With the recent heartbreaking news about the death of those precious show dogs, I think it would be a good time to have someone share what to do when we see one of our dogs in~~ heat stress~~ say at a show for example
I know I would be panicking but what is the fastest method of cooling our dogs down? What are the steps in case of an emergency?? And what are the first signs??
TIA

Wash them down with cool water, poor alcohol in their necks and feet, bring them in to the AC, it temperature is over 105, rush them to the vet, so they can get fluids running and a steroids shot to help the dog breath better.
"Once the temp STARTS to drop, STOP ALL COOLING EFFORTS. The cooling process will continue even though you have stopped. If the temp starts at 106.5, and then next time it drops to 105.8, stop cooling the dog, dry it off, and continue monitoring. You will be amazed how it continues to go down. If you do not stop until the temp is 102, the temp will drop on down to 99 or even lower, and then he is at risk again."

Looks like the previous poster was quoting from a really good article - I'd highly recommend reading the whole thing

http://www.napwda.com/tips/index.phtml?id=40

Now that the story of the overheated rottie who developed bloat after drinking a large amount of ice water at the 2007 Steele Valley Cluster is making the rounds again, it's good information to have on hand.

No offense to all that work so hard in that Steele Valley Cluster, but that 4 day week of Majors , is brutal for dogs, there is no shade on that grounds, and it is not unusual for the temp to be in the high 90's. INSANE !

I carry a copy of this around each summer. Great advice from a vet. http://personal.uncc.edu/jvanoate/k9/heat.htm

~Adrienne