Need Vet In Mobile, Al; Need Help Explaining Heat

[Guest reamk924]

 

Does anyone know of a vet in the Mobile, Alabama area. I actually live in Bay Minette which is about 35 miles NE of Mobile.

 

My fiance is not dog savvy. He sees the point of bringing the dogs in that have a thick coat, but I have problems explaining to him why my greyhound needs to be in especially earlier before the heat gets bad. I know you can't leave them out as long as other breeds b/c they don't have the fat to burn off. But I guess I need a more scientific explanation of this or I need it explained from a guy's perspective.

 

Thanks for any help, it is appreciated.

Deborah

[Guest SillyDog]

How about telling him: my dog will die. Better yet, don't trust him if he doesn't get it.

 

I have two married friends who lost their two greys to heat stroke. Let me tell you how it happened: She was in the hospital with their first baby and he was there to pick her up. Her mother & sister were watching the dogs and decided to go shopping. They forgot the greyhounds and left them outside. It was July in Texas. The mother & sister were only gone a couple of hours. The two dogs died -- who knows how fast -- but very painfully. It was truly horrific.

 

So, tell your fiance your dog will roast from the inside out, experience horrible pain and mental anguish and die.

 

Sorry if I'm being harsh, but there should be no "let's try to negotiate" on this matter. Greyhounds can't handle heat. End of story. If he doesn't listen to you & trust you on that, then leaving your dog with him is willfully endangering your hound.

[Hubcitypam]

Go to wally world and get a wading pool out there TODAY while you negotiate.

[Guest SillyDog]

Go to wally world and get a wading pool out there TODAY while you negotiate.

 

 

Yes, excellent idea! It could save your dog's life.

[SAVED2]

Sounds like you will not have the Greyhound long , they die of heat stroke fast.

[Burpdog]

What 10 minutes did:

 

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showto...;hl=heat+stroke

[silverfish]

Any dog can die of heatstroke remarkably quickly in hot, especially hot AND humid conditions, but greyhounds seem to be especially vulnerable. Here is the link I posted in the Penny thread

 

Heatstroke in dogs

 

This is not to be taken lightly. As you see from Penny's story, it isn't always as simple as cooling the dog off and then you're all okay. There can be damage which can still kill the dog days later.

 

Here is an extract from the NGRC website. The NGRC is the governing body for greyhound racing in the UK. They know of what they speak.

 

26th April 2005

 

Advice for Trainers on preventing and treating overheating in Greyhounds

 

Greyhounds overheat because their mechanisms for losing heat are overwhelmed by the factors tending to warm them up.

 

A greyhound loses heat by radiating heat from the skin, by losing warm urine, faeces and saliva, but mainly by evaporating water from moisture from the lungs, airway and mouth by panting. Think how cold you can get on a hot day by standing about wet after swimming, as the water evaporates from your skin.

 

 

This system works extremely efficiently, but if the external pressures are too high, such as if the outside temperature is too high or high air humidity slows the rate of evaporation of moisture, then inevitably the control mechanisms will become overloaded and even more rapid panting eventually isn't sufficient to keep the body temperature within the normal 38-39 deg C range. Note that ONLY water and heat are lost during this process - not electrolytes.

 

 

If the greyhound becomes dehydrated, its body retains more fluid to keep the important brain and kidney cells supplied, so less moisture is available to be evaporated for cooling. Temperature regulation spirals out of control, and by the time its body temperature gets to 41 deg C, the life threatening changes of heatstroke are well established, resulting in staggering, blindness, disorientation, stupor or coma. By this stage many metabolic changes have taken place and specialised veterinary treatment is urgent if the greyhound is to be saved.

 

Prevention is always best:

 

Every greyhound should be well hydrated before travelling. Although the taste of electrolytes encourages greyhounds to drink more, the presence of any excess of electrolyte over actual requirements will tend to dehydrate without any of the other causes coming in to play. A splash of milk will work just as well to encourage water intake. Greyhounds are rarely electrolyte deficient unless they have had severe gut upsets, as food is full of electrolytes and the body takes what it needs, excreting the excess. Plain water is the ideal drink for hot weather as it replaces exactly that which has been lost. Once dehydration has set in, electrolytes will contribute to excessively high salt levels in the brain which are dangerous.

 

 

Travel in a vehicle is a particularly high risk in hot weather; a greyhound may be excited, denied water, in direct sun in the back of a vehicle, and in high humidity with poor ventilation. Ventilation is often much worse in a vehicle away from the driver, who is anyway more shaded. If windows are left wide open, there is a risk of escape unless properly restrained, and of eye injury from high speed air flow with particles.

 

 

The best, most reliable method of providing ventilation is from a properly designed air conditioning or air management system such as that currently being offered by BGRB. This enables greyhounds to travel with the windows closed, and controls temperature and humidity, but provision must always be made for a system or electrical breakdown to cover all eventualities. It is always best to park in shade, away from the excitement of seeing other animals passing by.

 

 

Heat loss from the skin can be speeded up by either spraying with a light mist of water, or draping with a wet sheet, and encouraging air flow over it to aid evaporation. Greyhounds with dark coats absorb more heat than lighter skinned ones, so a light coloured, lightweight jacket can reduce overheating in direct sunlight.

 

Treatment of suspected overheating:

 

 

If you are hot, and you think your greyhound may be, don't wait for trouble but take action sooner rather than later. Put the greyhound in shade, increase the air flow, and dampen the coat as described. If you have a thermometer, take the greyhound's rectal temperature so you can tell how you are doing.

 

 

Do NOT leave it unattended.

 

 

Encourage plenty of cold water intake, and splash water in and around the face and mouth. A house plant spray works well for this.

 

 

Electrolytes should not be given at this stage unless a specific requirement has been shown by a blood electrolyte test at the time. If loss of electrolytes has not been proven, giving them at this time is likely to make dehydration worse.

 

 

Make sure you know the location and phone number of the nearest veterinary practice in case the situation worsens.

 

 

Putting the greyhound in an open chest freezer has been advocated, but there is a real risk of freezer burns to the feet and any wetted skin. Cold hosing of a very hot greyhound is very stressful to the heart 'remember the icy cold water plunge in to an unheated pool on a hot day' It's therefore much safer to act sooner and use more gentle methods of cooling.

You will know you are winning when the greyhound starts to shiver - the mechanism for keeping warm. Well done.

 

 

Heat exhaustion and heat stroke are entirely preventable conditions when advance planning has been done properly, especially now that financial help is available for air management.

It is always the trainer's responsibility to make sure that all greyhounds live, and especially travel, in comfort and safety, by whatever means necessary. Transport guidelines are now part of the NGRC Rules of Racing and give more detail. There is no need for these beautiful, valuable, hard-working dogs to die or be damaged when it is so easy to prevent heat stress.

 

Hazel Bentall, BVSc. MRCVS

Veterinary Steward NGRC

April 2005

 

 

Source

 

This article is quite a way down the page. Interestingly there is another article in the list offering financial help for trainers installing 'air management' systems in their vans. They would not do this if they didn't realise the importance of keeping the dogs cool. And this in the UK, where temperatures do not get as high as in parts of the US.

 

I hope that helps.

 

Oh, and if you do a search within Health and Medical, you may find a few tragic cases.

[Guest BradyzMommy]

What 10 minutes did:

 

http://forum.greytalk.com/index.php?showto...;hl=heat+stroke

 

THANK YOU FOR POSTING THIS LINK!!!

 

 

If your grey is left out in the heat, it will die. Bottom line. You better educate your fiance quickly.

[Guest BradyzMommy]

Show him these:

 

 

 

[Batmom]

In case anybody didn't mention, it's pretty much a miracle that BradyzMommy's dog survived. At least 90% who get to the point she got -- in those short 10 minutes -- die. Even with all the prompt, expert care she got.

[Guest GreysAndMoreGreys]

I can give you vets names in Mobile but don't think it's really needed.

Simply explain to him, my dog will die if left out in the heat, If my dog does die while he/she is under your watch and you have not listened to me you will no longer be my fiance.

 

Simple, to the point, he doesn't need all the reasons in the world, he doesn't need a vet to explain it to him he needs to know this is the way it is simply because you have said so and that's that!

[Greytlady94]

How about telling him: my dog will die. Better yet, don't trust him if he doesn't get it.

 

I have two married friends who lost their two greys to heat stroke. Let me tell you how it happened: She was in the hospital with their first baby and he was there to pick her up. Her mother & sister were watching the dogs and decided to go shopping. They forgot the greyhounds and left them outside. It was July in Texas. The mother & sister were only gone a couple of hours. The two dogs died -- who knows how fast -- but very painfully. It was truly horrific.

 

So, tell your fiance your dog will roast from the inside out, experience horrible pain and mental anguish and die.

 

Sorry if I'm being harsh, but there should be no "let's try to negotiate" on this matter. Greyhounds can't handle heat. End of story. If he doesn't listen to you & trust you on that, then leaving your dog with him is willfully endangering your hound.

 

I remember when this happened. Very tragic.

 

Go to wally world and get a wading pool out there TODAY while you negotiate.

 

No negotiation should be needed. He either cares enough about you to respect your wishes for your dog's needs or he doesn't. It's literally a matter of life or death.

[Guest guinness_the_greyt]

Hi,

 

I think you need to have a big sit down talk with your fiance... I understand that you are going to get him to get the hound out of the heat... but how do you think he will react to spending money on the hound for vet bills? I ask this because some of the guys at work just think dogs mean very little and would never spend the money on their dogs that we do....

 

I spend on average 500 per hound a year on vet care. My 12yr old brood I spent almost 1000 in a 8 week period in the last couple months.

 

Animals are a huge commitment.... they should be non-negotiable.

 

Talk to him about all care of the dogs...

 

When I was still dating I would always judge a guy by how he treated my dogs (and all dogs in general) and how he treated the waitress (or other service people) because eventually this is how I would be treated once the thrill wore off. A lot of guys never made it past the 2nd date!

 

I'm wishing you all the best!!

 

 

[Guest lat41065]

Dont know where the dog came from however I know that most groups have as part of the adoption contract that the dog will NOT be kept ourdoors.