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Research focus: Epidemiology

Heatstroke is a potentially fatal, yet often preventable, condition for dogs that can be caused by exercise (exertional heatstroke), or confinement in hot conditions (environmental heatstroke) [1].

Despite the annual “Dogs die in hot cars” campaign, the number of calls made to the RSPCA reporting animals in hot environments grew by 10% from 2016 to 2017. Obesity, respiratory disease and lack of fitness have also been reported as risk factors for heatstroke in dogs outside of the UK [1].These findings are particularly pertinent to the UK as two of these risk factors: canine sports participation [2] and brachycephalic breed ownership [3, 4] have increased within the UK dog population in recent years. However, to date there have been no published studies investigating canine heatstroke cases in the UK, meaning the incidence and risk factors for this high-welfare disorder in UK dogs are currently unknown.

This project is a collaborative led by Dr Dan O’Neill at RVC with Emily Hall and Dr Anne Carter at Nottingham Trent University. The study will apply the VetCompass™ database to review the clinical records of over 900,000 dogs registered with UK primary-care veterinary practices for heatstroke events. As well as canine risk factors (e.g. breed, age, sex and bodyweight), additional information will be collected to establish the incidence, fatality rate, seasonality and underlying causes for heatstroke. Understanding the risk factors of heatstroke specific to the UK dog population will provide evidence to better support educational campaigns aiming to reduce or prevent this potentially fatal condition.

Cited References

1. Bruchim, Y., M. Horowitz, and I. Aroch, Pathophysiology of heatstroke in dogs – revisited. Temperature, 2017. 4(4): pp. 356-370.
2. Carter, A.J. and E.J. Hall, Investigating factors affecting the body temperature of dogs competing in cross country (canicross) races in the UK. Journal of Thermal Biology, 2018. 72: pp. 33-38.  
3. O'Neill, D.G., et al., Demography and disorders of the French Bulldog population under primary veterinary care in the UK in 2013. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology, 2018. 5(1): p. 3.
4. O'Neill, D.G., et al., Demography and health of Pugs under primary veterinary care in England. Canine Genetics and Epidemiology, 2016. 3(1): pp. 1-12.