How to Tell if a Dog Has a Fever? – Itsaboutdog

Summary

A dog’s normal temperature is 99.5-105°F. A fever (over 103°F) can be indicated by shivering, warm ears/nose, low energy, loss of appetite, coughing, or vomiting. Causes include infections (bacterial bites, ear, urinary tract, teeth, organs) and ingestion of toxic plants, human medications, or certain foods. Use a rectal or ear thermometer for accurate readings. Seek immediate vet care if the temperature exceeds 106°F. During a fever, provide a calm space, fresh water, and cool compresses. Never give human medications without veterinary advice.

How to Tell if a Dog Has a Fever?  Without Thermometer?

If the average body temperature of your dog rises to 103 degrees farad, then you can consider that your pet is suffering from fever. If your pup’s temperature has increased to 106 degrees Fahrenheit, you should visit your veterinarian immediately because it can be fatal.

Instead of using medical equipment, you can check your dog’s fever by observing some natural behaviors in its body. The symptoms are:

1. If your dog is shivering from a cold, check the temperature because it is a significant sign of fever.
2. You can also check the ears and nose of your pup, as it gets warmer when suffering from fever.
3. Decrease in energy; if your dog was super active before and has become lazy and tired quickly, you can check the temperature because laziness may also be a sign of fever.
4. Loss of appetite is also a sign you can notice while checking for your dog’s fever.
5. Vomiting and coughing also symbolize fever, so you can get your dog treated for this condition.

Regulation of Body Temperature in the Case of Dogs

As per scientific research, the hypothalamus is the brain’s central part, which regulates the body temperature in your dogs.

While maintaining the body temperature, it acts as a thermostat to keep the range between regular and medium.

A stalk-like structure attaches to the hypothalamus, just below the thalamus, and is placed between the pituitary gland’s upper side.

What are the Causes Behind Dog’s Fever?

The dogs can get fever in various ways, such as infection, ingestion, or poisonous materials in their surroundings.

Studies have proved that infections could be the leading cause of a dog’s fever. Here are some of its types:

1. An infected bite is like if a pathogen carrier has bitten your dog and leaves bacteria, then this bacterial infection will cause fever in the dog.
2. Ear infections, which are caused by increased fungus or ear mites in the dog’s ear, can also cause fever in your pet.
3. A urinary tract infection is the most probable reason behind your dog’s fever. This infection usually occurs due to a weak immune system due to entering harmful bacteria into the urethral opening.
4. Infected or abscessed teeth can also cause fever in your pup; the tooth of the dog gets affected due to periodontal disease. It is a bacterial infection affecting the roots supporting the teeth.
5. Infected organs are the primary cause of your pet’s fever. A dog’s organs get infected due to exposure to gram-negative organisms in the blood cells that interrupt the hormonal circulation in the host’s body and infect its organs.

Poisonous Materials Causing Fever in Your Dog

Some materials humans love to keep at their homes can poison their dogs’ health. Some of them can be avoided by keeping your dogs surrounded.

Toxic Plants

The presence of plants like daffodils, dahlias, and daisies in the surroundings causes fever in your dog, as these plants release a toxic substance named phototoxic polyacetylene, which is responsible for its poisonous behavior.

Human Medications

The medications humans take to recover from any disease can sometimes cause fever in dogs. This is because the immune system of animals functions differently from that of humans, so human medications can harm it by causing fever.

Human Foods

In some cases, the foods humans used to eat can even cause fever in their dogs. This is because the immune system of dogs is not well designed to bear the oily and fatty constituents of human foods.

How to Detect Your Dog’s Fever With a Thermometer?

While checking the body temperature of dogs, using a thermometer is the best choice for the owners, with rectal thermometers and ear thermometers being preferable.

Tips and Tricks to Use a Rectal Thermometer

The rectal thermometer is preferred because the shorter and stubbier tip of the probe makes it easier to insert into the rectum. Here are the tips to use,

1. A digital rectal probe is the best choice for measuring temperatures. They are easy to use and specified only for dogs but expensive.
2. Petroleum jelly should be rubbed on the end of the probe, which will be inserted in the dog’s rectum to reduce the pain.
3. It’s essential to soothe your dog during the process and make them feel comfortable so they might not run away.
4. Now, gently insert the upper tip of the probe into the rectum of the pet and wait for two to three minutes.
5. The thermometer will make a beep sound after detecting the temperature of the dog’s body.
6. Read the temperature detected by the probe and give your pet appropriate medications per the veterinarian’s consultation.

Tips and Tricks to Use an Ear Thermometer

It is preferred because the design makes it unique and comfortable to use, and it measures the temperature through the infrared heat waves released from the eardrum. Here are the tips to use.

1. Most ear thermometers need not be calibrated while inserted into the dog’s ear, whereas in some cases, you need to do so.
2. Strictly avoid using a glass thermometer while taking the reading by an ear.
3. Hold your dog’s head in a straight position so that the thermometer will not hurt its ear.
4. Now, insert the probe of the thermometer horizontally in your pup’s ear by maintaining a 90-degree angle.
5. Please remove the thermometer from your puppy’s ear after it beeps and record the reading.

Using these thermometers lets you check the temperature of your dog’s body quickly, whereas we all know that testing the dog’s temperature is the most unpleasant moment we spend with our dog.

It happens because animals don’t know that the thermometer inserted in their rectum is for their welfare and makes them uncomfortable.

When Should You Take Your Dog to a Veterinarian?

If you have detected that your dog is suffering from a fever, you can take the medications alone. However, until the condition doesn’t go critical, if your dog’s body temperature rises to 106 degrees farad, then it’s time to take your dog to the veterinarian.

Otherwise, in this condition, the pet’s internal organs can also get damaged. As the blood gets warmer, metabolic activities also get slower during this high body temperature.

It is essential to consult with the veterinarian during critical conditions because the vet will go through the entire history of the pet and can specify which chemicals and medicinal extracts will suit the dog to recover from the fever and then will describe the course of medicines required.

In some cases, intravenous fluids will be preferred to aid the hydration and maintain a balance of the regulation of electrolytes, which is responsible for increased energy levels. However, the doctor may choose a minor surgery to treat the internal disease or infection if there is a severe and different case.

How to Take Care of Your Dog During a Fever?

Just like humans get uncomfortable and suffer from some other issues like cough and vomiting when they get a fever, dogs also suffer from these types of problems like indigestion, vomiting, severe pain, etc., when they get a fever. So that’s when the owner should give the pet some extra love and care so that the pet gets more courage to recover from the disease rapidly.

The owner should give the pet a relaxed and calm resting place to balance the increased body temperatures.

Giving the pet fresh and cool water for refreshment and putting some wet and cold pieces of cloth on the pet’s paws for cooling can help reduce the temperature, whereas alcohol wipes can also be helpful in this.

The owner should never use human medications on their own to treat their dogs because some substances are present in the medicines that can be harmful to the dogs, like Aspirin and acetaminophen.

The dog might take some more time to recover if the fever is due to some other issues like pancreatitis, as several anecdotal treatments are given to your pup during this disease, and the medications are to alleviate the symptoms. That’s why recovering can sometimes take almost two to three weeks.