London dogs at greater risk of heatstroke, research finds
Dogs living in London are more likely to suffer from heatstroke than elsewhere in the UK, a new study has suggested.
Researchers in dog welfare at Nottingham Trent University and the Royal Veterinary College found that dogs in the capital had up to double the chance of getting heat-related illness than in some other regions.
Heatstroke, also called heat related illness, is a potentially fatal condition in dogs which is expected to become even more common as global temperatures rise.
As part of the study, the team investigated risk factors for heatstroke by analysing anonymised clinical veterinary records of more than 900,000 UK dogs from the VetCompass programme at the Royal Veterinary College.
Across the UK, dogs that were older and heavier were most at risk of developing severe heatstroke, and when it came to the risk of dying it was older dogs and flat-faced breeds such as pugs and bulldogs that were at most risk.
“Whilst the most common trigger overall was exercise, our findings highlight the increased risk of severe and fatal heatstroke associated when dogs cannot escape the heat source or have reduced capacity to thermoregulate, such as older dogs and brachycephalic breeds,” Emily Hall, a veterinary surgeon at the Royal Veterinary College said.
“Both flats and terraced housing are generally located within the warmest parts of cities and are associated with an increased risk of overheating. Whilst it does not explain all the additional heatstroke events in London, a significantly greater percentage of cases in London were triggered by confinement in a hot building compared to the rest of the UK.”
During the single year of the study, 390 dogs needed veterinary care for heatstroke, including 72 in London.
The risk for heatstroke for dogs living in London was double that found in Yorkshire, and almost double that in the North West and East of England.
Exploring the specific triggers for heatstroke events, the researchers found that exertion, or exercise, was responsible for 68% of heatstroke cases in London and hot weather 14%.
The researchers found that the average temperature in which dogs became ill from heatstroke was 16.9°C. This is much lower than previously believed and the researchers say busts the myth about dogs only becoming high-risk for heatstroke in scorching temperatures.
Dogs that were confined to a hot building accounted for eight percent of cases in London, which was more than double that of the wider UK figure of three percent. The researchers suggest that this could be due to a higher proportion of apartments than in rural locations, and because the ambient temperature in cities such as London can be about 5°C warmer than in the countryside.
