fine. By now it was totally shaded in the yard, but still very warm. He kept panting and quivering and jumping in my lap, which is very odd for him (he is a coton and not a lap dog.) The guests started to arrive, and he went from one lap to another. MiMi was panting lightly, but not like Ray. I gave him a piece of cool watermelon, a light sprinkle with the hose and rubbed an ice cube on his nose and lips. I was really worried, but also distracted by the guests arriving.

Well, Melissa, who is very caring toward animals (she pet sits for us when we go away), googled heat stroke. Then she soaked him with water. He recovered almost instantly.

I'm telling you this so you will be aware, in case it happens to your fluffs. Heat stroke can kill a dog in less than 20 minutes. Even if you save them, they can have permanent organ damage. It wasn't heat stroke with Ray, but if he had gotten hotter it could have been a disaster.

Be aware! I suggest that if you don't already know the signs, you do a google search and read up on it. Tail down is always a sign that _something _is wrong.


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

Thanks for the reminder. This time of year, all of the fluffs can get heat stroke very quickly.


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

thanks for the info n hope ray feels all better today !


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

That's what happened to my cocker spaniel Buffy. We were outside doing the foundation fo rour pole building and Buffy and th eother dogs were outside and Buffy started acting very lethargic and disoriented later that evening. I called the vet on the emergency number and told him I thought she had heat stroke,he aid it wasn't heat stroke but heat exhaustion adn to keep her cool and bring her in the morning..I gave her a cooling bath ,put towels on the bed,turned up the A/C a bit more and watched her all night. She wasnt' any better,so I was th efirst one in that morning,he palpated her abdomen,took blood for heart worm tests and told me to give her aspirin.I begged him to do more but he said I was over reacting. I got home,she laid down and 10 minutes later,she was gone.
I call the vet back and angrily told him to forget the heartworm tests,she just DIED!

Never take for granted the effects of heat.Never underestimate heat exhaustion or heat stroke.

He wanted to do an autopsy on her but I was so upset at his callous disreguard I didn't want him cutting up and mutilating my baby.

17 years later,I still cry for letting her down.

We switched vets after that. To one that makes housecalls!


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

oh michelle thats so sad , but just know honey u didnt let her doen , u tried everything , now that vet he was an ass!


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## mommatee (Jul 20, 2010)

Sylvia, thanks for writing about this issue. Luckily Ray is fine. Chloe is my first and only furbaby and I've learned so much from this SM family. 

Oh, how heartbreaking Michelle. So sorry this happened to you and poor Buffy. No one should have to go through this. This is what the Vet went to school for and why you pay him/her money - to diagnose and treat our babies. In this case, your vet failed you and Buffy!


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh, Michelle, I am so sorry to hear about Buffy. From what I read if a dog's body temperature gets too high, even though you cool them off, it could have permanently damaged organs. No excuse for your vet, but for you. You absolutely did your best by her. I was afraid we had to go the emergency vet yesterday, and upset because I have never known one that I liked or trusted even a little bit.:angry:

I am watching Ray carefully today, and restricting his time outside to just long enough to sniff and go potty.


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## mss (Mar 1, 2006)

I hope Ray continues to do well.  

Michelle, I'm so sorry.  {{{{{}}}}}

It's supposed to be 103 here in Sacramento tomorrow. It's only 100 now, but my smart little dogs don't want to be outside long. To me, it feels hotter because it was so cool just a couple weeks ago. I wonder if dogs need time to get accustomed to the heat, too. 

Stay safe, everyone, and as cool as possible!


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## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

Sylvia, I'm glad to hear your fluff is okay. Thank you for the warning. I keep my girls inside when the weather is hot. If we go out, we go early in the morning.


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## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

uniquelovdolce said:


> thanks for the info n hope ray feels all better today !


Welcome home! Hope you guys had fun at "Dizzy World.":HistericalSmiley:


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

So, today my SIL came over and I was telling her about what happened to Ray. In the meantime, her dog was IN THE CAR. I told her to bring him in, but he goes crazy over the birds and had to stay in the yard. She was here for less than a half hour, but if the subject had not come up, she would have returned to find a poor dead dog. You think people know better, you think YOU know better, but dogs just can't take the heat...not even for 15 minutes...not even with the windows half way down.


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## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

michellerobison said:


> That's what happened to my cocker spaniel Buffy. We were outside doing the foundation fo rour pole building and Buffy and th eother dogs were outside and Buffy started acting very lethargic and disoriented later that evening. I called the vet on the emergency number and told him I thought she had heat stroke,he aid it wasn't heat stroke but heat exhaustion adn to keep her cool and bring her in the morning..I gave her a cooling bath ,put towels on the bed,turned up the A/C a bit more and watched her all night. She wasnt' any better,so I was th efirst one in that morning,he palpated her abdomen,took blood for heart worm tests and told me to give her aspirin.I begged him to do more but he said I was over reacting. I got home,she laid down and 10 minutes later,she was gone.
> I call the vet back and angrily told him to forget the heartworm tests,she just DIED!
> 
> Never take for granted the effects of heat.Never underestimate heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
> ...


How awful! :crying: I am so sorry. That vet was an idiot!:angry:


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## lynda (Oct 11, 2005)

Thank you so much for the reminder. I am glad your baby is doing ok. I am going to go look up heatstroke right now.


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

I was volunteering at the animal shelter at the time and I used to bring in the shelter dogs for heartworm testing and he assumed Buffy was just a shelter dog. When I called he told me,I can take her back and get my money back from the shelter. I told him she didnt' come from a shelter,Al got her for me when I went through chemo for the first time so she was special to me. 
Even if she was a shelter dog,she would have still been special,since I did take home shelter dogs...
I was unbelieveably offended after that. I later found out our own shelter director and the vet had knocked headds because he's on the board of directors and she didn't take her own dogs to him ,but another vet.I then took my dogs to him and he was and is wonderful.

At the shelter the vet offered a free check up for any shelter dog,I assume to gain business.
Alice and I would tell people take advantage of the free visit to evaluate his services but and make your own decision. People would ask us who we went to ,and we told them Dr. Doughterty.
Most would try Bernacke and found him to be rude and arrogant and wouldnt' go back after that free visit. 
The office did follow up and people said they went to who we had recommended. 

We only recommended Dr. D after they had done the free visit and decided they didnt' like him.

He challeneged me and threatened me at the board meeting adn I told him he called my dog a shelter dog and felt she wasn't as deserving ,obviously of fine treatment. He told me I said I didnt' want to spend a lot of money,I reminded him,I said money was no object,they had Carte Blanche...

As long as I was involved w/ the shelter as a volunteer or employee I couldn't recommend any one.
We didn't but folks would find Dr.D- on their own thankfully.
Evntually I got the shelter to let me do blood draws and heart worm checks,as Dr. D- taught me to help us out. We didn't need Dr. Bernacke and he eventually resigned from the board and left town...

To me it doesn't matter if a dog comes from the finest pedigree or the crappiest shelter they're equally precious to me. I wish I'd known for Buffy's sake ( I miss her still ,she was our second baby)but we had just moved to this town and our vet retired,he still saw a few folks' pets,lucky us,but then he passed suddenly and we lost a caring olde time vet.
Luckily Dr D is another one w/ that olde time vet view point...He really cares and has cried w/ us through many pets...

Dr D told us you can't just palpate and abdomen and take a temp,you gotta do the right blood panels,heart worm test,lycing blood through a screen and testing for the protiens isn't enough to determine heart stroke.

He should have atleast erred on the side of caution and gave her the injection that would have reduced the swelling of her brain,she may have lived. He didn't say conclusively she would but chances are she would have...

I look forward to the day I can kiss my sweet Buffy again...and all my fluffs at the bridge...


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

Oh Michell, this is so sad. It may seem prejudiced, but I prefer female vets. I have seen and heard of too many men who became vets for a decent living, maybe because they couldn't cut it as MDs. Whereas, women tend to go to veterinary science for the love of animals. I drive for 45 minutes to go to the vet from a previous home. She is kind and loving and the dogs are never scared, rather happy to be there.

Let me think, is a shelter dog of less consequence because you didn't pay thousands of dollars for her? Well, I think to a large degree poor people are of less consequence to medical professionals than those who have a lot of money...perhaps money that they acquired on the backs of the poor. Sometimes, I think this is a really screwed up world. But my fluffs always amaze me with how wonderful life and love is at the bottom line.
Dogs are wonderful. Rescue dogs, dogs from puppy mills, dogs from bybs, dogs with 6 generations of champions...each and every one of them is a treasure of love........forever.


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Sylie said:


> Oh Michell, this is so sad. It may seem prejudiced, but I prefer female vets. I have seen and heard of too many men who became vets for a decent living, maybe because they couldn't cut it as MDs. Whereas, women tend to go to veterinary science for the love of animals. I drive for 45 minutes to go to the vet from a previous home. She is kind and loving and the dogs are never scared, rather happy to be there.
> 
> Let me think, is a shelter dog of less consequence because you didn't pay thousands of dollars for her? Well, I think to a large degree poor people are of less consequence to medical professionals than those who have a lot of money...perhaps money that they acquired on the backs of the poor. Sometimes, I think this is a really screwed up world. But my fluffs always amaze me with how wonderful life and love is at the bottom line.
> Dogs are wonderful. Rescue dogs, dogs from puppy mills, dogs from bybs, dogs with 6 generations of champions...each and every one of them is a treasure of love........forever.


So true. Thanks for the warning about heat exhaustion. I've suffered it myself and it's the most awful feeling. Really like impending doom. We're going to the beach for a week with Tyler (first time at the beach with him) and have to make sure he's in a cool place in the house or with us. This was a great reminder. I got one of those cool mats for dogs and I'm going to bring it with us.


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## Rocky's Mom (Apr 10, 2010)

I am shaking my head in disbelief...how could this Vet have missed that. Oh Michelle, my heart breaks for you. You should not feel you let her down. You are a wonderful Mommy...you care so deeply. That Vet let her down by not listening to you. You did everything you could. 



michellerobison said:


> That's what happened to my cocker spaniel Buffy. We were outside doing the foundation fo rour pole building and Buffy and th eother dogs were outside and Buffy started acting very lethargic and disoriented later that evening. I called the vet on the emergency number and told him I thought she had heat stroke,he aid it wasn't heat stroke but heat exhaustion adn to keep her cool and bring her in the morning..I gave her a cooling bath ,put towels on the bed,turned up the A/C a bit more and watched her all night. She wasnt' any better,so I was th efirst one in that morning,he palpated her abdomen,took blood for heart worm tests and told me to give her aspirin.I begged him to do more but he said I was over reacting. I got home,she laid down and 10 minutes later,she was gone.
> I call the vet back and angrily told him to forget the heartworm tests,she just DIED!
> 
> Never take for granted the effects of heat.Never underestimate heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
> ...


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## Rocky's Mom (Apr 10, 2010)

:tumbleweed:With 104-113 degrees this week, you bet I would watch out for that. Rocky runs back into the house after going potty. He goes out for a little bit after the sun goes down. There's no walking for us now and I feel bad for him because he loves to go for walks. Now if Mommy could get out of bed earlier and take him....:blush: Good reminder to all!B)


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

Originally Posted by *Sylie*  
_Oh Michell, this is so sad. It may seem prejudiced, but I prefer female vets. I have seen and heard of too many men who became vets for a decent living, maybe because they couldn't cut it as MDs. Whereas, women tend to go to veterinary science for the love of animals. I drive for 45 minutes to go to the vet from a previous home. She is kind and loving and the dogs are never scared, rather happy to be there._

_Let me think, is a shelter dog of less consequence because you didn't pay thousands of dollars for her? Well, I think to a large degree poor people are of less consequence to medical professionals than those who have a lot of money...perhaps money that they acquired on the backs of the poor. Sometimes, I think this is a really screwed up world. But my fluffs always amaze me with how wonderful life and love is at the bottom line._
_Dogs are wonderful. Rescue dogs, dogs from puppy mills, dogs from bybs, dogs with 6 generations of champions...each and every one of them is a treasure of love........forever._



He didn't know that she was a pedigreed cocker that I actually paid $500 for back in 1983,that was a lot of money for any dog. We're not rich,I like to say we're comfortable...

He assumed she was a shelter dog because I volunteered there. I don't know if he assumed I had no money,hard to say.I didn't dress up when I took the dogs to the vet,all that hair and all,but he should have looked in the parking lot at my S420 Mercedes...


It's hard to say why. Even if I pulled up in a beat up pick up w/ a mutt ,that dog would deserve the same level of care that any rich customer's show dog would have gotten.

I guess I better start dressing up,I pretty much run around in sweats and a tee shirt. I had a lady at Wal-Mart ask if Al and I were truck drivers,since we both had on sweats and tee shirts...we pretty much bumm around like that most of the time....it's comfortable...
She was so confounded by our appearance,she actually asked if my wedding ring was real...

another time I was in an antique shop I frequented ,but this time I hadn't planned to stop but did on a whim seeing a really neat victorian sofa. I was wearing my old ratty tennis shows old work clothes and my husband's old wood cutting coat,just grabbed it to work out side. I didn't feel like changing to run to the bank drive through. The lady ignored me for the longest time and timidly asked if I neded help,I turned around,the look she gave was priceless.


Guess I better start dressing up or I might end up in a car accident and the hospital will give me crappy care...

An art patron of mine ,a very rich lady, owned the largest Pepsi botteling and distributing company on the NE coast,used to dress in old sweats and broken down shoes,she didn't look like she had two nickles to rub together and she always said she liked it that way...


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

Thanks for the reminder, Sylie - it is so so so important to be overly cautious with our fluffs in this heat. What you experienced with Ray is similar to what I went through with Bailey recently. Earlier this year, around the end of Spring, the temp here unexpectedly got up to 90+ degrees one day. The day before it had been 70 degrees and nice, and I had no idea it would get that hot (guess I should have checked!) - I decided to go shopping that morning with my little cousins and Bailey, at an outdoor mall. That was such a bad idea - before I knew it, it got super hot. I was carrying Bailey around, in and out of the stores, not letting him walk on the hot pavement...and I kept making him drink water and sprinkling some on him to cool him down. We were there only a short while before I started really worrying about him and decided to leave. He was fine but the rest of the day, I was watching him closely and worrying (I felt really stupid for taking him out in that heat  ) Ever since then, this summer, I have avoided taking him out for longer than a few minutes while the sun is out and it's hot - just not worth the risk.


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## michellerobison (Dec 17, 2009)

It's so easy for them to ge overheated on a walk,we may be feeling a nice breeze but if the sun is out,they're walking close to the ground and and feeling heat from concrete or asphalt.


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## Rocky's Mom (Apr 10, 2010)

That is so true!




michellerobison said:


> It's so easy for them to ge overheated on a walk,we may be feeling a nice breeze but if the sun is out,they're walking close to the ground and and feeling heat from concrete or asphalt.


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## Sylie (Apr 4, 2011)

Here's another thing to ponder. I recently gave Ray a haircut. For three years until now he had very dense hair to the floor, and he never became over-heated. We find it hard to believe that all that coat keeps them insulated, but it might be true...especially when it is hair not fur. Of all little fluffs that originally came from Ye Olde Dog of Malta, those who evolved in the hottest climates have the thickest hair. Coton from Madagascar and Havanese from Cuba. Maybe, we aren't doing them a favor when we give them a summer clip.

What are your thoughts?


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## mfa (Oct 5, 2009)

thanks so much for posting. we can NEVER be too careful with these sweet babies. 
Michelle, what a horrible sad, story! im so sorry about your Buffy. hugs.:grouphug:


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