When the mercury is reaching new highs every day, we need to make sure that our four-legged friends are kept cool, and that is just important around the yard as it is in the car, says Cowra Vet Peter Launders.
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"A dog could be tied up in the yard with not enough shade, or knock its water bowl over and it doesn't take long for it to become affected by heat-stroke," he said.
In the heat of summer the temperature inside a car can reach higher than 50 degrees, and that's only after five minutes when the temperature outside is 32.5 degrees.
Dog's don't sweat and are unable to rapidly cool themselves down, and their brains are the first organ to be affected.
"Their body temperatures rise and essentially they begin to cook from the inside," Mr Launders said.
"They go into heat stress and that can be a very distressing thing to see."
Mr Launders said that over the last six years he has only seen a couple of cases of dogs overheating.
"The best thing to do if you find that your dog is heat-stressed is to dunk it in some water," Mr Launders said,
"Then take it to the nearest vet where they will give the dog intravenous fluids. That is the best way of rapidly cooling down your dog."
Hardware chain Bunnings has recently formalised a fairly loose policy of allowing dogs, under control of their owners, into their stores, a move welcomed by Mr Launders.
"Bunnings are doing the right thing there," he said,
"We should be seeing more dogs in public areas because carparks in particular, can be extremely hot places."
