How to Care For an Overheated Dog
Dogs don’t sweat like humans. Dogs pant to feel cooler. Sometimes, they become overheated and can’t pant enough to cool themselves down. If your dog is panting very heavily, has red gums, unusually thick saliva, or vomits in the heat, your dog might be severely overheated. If you suspect this is the case, try to cool your dog down immediately, then seek medical attention.
First, move your dog to a cooler area. Put your dog in cool water, drape cool wet towels around him or her, or use a fan to cool your dog down. Our dog cooling pad will also quickly cool your dog down.
After doing this, take your dog’s temperature with a rectal thermometer. If your dog’s temperature is over 106 degrees, it has severe overheating (101.5 degrees is normal for a dog).
Get your dog to drink cool water. If your dog doesn’t want any, wet his or her tongue with water.
After this, bring your dog to the veterinarian. There could be delayed effects from overheating and it’s important to seek medical attention to ensure that those effects don’t happen.