MIDLAND, Texas — When giving water to your furry friend, it’s important to remember that they shouldn’t drink cold water like we do.
“With humans we can drink some water, go into a cool space and cool off rather quickly. With dogs, you don’t want to give them ice water because it shocks their system and then their panting actually how they’re going to cool themselves off,” said Brooke Parker, clinic manager at Fix West Texas.
You might already be familiar with the signs of heat exhaustion in humans, but it’s different in dogs since they don’t cool off the same way we do.
“Excessive panting; so, something that does look unnormal, it’s a rapid pant, it’s excessive drooling, it’s sort of a dopey, droopy, lethargic look to them that you’re going to get concerned about,” Parker said.
You can also cool them off with a dip in the pool just like us humans do.
“And also if you have a kiddy pool you can fill that up with some water so that they have a place to cool down. You can put them on the cool tile in your house or in the bathroom or something along those lines,” Parker said.
If you have dog breeds with more fur...something like a husky, for example, it's important to regularly groom them when they're shedding and give them plenty of water.