Educational

Heat stroke is something we need to try to avoid if at all possible.

Never leave dogs unattended in vehicles or yards with minimal shade when the temperatures rise above 90 degrees. Avoid exercise during the peak hours where heat and humdity are at their worst. Provide lots of cool shade, water, and in hot regions install misters set on timers to deliver a cool mist every 5 to 10 minutes for 2 or 3 minutes to the shady areas of your yard, and water should be available for drinking at all times. Wading pools in the shade should be provided as well.

Use cool coats (http://www.smartpakcanine.com/ProductClass.aspx?productClassId=3783) soaked in ice water when possible if dogs are out in the heat, and above all else, be aware when your dog is begining to show signs of developing heat stroke.

The normal body temperature of the dog is between 100 and 102.5 degrees.

Dogs are not as efficient eliminating excess heat from their bodies as people are. They exchange heat through their tongue and nasal passages, the sweat glands located in their perianal and interdigital areas, and through their skin.

When a dog's tongue begins to enlarge markedly as it pants, this is the canine body trying to increase the surface area of it's primary heat exchange respiratory system organ to eliminate its excess heat, but only so much heat can be eliminated in this manner, or through sweating and from passive exchange from the skin itself, due to the limited numbers of sweat glands on the canine body, and limited surface area of skin.

Early signs of heat stroke are excessive enlargement of the tongue, extreme heavy panting, progressing to incoordination, weakness, elevated heart rate, seizures, collapse, shock, respiratory arrest, and organ failure due to hypoperfusion and increased clotting and embolic showers that may occuer in the circulatory system, called DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation).

If you find your dog in a situation where it has overheated and is mentally dull, incoordinated, shock is begining to set in and you must get a fan on the dog and rinse the dog in a continuous stream cool water immediately andfor 15 to 30 minutes.

If the dog is not responding quickly, rush to the nearest veterinary hospital for further evaluation and therapy.

At the veterinary hospital continued efforts to cool the dog will include cool water enemas, cool water rinse, and isopropyl alcohol applied with towelettes to the neck, armpits, abdomen, groin regions, and feet.

Seizures, shock, and collapse must be aggressively treated ASAP for the dog in serious respiratory and thermal compromise.

IV fluids, mannitol, steroids, and supplemental oxygen are some of the things that may be necessary to halt the deadly cascade of physiological events that occur with severe heat stroke.

If DIC has occured, or does occur shortly after emergency stabilization, continued IV fluids and anticoagulative medications may also be necessary for several days or longer, as well as repeated monitoring of rectal temperature, mentation, respiration, neurological and renal function, PaO2, and blood levels of FDP's and clotting times.

Again, the best medicine for heat stroke is PREVENTION if possible, but should it happen please seek prompt and aggressive emergency care for you dog in distress.....unfortunately, many serious cases of heat stroke are fatal despite our best efforts to treat them.

Definitions of Animal Cruelty

Inadequate food and water
Improper housing
Lack of protection from inclement weather
Chaining or tethering an animal 24 hours a day
Using a chain that is too heavy or too tight
Hitting an animal
Kicking an animal
Beating an animal
Abandoning an animal
Using an animal for competitive fighting

.....How to Report Animal Cruelty.....

Call Houston Humane Society at 713.433.6421
Or Online at www.houstonhumane.org

Yesterday I was reading a post on one of the boxer message boards with the topic "Presley Wins Americas Greatest Dog Competition!" For those of you who are not aware, Presley is a lovely young flashy brindle boxer who with his owner was a competitor in a televised canine reality show. My first reactions were elation and pride. Then I took a moment to really think about the ramifications of the win and realized what a double edged sword it was for our breed.

According to AKC statistics, the boxer ranks number six as the most popular breed registered with the AKC. This popularity makes the boxer what I refer to as a "Throw Away Breed", and one of the main reasons our boxer rescues nationwide are overflowing at this time. Whenever a breed reaches this level of popularity, it seems that everyone jumps on the bandwagon to breed, make puppies available, and in turn, make some money. This indiscriminate breeding by both unethical and uneducated breeders deteriorates the gene pool and skews the resulting pups away from the standard that makes them the boxers we so love.

Many unwary and uneducated buyers will see an ad in the newspaper for "Boxer Puppies, Parents on Site, Registered", or see that adorable boxer puppy in their local pet store and just can't resist buying one of these babies because its "Registered!"

What a vast number of buyers do not realize is there are many registries out there that are not recognized by any of the legitimate registries which are; The AKC (American Kennel Club), UKC (United Kennel Club) or the CKC (Canadian Kennel Club). While on the other hand, the CKC, (Continental Kennel Club) APRI, (America's Pet Registry, Inc.) UKCI (Universal Kennel Club International) and ACA, (American Canine Association) are but a few registries formed by puppy mills and are used by many unscrupulous breeders as a way to lure in buyers. An excellent source of information on canine registries is: http://members.tripod.com/~Moosewood/registries.html.

Please take a moment to think about a few numbers. The AKC Gazette lists the number of dogs and litters registered with them every month. During the months of July and August 2008, there were 4,820 boxers registered and 2,342 litters registered. Take this a step further and presume each litter had only 4 puppies. (I'm being very conservative because we know boxers can usually have litters of approximately 6 to 10 puppies.) This means during only these two months there were at least 9,368 boxer puppies born whose litters were registered with the AKC.

When I looked at the stud book numbers for these two months, I could only count sixteen breedings I felt were appropriate, i.e., both sire and dam were either champions, pointed, or owned by scrupulous breeders who had thoroughly tested them to rule out those diseases or problems most closely associated with our breed. Of the puppies produced by these sixteen breedings, I am sure only a handful will be considered good enough examples of our breed to be shown. The rest of the puppies will go to owners who have been thoroughly researched by these breeders and who have, more than likely, been on a waiting list to receive one of their puppies. These puppies in turn will be sold on an AKC Limited Registration which will not be released until the owners provide the breeders with proof of sterilization.

Imagine 9,368 boxer puppies in the AKC Registry alone. Now take this number and add at least this many boxer puppies registered per each of the "Other Registries". Staggering numbers of boxer puppies each and every month are being sold to the unwary public; a public that is taken in by the term "Registered".

As proponents and guardians, and the ones who hold this breed dear, it is our responsibility to first and foremost educate the public and make them aware of what indiscriminate breeding practices do to degrade our breed's overall health. We must also create awareness concerning the legitimacy of registries because so many of them have no bearing on whether the pup is well bred or not. We must also spread the word of the job that is being done by the local boxer rescues across the United States. If we can bring even one person into our local boxer rescue ring as an adopter or volunteer, they make life altering differences for the boxers they adopt or help become adoptable, and they educate the public while doing so! It's all about our beloved breed, "The Boxer"!

Zammi: CD, RN, RA, RE, CGC - Pilot: RN, RA, CGC - Beverly - Denee: CH Naughty DeNevi at Red Rocks RN, CGC

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Our dogs love to sleep on Kuranda Dog beds, but we don't have enough for everyone. If you would like to donate a bed at a special wholesale price for a another dog to sleep in comfort, please donate a Kuranda dog bed.