Being Watchful for Signs of Heat Stroke

As we head into August and sometimes the worst of the ‘dog days of summer’, it’s important to remember to keep a watchful eye on your Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and ensure they don’t suffer from heat stroke.

Amazingly, what doesn’t feel tremendously hot to humans can be life threatening to dogs, as they can begin suffering from heat stroke at a mere 81 to 85 degrees.  Considering that some dogs are more sensitive than normal, your Cavalier can be facing a catastrophic illness in a very short period of time.  As an animal enters heat stroke, they can suffer brain damage and become to unaware that they should be trying to cool themselves down before potentially dying within 15 minutes.

It can also never be repeated often enough to never, EVER leave your dog in the car in any type of heat, even with the windows cracked … even for “just a minute”.  Every year, dogs suffer and die in parked cars, which is not surprising when you consider that on a 78-degree day, a car’s internal temperature can reach 100 to 120 degrees in just minutes and on a 90-degree day, that temperature can soar to as high as 160 degrees in less than 10 minutes.

So at the risk of redundancy — please do not EVER leave your beloved Cavalier King Charles Spaniel or any other animal, for that matter, inside of a vehicle for any span of time … even if it doesn’t feel warm to you!

Please test the asphalt for the temperature, for the safety of your Cavaliers paws.

The outside temperature is not indicative of how hot the asphalt is. Though it may be 75 degrees Fahrenheit, the asphalt can be almost double the temperature! This number only climbs with the warmer it gets outside. It only takes 60 seconds on a 75-degree day to develop burns on your dog’s paws.

Test the heat of the asphalt on your own skin – you can watch a helpful YouTube video on the subject below or by CLICKING HERE. Place the palm of your hand or the soles of your feet on the asphalt for seven to eight seconds. If the heat is too much for your skin to bear, it is too hot for your dog’s paws as well.

Asphalt soaks up the heat all day long, and can only cool at a certain rate. This means that even when the sun is setting, asphalt temperatures can remain high. Just because the sun has set, does not mean you should hold off on testing the asphalt temperature.