Wake up and suddenly find your dog has a fever! Before you rush to treat your dog, it is recommended that you learn something about dog fever so that your dog does not get confused when he is sick and both people and dog suffer.
What is fever?
Body temperature regulation in mammals is controlled by the inferior optic thalamus. Heat is added or dissipated through the response of temperature sensory organs throughout the body. Disease or a thermogenic source (e.g. bacterial endotoxin affects the thermoregulatory center) will raise the body temperature locus and the body temperature moves toward this new temperature locus.
Symptoms
Owners can determine if their dog has a fever based on several symptoms.
1. Lethargy
Animals whose bodies are actively fighting infection will feel tired. They often do not want to do anything, become lethargic and also look for a cool place to rest. If you think your dog is lethargic, especially if it has any specific signs of illness, such as vomiting, diarrhea, coughing, sneezing or a runny nose, it may have a fever and needs to see a vet.
2. Anorexia
A fever can produce a feeling of discomfort and a feeling of suppressed appetite. It is not normal for a dog to go several days without eating food at all. Sometimes a meal that is not eaten is not a concern, but a dog that is not interested in eating for a long time should see a vet.
3. Dogs feel “hot” is not necessarily a fever
The body temperature of dogs is already higher than that of humans, so we can’t assume that a dog has a fever when it is higher than its own body temperature. A dog’s body temperature is between 38ﾟC – 39.5ﾟC, so it is often mistaken for a fever by owners, but in fact it is a normal body temperature for dogs. The temperature of a sick dog can be measured with a human thermometer used rectally. The thermometer can only be inserted into the rectum up to the end of the silver bulb. When the body temperature exceeds 40.5ﾟC, the dog has a high fever.
However, it is difficult to use a thermometer for dogs. It is recommended that the owner can touch the dog’s ears and stomach more often to feel its normal body temperature. This way when the dog has a fever, it can detect the fever symptoms early without relying on the thermometer. When a dog has a high fever, the most important thing is to keep it quiet before sending it to the doctor for treatment, and if the dog has a chill, it must be kept warm.
Diagnosis
Dog fever can be diagnosed from the dog’s mental condition, appetite condition, the dog’s nose, the dog’s temperature, etc.
1. Dog mental condition If the dog is always active, suddenly find that it has become strange, such as wilting, like lying down and other phenomena, or when you call him enthusiastically, but he does not respond, it is time to pay attention.
2. Dog appetite condition
For dogs, food is incredibly tempting, so the change in appetite is actually very obvious, the dog is not comfortable, no spirit, naturally, is not greatly reduced desire for food, at most bland lick a few mouthfuls, after the face full of melancholy down.
3. The dog’s nose
Once the dog’s body is unwell, the warning of the nose will come quickly, dry heat fever, which is certainly the performance of discomfort, but the dog will secrete mucus to keep the nose moist, so it can not be taken as an accurate basis.
4. The temperature of the dog
Temperature must be the main basis of the dog fever, the normal body temperature of dogs is 37.5-38.5 degrees between this, puppies will be a little higher, and if the dog’s temperature is more than 39.5 degrees, it means that it is really in a fever.
5. urine general fever dog urine will be very yellow, so pay attention to observe.
Other symptoms such as the dog’s breathing will become more rapid, and the belly and has the white eye color will be more red than usual, also indicates that the dog has a fever.
The basic treatment after the dog fever is as follows.
1. immediately seek medical treatment
After all, many owners are not doctors themselves, but is an important role that can immediately reduce the risk of the dog’s life, when the dog is found to be in a fever, we must rush to the doctor, do not delay, otherwise it is likely to lose the dog.
2. Take fever-reducing medication
Determine the dog fever, and then send the dog to the hospital for diagnosis and treatment, you can let the dog eat human fever medicine, aspirin and Tylenol, two kinds of human fever medicine can be used by dogs, so you can let the dog eat the medicine before sending to the doctor.
3. physical cooling alcohol wipe
After learning that the dog has a fever and sent to the hospital for treatment back, every once in a while you have to wipe the dog’s foot pads, stomach and ears with alcohol, and put an ice pack on the dog’s belly, pick it up after a minute, put it back on after a while, and do it repeatedly.
Prevention
1. In order to avoid the symptoms of fever in dogs, parents should usually pay attention to the dog’s nutrition.
2. In the season of unstable climate, pay attention to give the dog good warmth measures
3. In the summer, do not let the dog stay in the air conditioning room for a long time. In winter, do not let the dog’s belly lie on the cold floor for a long time.
4. Pay attention to the hygiene of the dog’s diet and living place.
5. Give your dog vaccinations for influenza and infectious viruses in advance.
6. After the daily meal, more physical exercise with the dog, appropriate exercise helps to enhance the dog’s physical fitness, improve resistance. Naturally, it will reduce the possibility of dog illness.
Attention
1. In case the dog has a fever, please do not feed the human fever-reducing drugs, especially if the puppy, the side effects are great.
2. Puppies with a body temperature over 39.5°C are considered to have a fever; however, sometimes a slightly higher temperature is not a sign of illness. Some puppies may have a difference of one degree at different times of the day, which is caused by emotions, activities or the environment.
3. Dogs sometimes spend summers smothered in unventilated areas and are exposed to the hot sun for too long without cooling down even when panting and sticking out their tongues. This is when it should be put into a ventilated and cool place.
