Science Says One Simple Technique May Save Your Dog From Overheating

Science has found a simple technique that might save your dog from overheating, and it's really interesting.

According to Earth.com, scientists have discovered an easy way to help a dog cool down, which can be really helpful on a hot day. Here's what we found out.

A study recently featured in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association ( JAVMA ) found a really fast way to cool down dogs, but it does require some action on their part.

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The research was conducted at the University of Pennsylvania's Penn Vet Working Dog Center. The team wanted to find which cooling technique could help dogs cool down the fastest. This allowed them to find the technique that cooled a dog's temperature down the fastest, which could help save lives.

In the study, the research team exercised 12 dogs for 10 minutes "until core body temperature reached 40.6 °C or above or ≥ 2 signs of heat stress were observed."

Four different cooling techniques were used in their test, including neck chemical ice packs, a wet neck towel, a wet axillae towel, and voluntary head immersion, which they called "dunking."

They found that while all methods eventually got dogs back to their baseline temperatures within 40 minutes, dunking was the most efficient.

"The dunking protocol, which included limited water ingestion, produced the lowest mean core temperature in the initial 5 minutes after exercise, in the subsequent 35 minutes during which dogs cooled to baseline temperature and was the only protocol to prevent the initial postexercise temperature rise," the study notes.

Voluntarily dunking was the fastest way to cool down dogs, and it even prevented overheating after exercise, reducing "morbidity and mortality of acute heat injury," the study said.

"When whole-body water immersion is not an option, the trained voluntary head dunk in mentally appropriate dogs prevents postexercise rise and rapidly reduces core body temperature within the first 5 minutes," the study continued.

"Alternatively, allowing the dog to drink controlled amounts of cool water and pouring water on the dog’s head may provide some benefit but warrants further study."

What Are Signs Your Dog Might Be Overheating?

Overheating can be a very serious problem for dog parents and cooling them down and preventing overheating from happening in the first place aren't the same rules to follow like we would have.

According to the American Kennel Club , since dogs don't sweat like we do, and have very few sweat glands, they pant to cool down their body.

"Panting animals need enough cool water to drink on warm days to keep those airways moist, maintaining a delicate temperature balance," the club explains. "But if the outside environment is also very moist, less evaporation and cooling occur. This may result in a reduced tolerance for hot, humid weather and a greater danger of the dog overheating."

Signs of overheating include "frantic panting, extreme salivation, bright-red membranes, and labored breathing," the American Kennel Club warns. Things can go from bad to worse really quickly, which is why prevention or quickly being able to bring down their temperatures can be such an important aspect.

"Observe your dog carefully, and if you notice symptoms of overheating, don’t wait until it’s too late," the club adds. "Take precautions to prevent overheating, and know when it’s time to take immediate action."