If your normally agile dog is suddenly listless and his body temperature rapidly increased, This can have many causes. What you should know about Fever in dogs You should know in this article.
Table of Contents
Fever in dogs at a glance: 7 important facts
Normal temperature in dogs is 37.5 to 39 degrees Celsius, slightly higher in puppies.
From 40 degrees one speaks of fever, from 41 degrees it becomes dangerous for your dog.
Recognize a number of symptoms and signs (e.g., fever, fever, fever, fever, fever, fever, fever, fever). B. warm/hot ears, warm/hot nose, increased panting) early that your four-legged friend has a fever.
To get the most accurate result, you should take a rectal temperature.
Give your furry friend plenty of rest, avoid stressful situations, and provide them with enough water.
Fever is usually one of several symptoms of an underlying illness. So your focus should not only be on.
Before you give your dog any home remedies or medications, you should check with your veterinarian.
What is fever?
Exceeds the Body temperature of your dog the normal range, is called fever. If the fever curve shows daily fluctuations of no more than one degree, it is a continuous fever.
The normal temperature in dogs
Your dog shows a Normal temperature if his body temperature is in the range of about 37.5 to 39 degrees Celsius. At Puppies can cause normal temperature a little higher its.
When does a dog have a fever?
If your dog’s body temperature reaches 40 degrees Celsius, he has a fever. If the body temperature rises above 41 degrees, your dog may even have a Life-threatening become.
Fever in dogs: what types of fevers dogs can have?
- Remitting fever: If fluctuations occur in your dog within a day that are more than one degree Celsius, this is called a remittent fever.
- Intermittent fever: If your dog’s body temperature alternates between feverish periods and short fever-free periods, this is known as an intermittent fever.
- Recurrent feverIf the fever-free phases last longer than the intermittent fever, it is a recurrent fever.
- Atypical feverIf your dog is in a feverish state without any regularity, it is called atypical fever.
You can also be in terms of Duration of the fever Make distinctions:
- Ephemeral (one-day) fever your dog has already overcome after one day.
- Acute fever on the other hand, lasts between 8 and 14 days.
- Subacute fever lasts even up to a duration of 3 weeks.
- If your dog’s temperature is elevated for an even longer period of time, there is a fever chronic fever Before.
Recognizing a fever in a dog: Symptoms and signs
Only rarely fever appears as the only symptom. Therefore, many dog owners wonder: How to recognize a fever in a dog? There are different Signs and Symptoms, indicative of fever:
✔ You hear your dog panting harder. Due to the panting your dog can regulate his internal body temperature at least up to a certain degree. Defy the fever, however, he can not thereby.
✔ Frequently occurring Trembling up to chills
✔ An increased pulse
✔ The so-called Fever feces, which is characterized by its dry and solid consistency.
✔ The Ears of your dog feel warm or even hot at.
✔ If your four-legged friend has a fever, it is often tired and flabby.
✔ It is not uncommon for your furry friend to suffer from loss of appetite and to refuse food.
✔ The Nose your dog feels warm/hot and dry at.
✔ Increased respiratory rate, shortness of breath
Fever in dogs: Causes
In most cases, fever in dogs is just one of several symptoms you can attribute to an underlying condition. Conceivable is for example bacterial, viral or parasitic infection such as:
✖ distemper
✖ leptospirosis
✖ Rabies
As Causes also come immune related diseases like Rheumatism or Polyarthritis in question. continue to come has inflammatory diseases as a trigger. Think in particular of an inflammation of the prostate, the intestine, the mamma, the uterus or the meninges.
In addition Fever for dogs as a concomitant occur in the following cases:
- During the change of teeth
- In case of poisoning
- When taking medication
- For abscesses
- In case of tumors (tumor fever)
- For diseases of the bone marrow
Taking a fever in a dog
If your dog has Signs of fever shows, you can first also measure the body temperature yourself.
Rectal measurement
A reliable result you will get only if you have rectal measurement perform. It is best to use a digital clinical thermometer And proceed as follows:
- Apply some Vaseline to the tip of the thermometer.
- Insert the thermometer rectally a few centimeters.
- Keep your dog still for the short time of the measurement.
- Clean and disinfect the thermometer after the measurement.
Tip: All beginnings are difficult, which is why we recommend, your four-legged friend As early as possible to get your dog used to measuring with the digital clinical thermometer. To avoid confusion, you can keep the thermometer in the first aid bag for your four-legged darling.
Measure fever without thermometer
If you want to measure the fever in your dog via the Armpit, the mouth or the ears, you should keep in mind that the result will be compared to the rectal measurement not very meaningful is. Similar is the case with Measuring without thermometer. You can feel different parts of the body and notice that they feel a little warmer than usual, but you will not know the exact body temperature.
What to do if the dog has a fever?
If you recognize symptoms in your dog that indicate a fever, you should observe the following points:
✔ Measure the body temperature rectally.
✔ Give your dog rest and avoid stress.
✔ Offer your quadruped water regularly.
✔ Observe your dog and his general condition and do not leave him alone for too long.
✔ Avoid long walks, so as not to put unnecessary strain on your furry friend.
Attention: Clarification by the veterinarian should always be done to be on the safe side. In particular, if the temperature continues to rise or the general condition of your four-legged friend deteriorates, you should definitely consult a veterinarian.
Lowering the fever in dogs
If you tend to, To lower your dog’s fever by certain measures, you should always proceed with the utmost caution and care.
Treatment with medication
Besides the administration antipyretic drugs, suitable for dogs (z. B. Novalgin), it is important to treat the underlying disease. Your veterinarian must first get to the bottom of this in order to determine further therapy measures.
Attention: Do not, under any circumstances, administer to your four-legged friend medicines that are intended exclusively for humans, such as Paracetamol. Even a small dose of the drug can make your dog highly poison.
Dog and fever: home remedies
What proves to be a quite helpful means for humans to fight fever, unfortunately does not help our four-legged companions mostly. A relevant home remedy for fever in dogs does not exist in this sense. If you do want to try something, you should first check the Assessment of your veterinarian obtain.
Tip: Rest and sufficient supply with liquid still prove best to get your four-legged friend back on healthy legs again. Cold calf compresses can also help to give your dog a soothing cooling. In addition, a healthy and needs-optimized diet can help prevent illnesses.
When to go to the vet because of fever?
You should definitely consult a veterinarian, if the Fever very high is, holds for a longer period of time and is the general condition of your dog deteriorates continuously or. not improved. Especially with puppies and chronically ill dogs you should take special care and go to the vet sooner rather than later.