Cool the dog first, drive second. Most owners do it the other way round.

Most people's instinct with a collapsing dog is to get to a vet as fast as possible. The Royal Veterinary College's research says that instinct costs lives.

The advice is cool first, transport second.

What the study found

VetCompass at the RVC examined records from 945,543 dogs across 886 UK veterinary practices between 2016 and 2018. Of those, 856 presented with heat-related illness.

The stakes are in an earlier figure the RVC cites: 97 per cent of dogs treated for mild heat-related illness survived, against 43 per cent of severe cases. Cooling early is largely what keeps a dog in the first group.

Cold water is not the danger

There is a widely repeated belief that cold water on an overheated dog causes shock, and that you should use lukewarm water instead.

The RVC's position is that this is out of date. Cold water immersion and evaporative cooling are the most effective treatments. For a young, healthy dog, cold water immersion is what they recommend.

For older dogs, or dogs with existing health problems, the guidance is gentler: water that is cooler than the dog, combined with air movement from a fan or air conditioning.

The wet towel — the thing half of owners reach for — is the one that does not work. A towel laid over a dog traps heat rather than releasing it.

What overheating looks like

Heavy panting that does not settle. Drooling more than usual. Unsteadiness or stumbling. Bright red or very pale gums. Vomiting or diarrhoea. Collapse.

A dog does not have to be exercising. Dogs die in parked cars, in conservatories, in gardens with no shade, and on pavements hot enough to burn their pads.

Flat-faced breeds — pugs, French bulldogs, boxers — overheat far more easily, because panting is how a dog sheds heat and a shortened airway makes panting less effective.

The order of operations

1. Stop. Get the dog out of the heat and into shade or indoors.
2. Cool. Cold water over the body, or immersion for a healthy dog. Keep it going.
3. Move air. A fan, an open car window on the drive, anything that speeds evaporation.
4. Offer water if the dog is conscious and can drink. Do not force it.
5. Go to the vet, cooling on the way. Ring ahead so they are ready.

A dog that perks up after cooling still needs to be seen. Heatstroke damages organs in ways that show up hours later.