You may have been wondering where we’ve been and what we’ve been up to, as it seems an age since we last shared any updates on our canine heatstroke research project…

Well, we finally have some exciting news!

Hot Dogs at BSAVA Congress 2020

Last month Emily presented two abstracts (preliminary findings) at the British Small Animal Veterinary Association’s annual Congress. Whilst the live event was an early casualty to the COVID19 lockdown, the abstract session was moved on-line in May, reaching a virtual audience of over 160 veterinary professionals from around the world.

The first abstract summarised our first study using the VetCompass TM database, reviewing the anonymised veterinary records of over 900,000 UK dogs to explore canine risk factors for heat-related illness. This abstract can be downloaded in text form below, or you can watch a recording of the presentation.

The second abstract explored the “triggers” for heat-related illness in UK dogs, reporting the most common reasons dogs develop heatstroke, and which reasons had the highest risk of causing death. This abstract can be downloaded in text form below, we hope to be able to share the video soon.

Findings from our VetCompass study will be published 18th June at 4pm!

Finally, our first Hot Dogs VetCompass study will be published TOMORROW AFTERNOON, where we report the incidence, fatality rate and canine risk factors for heat-related illness in UK dogs (the full paper of the first abstract). Thanks to a Dogs Trust Canine Welfare Grant this paper is Open Access, meaning you will be able to read the full version for free just as soon as it is published!

Watch this space for updates, we’re hoping it’s going to be a busy summer sharing our research, to help you make safer choices for your dog.