Life-thretening Stupidy!
 

Hey Y'all

I come to you - head held in pure shame! Because of MY selfishness - my lil girl got VERY SICK yesterday due to the heat! She is fine now but I have cried til I cant cry no more and STILL CRYING! My fault because I couldnt leave her home. My selfishness and burden to bare. And its very heavy.

Im sorry if this makes no sense - not able to sleep after todays activities. But I will try as best I can to explain what happened to my lil girl - WITHOUT judgement as Im here to inform and learn - not to be judged so please - dont:

We go out on the boat daily. Its docked AT our house so we use the small one for errands - grocery and other things. OR if we are going to an event where there will be many boats. Then - we can navigate through the other boats and come and go as we please.

Ok:

Yesterday we were in Tampa and went to the Red Bull Flugtag event. 97 degrees - no clouds. We had the shade pulled over the boat and was about an hour into the event when Nature went from a normal pant to more of a gasp. And did like a hacking thing (normal but this one wasnt). I looked into her face and she laid her head on the side of my hand. SOMETHING WAS WRONG! All of us lost it! This is IN SHADE! WITH POTABLE WATER - humans werent even 'hot'. Nice lil seabreeze going

My daddy took Nature from me and told us all to stay with the boat. I dont listen well and went with him anyway. I dont listen to him because he doesnt EVER do anything. hehe (good pops - just a sucker for his kids. He told me I couldnt bring my lil girl and I did anyway.)

My daddy took her inside the Tampa Convention Center and asked them where the ambulances and such are - knowing they would be there with people jumping off ramps and sky diving.

For an idea of the day go to Youtube: BabyTheRingneck. I recorded the RED BULL flugtags going off the ramp into the river. It will set the scene for you.

I digress - sorry. So Daddy took Nature to the ambulances - SHE WAS DYING OF HEAT EXHAUSTION IN A LITTLE LESS THAN AN HOURS TIME!!!!! Can you believe they treated her! I swear to... (well I dont swear to anything but if I did - I would!). They put her on an IV - gave her oxygen - everything! I couldnt believe the compassion!

But whats done is done however - now calling ALL FLORIDIANS! How do I handle this? Take her out 15 minutes - then 30 - OR NEVER? Doggies and boats just go hand in hand. But thinking back - she has NEVER really been outside but to potty. Otherwise - in the house or vehicle. Both climate controlled.

Any advice or suggestion welcomed! She was having a ball - liked the boat - until she got sick. I would love to bring her along because we spend SO much time on the water - thats why we live here!

Bottom line - cant she acclimate OR no heat for Yorkies? Everyone elses doggie was fine! :confused:

Oh i'm so sorry you had such a fright..it was so good of them to treat your baby for you..I wish i had some good advice..we don't get heat over here in the UK like you do..but on hot days when Pixie is in the garden i spray her occasionally with a water bottle to cool her down..she loves it! I use a fine mist spray and she will just stand there and let me do it..other than that plenty of shade and water to drink..not too much activity either...I can't think of anything else..maybe someone else can..;)

Bless your heart. I can imagine how scared you were and are.

Their hearts beat so much faster and their temps are naturally higher than a humans. We live in Iowa and it can get darn hot and humid. I spray mine down too if we outside gardening or something for more than 30-45 minutes.

Hang in there kiddo. Keep her calm and you stay calm.:)

WOW! What a scare!

I have no exact answer for you, but I would guess it may have had a little something to do with her age and/or her size???? Is she very young or very small??? I don't really know, but these were what first came to mind. I know I've read just this week of a fellow YT'r that had just spent a week on a boat with her yorkie with no problems. Did the ambulance guys have any advice for you.......and/or maybe you could check with your vet about why this happened if it might happen again, and how to prevent it.

I am so glad it all turned out okay. Don't beat yourself up too much; as terrible as they are, these things happen and happily for you, there is a happy ending here.

also...does she have a long coat? if she does you may want to think about getting her cut alot shorter in the hot weather...just a thought!:)

wow so sorry to her about your baby glad she is ok. My little man would live outside in a dog house if I let him the heat or old doesn't bother him at all.:animal36

WOW!!! What a scary story!!! I am glad she is OK and also glad that the rescue people were so willing to help her!!!

First, stop beating yourself up. I'm sure many of us would have taken our furkids along as well.:) We don't have a boat, but yesterday it was 97 degrees with a heat index in the 100's amd I sat outside reading for a couple of hours yesterday (with all three dogs and the kitty). They had water and shade and a breeze...and they were all fine and happy.

Second, I think it is amazing that the ambulance people stepped up like they did! Bravo to them!!!:bravo::bravo:Oh, and gooooooooo Daddy!!!!

I agree with the previous poster that this may have something to do with her size/age. Please check with your vet and be sure it WAS heat exhaustion and get his/her opinion on why this happened and what you should do in the future.

I'm happy that your girl is fine!!!! You had a scare, but it turned out well.

:ghug:

How scary for you all! I'm glad your baby is ok. Is she on the young side? I would think that if she is, that might contribute to the problem. I agree with the advice you got here about misting and shaving her down etc but would also think on those hotter than hot days, maybe leaving her home is your only choice?

Glad she is okay. I would have been scared to death. My babies hardly ever go out unless they are their stroller. I am very over protective of them. I don't know what I would do if something happened. So glad they were able to treat her.

i agree with the above posters. if her hair is long, then you should shave her down to a puppy cut. bring plenty of ice water with you when going out and bring a spray bottle or dunk her in the water every so often to keep her wet.

try taking her out in the backyard for a longer time then you normally would and try the above methods of keeping her cool. this way if you think she's getting too hot you can go right inside where its cooler.

if she's really young or really small then the heat may just be too much for her little body

I know that must have been such a Scare! Glad that everything turned out ok. Bella doesn't take the heat too well either. When we play outside for a long time, she's more than ready to come inside where it's cool. Also recently on a long trip, @rest stop I noticed she seemed to pant within only a few mins & went under the car for shade once, even after just drinking cool water. I guess some babies can take the heat better than others.:( I would as everyone else suggested - talk it over with yr Vet. Hugs to you & yr baby!

First, stop beating yourself up.

2nd, I am glad your baby is okay-thanks that your dad kept his senses about him.

Now, we go out on the boat alot also. It gets very hot and humid here in MD, granted not like Florida. We we get out to where we are, we dip Hot Rod in the water to cool him down. We do this through the day. As soon as I see that he is panting I will either put him in the cabin for a little while with the ac or "water" him down. I also give him ice to lick on alot. I have cooling pads for him to lie down on too. I had 2 human pads that I know work so they have been turned over to him. If you don't want to put Nature in the water, then wet her down with wet towels but the key is to keep her "wet". Good luck...we enjoy having Hot Rod boating with us too,

Wow! I would have taken my fur kids as well!

I agree with the above posters: Get her hair cut if it's long.
Wet her down while she's outside.
And I would also make sure she is not running around and being very active.

Glad your nature is OK. That is so awesome that the paramedics treated her. It is also nice that you are sharing your experience here. You could help save another Yorkie from getting sick or dying. Don't beat yourself up. Things happen to all our babies occasionally. Some people just don't have the courage to admit it as you did!

Banjo got to 2 hot 1 day- not a bad as she got- but i could tell- I am not taking him much any more right now! But it seems like I saw someone had a pad or something that you could warm in Micro- or put in freeze - to help with Temp control for the dogs/ and other things to I guess!
But I cannot tremember who had them- I would like to find one- and give it a try- and I think if you take her out in the boat- I would try and get something like that to help keep her cool!
I even thought of a freezer pack- and wrapping it in a fluffy towel!
Also 1 day I had a soft cooler with a few drinks in it- and turned around to check on Banjo- and he was laying on top of it- so guess he was hot and layed on that cooler!! Smart Boy, huh! LOL

Good luck in finding something so you two can enjoy being out!

I'm so happy she is okay.
How wonderful that the medical personel were able to help. :) As far as suggestions I think everyone has done a great job with ideas. :)

SO glad she's okay, but please don't beat yourself about this! And, thanks for sharing this story.

It's weird bc all dogs are different - my Marcel (3.4 lbs) heats up WAYYYY faster than my WYlie (7.5 lbs). Not that weight has anything to do with it, but you'd almost think Marcel would stay cooler, for some odd reason. Marcel IS much darker than Wylie. But, even indoors when we fetch - Marcel heats up more quickly. So, I think it's just individual.

I'd recommend you bring along a cool-gel-pack so you can hold her with cool pack (wrap pack in towel). They actually make lightweight vests where you can put the cool packs IN the vest so they are always with the dog. Make sure she drinks every 30 mins - even if you have to "dot" water on her nose or whatever - or, bring flavored Pedialyte if she's more likely to drink that.

But, if she really is super sensitive to overheating - I'd probably leave her at home.

Stop beating yourself up. We all make mistakes....I just bought a small wading pool Friday that I put in the shade and filled it up. Rusty and Cheyenne have so far just walked around in the water, but they were not afraid of it.. Buy one if you can and maybe aclimate her to the heat? Maybe roll up her hair before going out if you don't want her in a puppy cut...

Was this out on the ground walking on concrete? If so the concrete gets REALLY HOT and with bare feet on it that would be really hot for her. Also the fact that she is just inches tall so that heat coming from the concrete would really heat her whole body up. Just a thought. She would do better in a stroller with shade or being carried if that is the case.

If it happened while on the boat then I would try the other suggestions you have been given by getting her wet, cold packs, etc.

How wonderful that the paramedics were so good to help her! I am so glad she's doing better now.

Aw...I'm so glad they treated her.....It has been in the high 90's here...I take Penny only in our air condition vehicle....She drinks from a water bottle....I don't let her stay outside any longer then 10-15 min.....So glad your baby is ok....:)

I am glad your little baby is okay.

Do you have an air conditioned cabin on your boat? She could stay in there for an hour or two after being out in the sun. I would say to keep her short cut during the summer and to dunk her in the water or spray her down every so often.

Also, just make sure you don't dress her or anything when you go out on the boat. And I know that they make cooling pads. Maybe even take a towel and wet it and freeze it before you go out, so it would be cool for her to lay on.

Hope your next boat outing goes better!

So glad that Nature was treated so quickly.

I would say that she may just be more susceptible to heat than other dogs. I think that is also true in humans - some of us can handle the heat better. You learned a valuable lesson and taught us all something.

Wow!!! Good post.

I would suggest that if you want to take her in the future, to keep and ice pack for her to lie on and maybe keep her wet. if her hair is long, maybe a puppy cut would be better.

I am so sorry this happened. Everything turned out okay, and lessons learned. Please don't blame yourself. Fortunately, your Nature is okay, and is fine. That is the most important . Keep the dog wet next time, and offer plenty of water. Keep Nature in the shade too, and cut the hair for the summer. :thumbup:

Sorry for what your furkid had to go through, I'm glad the ambulance there were so kind and compassionate and treated her. As for me personally, I wouldn't take any of our furkids out into those kinds of temps, it's just to hard on them, but that's just me.

I am sorry you had such a scare!! I am glad your baby is alright.

Here are a few things you can buy to keep Nature cool:

Cooling Bandana
Cooling Accessories for Dogs: Cooling Bandana for Dogs at Drs. Foster & Smith

Cooling Vest
Pet Clothes: Pet Wrap Vest

Cooling Mat
Cooling Pads: Body Cooler Mats for Dogs

Cooling Bed
Dog Beds: Cool Bed III for Dogs at Drs. Foster & Smith

Cool Treat
Dog Travel & Outdoors: Aspen Pet Deep Freeze Arctic Treats at Drs. Foster and Smith

Before boating season I was asking about taking the girls out on the boat and some wonderful YTers here offered these tips. Take those frozen ice packs wrapped in a towel for her to lay on, spray her with cool water, feed her watermelon and of course lots of water.

It's wonderful that there were such compassionate people there to help your little one. Thank goodness she was OK. :hug:

Don't be so hard on yourself. All's well that ends well and you had no idea this would happen.

I'm so glad "Nature" is okay!
 

I want to Thank You for sharing this terrifying incident with me. This could have happened to anyone of us. It's stories like this... that make us all be more watchful of our pride and joy. I'm a new owner of a Yorkie (LOVE :p IT) and I'm use to owning Rottweilers in the past. So they didn't go with me as much as my new baby does.

We go to a lot of Arts & Wine Festivals and Lola comes with us to all of them. Actually Lola has never been home alone since we brought her home... almost 2 months ago. She goes grocery shopping, she's been to my doctors, and even out to dinner with us. But it had never crossed my mind that she too could get heat stroke so easily. I bring water everywhere we go, because I have very low blood pressure. So I drink a lot of water and I offer it to her every time I drink (3-4 times an hour). But just because she has been drinking water, doesn't mean she can't get heat stroke. Watch their temperature. I feel Lola's belly temp a lot to determine how hot she is. Sometime I will pull out my cold pack from the freezer and she loves to lay on it.

I'm so happy your father had the quick thinking to save your precious baby's life and I will always remember this. I'm so sorry this happened but thank you for sharing it!

Aww Poor baby Nature! I am so sorry she gave you such a scare..but how would you know she would react to that heat??
YOU know we were supposed to have the YT Fl meet up saturday too!
I was so worried because It has been getting up to 100 by 4pm everyday.
I knew Bella would not last!
I am so glad they decided to postpone it!
I work at Tampa general hospital right across from the convention center.
I was standing at my window looking out at the Flugtag ramp on fri afternoon. I would have had a perfect view!! The ramp end pointed right at me. thought about going and taking Bella too...lol
Glad I didnt now.
I bet the ems love helping that cutie pie!!
WE live and learn!!
I am getting the gw little cooling vest for Bella though. she is insane and has to be out with me when i am working in the yard. I worry about her!:rolleyes: