Dog Heatstroke - How to Kill Your Dog in Under 30 Minutes

Posted by Clare Bristow

emergency-first-aid I read some startling statistics today about how quickly the inside of a parked car can heat up - severe heatstroke is only minutes away, and death not far behind for dogs left in parked cars during warm weather.

Most of us know that we shouldn't leave dogs in parked cars in the height of summer, but cooler Spring and Autumn temperatures can prove to be as deadly.

Here are some sobering facts, courtesy of the The Humane Society of the United States:

Your dog's normal temperature is approximately 101F (38C) - at a temperature of 105F (40C) your dog will be suffering moderate heatstroke and at 108F (42C) [tag]dog heatstroke[/tag] can be severe and potentially deadly;
When it's 85F (29C) outside, the inside of your car can reach 102F within 10 minutes; 20 minutes later and the temperature is likely to be 120F;
Even when it's only 72F (22C) outside, the car can heat up to 105F within 30 minutes;
Leaving the car windows open has a negligible effect on both the inside temperature and the rate at which the car heats up;
Your dog is designed to conserve heat and only has sweat glands on his paw pads and his nose;
Your dog regulates his temperature by panting - expelling warm air and inhaling cool air. In a hot car he will be breathing in hot air and so fighting a losing battle against heatstroke; and
Even if you get your dog out of the car and cool him down, he may have suffered long term damage to his brain and internal organs.

Frightening isn't it?

Keywords: dog health information, dog heatstroke, dog hot weather tip, dogs left parked cars, Summer Safety

Filed Under Summer Safety, Blog

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Comments

3 Responses to “Dog Heatstroke - How to Kill Your Dog in Under 30 Minutes”

Flea on February 20th, 2009 8:17 am

Yup, scary indeed.
People just don't realize how fast the temp can rise inside that car.
And just imagine, you park your car in the shade, windows open a bit, you go to the store and then something happens to you…

OK, so far fetched…. but it IS possible. Then in the meantime your car is now in full sun and your animals are in real peril.

Here in Florida there are frequent stories…..
Not only do folks leave their dogs in the car, they leave their kids too…

Yikes.

What will it take to get through to people?

A dog in a parked car in the summer is a death trap.

Period.
Misti - Use Natural Flea Control for a Happy & Healthy Pet on September 30th, 2009 3:59 pm

It always irritates me to walk by someone's vehicle when it's hot outside and see their pet inside. Just like children, animals shouldn't be left inside hot cars either, but sadly, pet owners do it. Maybe this post will have them thinking twice before they do.
Heat Strokes and Dogs « Dogs in the News the Good and the Bad on February 23rd, 2010 5:55 pm

[…] The man started out with three dogs in his car, took one out, and forgot about the other two. Several hours they were left unattended and forgotten about. Unintentional as it was, abuse and death like this happens all the time during the summer months. People who either don't know dogs can get heat stroke or don't know what to look for. Did you know that a car can heat up from 85 degrees to 102 in ten minutes and reach 120 degrees in twenty minutes. My source for that particular information came from this site. […]