First Aid for Heat Stroke and Tips for Summertime

Do you know how to recognize heat stroke in your dog and how you can help?

Summer, sun, heat: our dogs suffer particularly because they can neither take off their fur nor sweat sufficiently. Every summer we also read reports of dogs having to be rescued from overheated cars. Therefore, we would like to give you some tips on how best to protect your four-legged friend from the heat.

For detailed information on how to recognize heat stroke in your dog and how to provide proper first aid, see our Heatstroke in Dogs post in the Pet Diseases section.

Lean dogs that are free to move about and have plenty of water available do not usually get heatstroke or sunstroke. They look for a cool spot (they like to dig a hole in the ground in the shade) and have a siesta.

The cause of heatstroke or sunstroke in dogs is usually humans!

The most common cause of heatstroke is leaving the dog in an overheated car. Parking in the shade and opening the windows or sunroof is not enough in summer: the sun moves and within ten minutes the temperatures in the car rise to 50°C and more, like the YouTube video “Dog in the oven” by Tasso e.V. impressively shows. So:

• Never leave your dog unattended in the car or on a leash in the blazing sun in summer.
• Make sure that the dog always has the opportunity to retreat to a cool place.
• Always take enough water with you for your dog.
• When it is hot, dogs drink up to 100 ml per kg of body weight per day. A 10 kg dog would therefore need a liter a day.

• A lot of water goes wrong when drinking from the bowl, so it’s better to take a little more with you…
• Go for long walks in the cool morning or evening hours. Overweight dogs or heart patients should only go for short walks when it is warm and more often.
• Avoid physical exertion and don’t force your dog to keep walking if it “flakes up”. Give him a chance to rest in the shade.