How to tell if your dog has a fever: what are the symptoms and how to measure the temperature
Fever isn't just a human problem. An excessively high, or vice versa too low, body temperature can also occur in the dog and it is necessary to pay attention to the symptoms that arise. In fact, the dog cannot openly communicate to you that he feels unwell, you will have to be the one to understand if there is something wrong and if it is necessary to book a visit to the vet. If you love dogs, you cannot be unaware of theirs. language to communicate!
How to tell if the dog has a fever?
Even if your dog is fine, it's good to know in advance what to do and how to recognize your pet's discomfort. Especially for those who are not experts in dogs, in fact, it is not always easy to understand if they feel good or not. There are many questions you can ask yourself, also on the basis of what you read, even falsely, online: do you need a thermometer? How should the dog's temperature be measured? What is your correct body temperature? Here you will find all the answers you are looking for, as well as all the common symptoms that will act as a wake-up call for your dog's health.
See also
What is the body temperature of dogs?
While the normal human body temperature fluctuates between 36 and 37 degrees, the normal temperature of dogs (even cats!) Ranges from 38.3 to 39.2. Despite this rather summary and general yardstick, some pets, just like some people, have a slightly higher or lower temperature than average. However, if a dog's temperature rises above 40 degrees, his health is generally in good shape
danger and it is necessary to go immediately to a veterinarian to submit him to the necessary treatment.
Furthermore, in puppies, young dogs and female dogs that have just given birth, the temperature may fluctuate and not be constant because their bodies, still weak or developing, cannot regulate the heat properly.
How to tell if your dog has a fever: the symptoms
At the beginning we talked about "unusual behavior" on the part of your dog to indicate a possible doubt about the onset of fever. This is because, unfortunately, there is no precise list of symptoms to identify as a sign of too high or low body temperatures. Fever in dogs, in fact, is rather a reaction that the animal has in front of something specific. The following list is not enough to diagnose fever in dogs: the same symptoms could occur due to numerous health problems of the dog. dog, but they remain a great starting point.
Drowsiness: If your dog is tired, seems to have lost his usual vitality and desire to play, and spends his time sleeping, it could be a symptom of a fever. However, lethargy may not automatically mean that the animal has a fever, it is one of the most common signs of a quadruped being unwell.
Red eyes: Another symptom that generally occurs along with other signs. Even if it was not due to fever, the redness is not normal and it is advisable to have your dog examined by a specialist, who may find the cause in an "irritation, an" allergy or an "infection.
Tremor: contrary to what we can think in analogy with the human body, the dog does not tremble when it is cold, but it could be a symptom of fever. In any case, make sure that your dog, if he is shivering, is warm and dry: the chills are caused by the fever, so you have to make sure that he does not get too hot.
Dry Nose: It is known to many that the health of a dog can be judged by touching its nose. While that's not entirely true, a hot, dry nose could mean you have a fever, especially dryness is common with other symptoms on the list.
Nasal discharge: Another symptom that could be caused by the fever in the dog, although the high temperature is the only reason for these secretions. Other reasons could relate to allergy, cough or more serious illnesses that need deep veterinary care. If you notice any nasal discharge, we recommend that you take your dog to the vet right away to find out what causes it.
Cough: One of the first causes of cough could be kennel cough, a contagious disease caused by a combination of viruses and bacteria, so called because it tends to spread rapidly among dogs that come into contact with each other, such as often happens at the kennel.If your dog regularly visits boarding houses, hotels for dogs or other animals, the advice is to vaccinate him against kennel cough.
Vomiting: Often accompanies canine fever, possibly due to a virus or because he has ingested something foreign, which would lead to intestinal obstructions. If your dog vomits, take his temperature and contact your vet to investigate possible causes of the vomiting.
Loss of appetite: Fever may be accompanied by a general loss of appetite. Even in this case, this symptom alone is not enough to demonstrate the dog's high temperature, which could suffer from gum pain or internal mouth pain. The solution is always to go to the vet to find out what is causing his lack of appetite.
Accessories to measure dog fever:
- Digital pet thermometer - find out on Amazon
- Veterinary thermometer - on special offer on Amazon
- Pet thermometer - find it on Amazon
- Infrared thermometer for animals - discover the Amazon offer
How to measure a dog's fever?
Once the symptoms have been identified, the safest way to check if your dog has too high or low body temperature is to take a real measurement with a thermometer. The most common thermometers are digital or rectal. The former are inserted into the ear canal, the latter into the rectum. As you can imagine, neither dogs nor cats like both of these options, which is why measuring a pet's fever can be quite difficult.
Old rectal thermometers work just like human ones: they contain mercury inside a glass cylinder that, when shaken, expands when heated and rises along the calibrated container to indicate the temperature. Glass is very delicate, so you need to be careful not to break it, especially considering that mercury is highly toxic to both animals and humans.
Digital thermometers are easier to read and less harmful in this respect, as they have a display on which to quickly identify the temperature. They, as we have said, must be inserted close to the eardrum to have a correct temperature reading, which is not always accurate due to the different dimensions of the animal's ear canal.
If you have difficulty with these two methods, we recommend that you put the thermometer under the dog's armpit, which is less accurate than the ear or rectum to take the temperature, but still useful before thinking about whether you need to see the vet.
