Humidity!!
And why it is so dangerous for our dogs!
Humidity is particularly dangerous for dogs because it interferes with the main way they cool themselves: evaporative cooling through panting.
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Unlike humans, dogs have very few sweat glands (mostly on their paw pads and nose). They rely almost entirely on panting to regulate their body temperature.
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Here’s why humidity makes that much harder:
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* Panting works by evaporation. As a dog pants, moisture evaporates from the tongue, mouth, and upper airways. That evaporation carries heat away from the body.
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* High humidity means the air is already full of water vapour. When the air is saturated with moisture, much less water can evaporate from the dog’s respiratory tract.
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* Less evaporation results in less cooling. Even though the dog is panting harder, they are not losing enough heat.
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* Body temperature rises rapidly. The dog may continue panting furiously, but their core temperature can climb into dangerous levels very quickly.
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This is why a dog may cope reasonably well with:
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* 30°C on a dry day, where panting is relatively effective, but struggle badly in,
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* 24–26°C with high humidity, where evaporative cooling is severely compromised.
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Humidity also means dogs have to work much harder to breathe, which increases:
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* Oxygen demand
* Heart rate
* Heat production from the muscles involved in breathing
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This creates a vicious cycle:
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1. Dog gets warm.
2. Pants harder.
3. Panting generates more body heat.
4. Humid air prevents effective cooling.
5. Core temperature continues to rise.
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Once a dog’s core temperature exceeds around 40°C, proteins begin to denature, blood clotting can become abnormal, the gut lining becomes damaged, and organs such as the brain, liver, kidneys and heart can begin to fail. Heatstroke is a medical emergency, and even if a dog survives, lasting organ damage is possible.
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Dogs at particularly high risk include:
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* Flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds
* Overweight dogs
* Puppies and elderly dogs
* Dogs with heart or respiratory disease
* Thick-coated breeds
* Dogs exercising in warm, humid weather
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A good rule of thumb is! don’t judge the risk by temperature alone. Humidity can turn what seems like a “pleasant” day into one where a dog’s cooling system is much less effective. If your own skin feels sticky and the air feels heavy, your dog’s ability to cool itself is likely to be significantly impaired too.
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This is one reason why heatstroke often occurs on days that people don’t consider especially hot or dangerous. The combination of moderate temperatures and high humidity can be enough to overwhelm a dog’s natural cooling mechanisms.
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