HEAT STROKE

All those who approach the world of the English bulldog must know that our breed has a bitter enemy: the heat. Unfortunately, early deaths from so-called heatstroke are not rare, so a conscientious owner must be informed and know how to behave and deal with this eventuality. Obviously the most important thing is prevention! Avoid all situations of heat, prevent the dog from fidgeting or just moving too much when the breath begins to become a little too heavy or when the size and color of the tongue and mucous membranes deviate too much from normal. In summer, avoid wild walks or games in the hottest hours of the day, avoid leaving your dog alone in an open place without your control (bulldogs love to bask in the sun ... but they don't know how to set a limit!), Remember that even to late at night the asphalt is very hot and releases heat. SYMPTOMS of heatstroke: - Breathing becomes fast and very noisy (a rattle, in severe cases a whistle may be heard) - The bulldog is very agitated, struggles to calm down and cannot lie down - The color of the tongue and mucous membranes becomes dark - Increase in body temperature In case of heat stroke, immersing the dog in fresh water (in a tub, in a basin, in whatever you find that contains it) quickly brings the breath back to normal and within a few minutes the dog starts breathing well in 90% of cases. These practices must be performed immediately, BEFORE taking the dog to the vet. In fact, it is very important to lower the dog's body temperature and with the dive you have a fast and really effective response. Many bulldog owners do not know this practice and only intervene by bathing the dog or by placing ice or wet sheets on the head and trunk; This is a useful method in the initial phase, when the dog is just too hot, but if the heat stroke is in an advanced phase, the dog must be completely immersed in fresh water (the whole body, excluding the head of course). Another truly typical aspect of the bulldog: being an extremely sensitive breed, when they begin to feel the discomfort generated by the onset of heat stroke, they get very agitated! This agitation causes them to heat up even more and the hotter they get the more agitated they become… so it is necessary to break this dangerous vicious circle. Intervening in these cases means taking the dog to a quiet and cool place, possibly in the shade, with fresh water available, bathing it and waiting for the dog to calm down, always keeping it under control. In some cases (when it is not possible to take the bulldog to a secluded place) it is possible and / or useful to use a tranquilizer. Killitam is the drug that can be used in these particular conditions (it is a medicine and as such must be prescribed in agreement with the veterinarian): ONE or TWO drops maximum (it is good to ignore the dose recommended by the leaflet as it is excessive in the case of the English bulldog!) will relax the dog and break the heat / agitation cycle. From my personal experience, in these cases I find the administration of Killitam more important than cortisone (another fundamental drug in these situations): if you have the opportunity to immerse the dog in water and give it a little tranquilizer, even very serious cases can be solved (a black tongue so to speak, whistling breathing and enormous gasps). It is also good to remember that the bulldog is able to self-induce heat stroke: when they get very agitated they get symptoms identical to those of heat stroke even if the outside temperature is 10 degrees !!! The behavior to be implemented is the same: if the above described happens to you try to cool the dog, also and above all the fingertips, very important in case of heat stroke, as the heat also filters through them. As for cortisone: English bulldog owners know very well how useful it is to always have an injectable cortisone dose on hand for emergencies. Being a life-saving drug, however, it must be used with extreme caution and in the correct way. If you find yourself facing a situation of heat stroke, first try to stabilize the dog (immersion in water) and immediately notify the veterinarian who will advise you whether or not it is appropriate to proceed with the administration of cortisone. Once the breathing condition has improved, take the dog to the vet and proceed with the appropriate treatments and investigations.