Dehydration and overheating are more common than you would think for our canine friends, who bring joy to our life. Since most dogs are very active, they lose their energy faster compared to humans. While you may love a certified dog Toronto services to take care of your pet when you’re busy, here is the thing – you need to ensure that your pal gets to drink fluids regularly.
Dehydration, for instance, is more common for field dogs who work regularly and face severe weather conditions every day.
Domesticated or house dogs are also greatly affected by dehydration and overheating. You can prevent this from recognizing early signs, usually when the dog shows distress.
How Can You Prevent Dehydration in Dogs?
As we all know, dehydration occurs when loosing excessive body fluids. Loss of water, electrolytes and greatly affects the dog’s health by secreting all the necessary minerals from the dog’s body. These include chloride, potassium and sodium.
Examine whether your dog is dehydrated. Look for the symptoms below:
• Eyes sunken
• Consistency in the dryness of mouth, nose and gums.
• Poor skin elasticity due to loss of bodily fluids.
You can try to pull the skin of your dog’s neck very gently and observe how fast the skin is coming back to its normal state. If you see that the skin is taking time to return to its normal state, your dog is positively dehydrated. Balanced fluid levels in a dog keep the elasticity of the skin very tight and would immediately return to its normal state. This shows that the dog is not dehydrated. Look for certified dog walker Toronto services who understands your pet needs.
How do You Know If Your Pet Needs to Drink More Water?
A quick capillary refill time test is another effective way of knowing your dog’s dehydration status. All you have to do is press your finger against the dog’s gums until it turns white. Remove your finger now and observe closely how fast the gums are turning back to their previous color. A dog with dehydration symptoms will recuperate the color immediately, while a dehydrated dog may take some time to regain the color of the gums.
Immediate medical assistance is a must as left untreated; dehydration can lead to organ failures and gradual slow and painful death. Take your dog to the vet if you don’t know what to do.
Overheating in Dogs
Overheating is another common difficulty that dogs have to face every day. Overheating takes place mostly is summers. Field dogs or working dogs experience overheating the most. Just like humans, it is extremely hazardous for a dog to become overheated. It can cause severe heat-strokes, exhaustion and even sudden death from cardiac arrest. It’s why you need certified dog walker Toronto services who understands how much is too much for your pal.
Overheating symptoms:
• Noisy breathing
• Excessive panting.
• Disoriented and fast breathing.
• Dehydration
Preventing Dehydration and Overheating
Preventing dehydration is very easy. All you have to do is keep an eye out for your ever-excited dog by observing his exhaustion and understanding when he’s had enough. Give your dog some water to drink at regular intervals to keep the body fluids in balance.
Prevent overheating by taking responsibility of your dog’s schedule and making giving him the chance to rest and drink water at his freedom. Field dogs who work from early mornings can be indulged to dive in large body of water, preferably a lake, or a pond, where the water is cold. This helps the dog to lose heat and regain his energy.
Keep an eye out for your dog like it keeps an eye out for you and your family.