Purchasing a dog is a huge responsibility. In fact, you have a small child. He grows up very quickly, but can never tell you where and what hurts him. Everything is simple when your pet plays fun and feels great. But if he gets sick, every owner has a headache. How to understand that a dog has a temperature and find out what’s wrong with it? How can I help you? First of all, you need to conduct an examination, after which you can go to the veterinarian.
Medical history
The speed and correctness of the diagnosis will depend on how well you provide the necessary information. Therefore, you need to remember everything that has happened in the last few days. How did you feed your pet, did you introduce new vitamins or supplements. Prepare a vaccination card so that your doctor can get information about preventive measures taken. The transferred stresses, campaigns on the nature, the fact of removal of a tick - all this is very important information.
Dog temperature
This is the most important indicator, and each owner should be able to measure it. It is traditionally believed that a hot nose is a sign of its increase. In fact, this does not always happen. A dog can have 41, but its nose and feet are cold. Then how to understand that the dog has a temperature?
Watch your pet. If morning has come, and he does not leave his bed, does not call you for a walk and does not look at the bowl, then this should be very alarming. Additionally, dry nose may indicate an increase in temperature. In a healthy animal, it is wet and shiny, in a patient it is often dry to cracks in the skin. Today we are talking about how to understand that a dog has a fever. This is quite simple to do, even without a thermometer.
In the absence of a measuring device
It also happens that you are not at home, and there is no thermometer at hand. At the same time, you can clearly see that the pet is not feeling well. Additionally, dry nose and atypical behavior are noted. How to understand a dog’s temperature? There are zones on the body that can determine if the animal has a fever. These are armpits, groin and ears. Check their condition with warm hands.
If you returned from the street, first warm your palms, wait 20-30 minutes. After that, touch these zones and hold your hands for 10-15 seconds. If you feel a fever, then you need to take action. Touch the paws for contrast. This is another point in the cycle, how to understand that the dog has a temperature. With fever, his paw pads are cold and his stomach is hot. This suggests that the temperature is very high.
How to measure
Of course, a more accurate study is desirable. This will provide important information about the dynamics to the attending physician. But here too there are subtleties. How to understand if a dog has a fever? First of all, you need to measure it correctly. Do not try to clamp the thermometer in the armpit, this will not work. Only the anus is used. To do this, wipe the thermometer with alcohol and lubricate with petroleum jelly. After the procedure, wash thoroughly and again treat with a disinfecting solution.
Carefully insert the thermometer into the anus to a depth of 1 cm. You need to wait 2-3 minutes, then remove it and check the result. Now you know how to measure the temperature of the dog.
Normal performance
Sometimes the hosts are speechless from excitement when they see the results. In fact, the rules of the dog are quite different from human. Therefore, before pandering, you need to know what indicators are characteristic of a healthy animal.
- For puppies of small breeds, the norm will be 38.5 - 39.3.
- Puppies of medium and large breeds - 38.5 - 39.0.
- For an adult representative of small breeds 38.5 - 39.0.
- Medium-sized adult dogs are 37.5 - 39.0.
- Adult individuals of large breeds 37.5 - 38.5.
Do not forget that any deviation from the norm should be considered only in conjunction with an assessment of the condition and behavioral characteristics of the dog. Serious physical exertion, a state of fear, labor pains during childbirth in bitches can affect temperature indicators. With estrus, they can also have a high fever in the dog.
What to do
If the animal feels normal, then the above reasons should be excluded. But most often, if a pet eats and plays cheerfully, no one will even think to go after a thermometer. A loving owner should carefully monitor the condition of the pet. How to understand whether a dog has a temperature, we have already talked above. Do not ignore the pet’s lethargy, his refusal to play and to eat. They do not know how to be lazy, and most often this behavior has good reasons.
The only right decision is to contact your veterinarian immediately. If the indicators deviate significantly from the norm, then during transportation it is necessary to adhere to the following rules:
- At temperatures above 40 degrees, you need to bring a diaper, water or ice with you. Wrap the pet in a damp cloth, paying particular attention to the abdomen.
- At low rates (below 37.5), wrap it in a blanket and put a bottle of warm water next to it.
Medical assistance
It is best to start treatment only after examining the pet by a specialist and making a diagnosis. Otherwise, you can cause irreparable harm to his body. Until you get to the doctor, you must avoid dehydration. Pay particular attention to this if your pet suffers from vomiting and diarrhea.
- Ventilate the room.
- Close windows to prevent direct sunlight from entering the room.
- Cool your body with a wet cloth.
- Regularly renew the water in the animal's bowl.
Knowing what the dog’s temperature is considered normal, you will understand when to begin to act.
Use drugs only in emergency cases.
- If the street is night, and in your city there are no round-the-clock clinics.
- If you are in the country and go far.
- If the temperature rises to 41 and above, against the background of which the pet begins vomiting.
The most effective is an injection of 2 ml of Analginum and 1 ml of No-shpa or Diphenhydramine. It must be administered intramuscularly. To stop vomiting, you can use the Tserukal injection. This will help you stabilize the condition and bring the animal to the doctor so that he can effectively help him.
Instead of a conclusion
Take your time to start treatment yourself. Often, people who have already visited a veterinarian and treated their dogs consider that they themselves are specialists, so they start advising friends to buy antibiotics, B vitamins and ascorbic acid in a human pharmacy and treat the animal on their own. But they forget that they are diagnosed in the clinic, and then take the necessary measures so that the specialists detoxify the body, conduct complex therapy and rehabilitation. Therefore, you only need to know how to determine the temperature of the dog and provide first aid. The rest should be tackled by a specialist.