06/17/2022
Saw this in one of my K9 groups and wanted to share with everyone because it does not only happen to police K9s, all dogs are at risk during the temps and as you will read high heat is not the only time it happens !!!!
This is the text from an email I sent out to our K-9 unit a couple summers ago
I wanted to share it again as a reminder, since it’s getting crazy hot out.
Several years ago we almost lost a dog to heat stroke. After 10 days in intensive care, he walked out of the vet hospital only to be retired due to the internal organ damage he suffered. We learned a lot from this incident.
It helped me save my own dog while working when he overheated on a track of a felony suspect. I was able to see the signs and symptoms as they presented, I pulled him off and got him cooled down, while the perimeter held the containment for the next 20 mins. After he cooled down, we reaquired the track and located our suspect.
I’ve seen many preventable working dog deaths in recent years, where K9’s overheated and died after being hot deployments.
Hopefully this content will help some of you.
Email content: I wanted to send this email as a reminder and a little training on the dangers of k9 deployments while working in this heat.
This summer is going to be brutal. Be prepared. Prevention and preparedness are key. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
-Keep 2 to 4 gallons of fresh water in the back of your car at all times, just for the dog. This is in addition to keeping cold water for yourself. I know it seams like a lot, but think about your dog being hot and pouring a gallon over his back, it won’t last long.
-Check his water bowl a couple times a shift. They are going to be drinking more than normal this time of year.
-Keep a towel with you. After a hot deployment you can wet the towel and lay it on your mat in the back of the car. The cool a/c in the car, mixed with the wet towel, gives them an extra cool place to lay on and will help cool them down after a normal hot deployment.
-Go buy a big bottle of rubbing alcohol and keep it in your car. It’s cheap and can provide a way to drop the dogs temp in an emergency. If you can make it back to your car, lay them down and pour it on the pads of their feet. Alcohol will instantly get cold and provides fast cooling through one of the places they regulate their body temp quickly. Be cautious doing this if they have a foot injury. This is one of the first things they did to cool K9 Kevin down when we got him to the vet. It works!
-If you find yourself on a deployment during high heat and humidity, remember if you're hot they’re very hot. They’re wearing a fur coat.
-Know and be familiar with the early signs of heat exhaustion and signs of a heat stroke.
-Heat exhaustion starts when their body temp rises above 103, they could exhibit some of these symptoms, heavy panting, excessive drooling, slow down and become weak, may try to p*e but not much will come out or none at all. They may become less responsive to commands and look like they're just walking aimlessly.
If there is any question at all, get them out of the heat quickly. Get to the shade and let them rest at minimum. Find a house or building close by and get them wet. Soak them. Not just for a minute, keep soaking them. Give it a good 10 minutes, at minimum. Take their harness off, put them in a down and SOAK them.
Even though the health of the dog should be priority, this will not prevent you from catching your bad guy. Communicate with your perimeter and have them hold what they got. You can get back on task as soon as he’s recovered. Add this to your training tracks. Practice stopping, get off your track, go lay him down and wait 10 mins. Then go back and reacquire the track. TRAIN IT
-Heat stroke is a real possibility when their temp gets over 106. This is very bad and they need to get to a vet ASAP!
-Signs of heat stroke include, eyes may glaze over, excessive drooling, a rapid heart rate, dizziness or lack of coordination, lethargy, collapsing, they may start having convulsions, vomiting or diarrhea, dark/black tar like stool, gums or tongue can turn blue or a bright red color, and of course loss of consciousness. This is BAD THEY NEED A VET FAST.
BUT... don’t just throw them in the car IF you have some options to cool them down near you first. If you just throw them in your car and go, they’re temp will more than likely continue to rise and you will loose a precious opportunity to bring down their core temp before transporting, possibly saving them. Find a source of water to soak them ASAP. Carry them there, do not make them run or walk. They will most likely not drink once they are at this stage, don’t try to force them. Let them breath and pant, this helps with cooling. You need to soak them. If you can find a pool in someones back yard, a lake or pond...submerge them. You will need to get in with them to support their heads out of the water, they will be very weak. You need to bring down their core temp.
While you’re cooling them down, make arrangements to get your car to you ASAP. Try not to use ice cold water, some study’s show this could send the dog into shock, some more recent study’s say this may be wrong. If it’s all you got use it. Hose water, pool water, lake water are all great options though. Once you have soaked them good and your car is to you, get them in a/c quickly. Soak that towel I mentioned above with water and place it on your mat. Lay the dog on the towel. Do not cover them with the wet towel, it only traps their body heat, preventing the cooling process. Get them to the vet as fast as possible, safely. Call the vet on the way and let them know what’s going on, so they can be prepared when you get there. If possible you call instead of asking the comm center to do it. They may have questions or give you different directions. Know where your after hours or emergency vet is located and have their number saved in your phone.
The day that K9 Kevin had his heat stroke it was In the mid-70s and he was in the shade the majority of his track. So it does not have to be scorching hot out for this to happen.
Again, being prepared and having a plan can save your dogs health and career, possibly his life.
HYDRATE HYDRATE HYDRATE!! Both of you! I can’t say it enough
