Worried about overheating?

By K9 Wellness Team | July 13, 2017

K9 Top Coat is primarily a dog wellness organization. We are dedicated to the improvement of the quality of life of our best friends. Thus, safety is a primary focus for all of our products. We asked the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine to conduct a safety study for possible overheating on our Lycra Bodysuit. We asked them to test the garment under normal and rigorous conditions, but left the specific test patterns to them. They were able to conduct a statistically valid and supportable study that concluded that the K9 Top Coat Lycra garment would not overheat dogs—even at temperatures of 95 degrees. We invite you to read the specifics of the study listed below.

Again, our goal at K9 Top Coat is to provide the most functional, fashionable, comfortable and SAFE garments in the world. No other dog apparel company has gone to such lengths to ensure the safety of your best friend.

K9 Top Coat
January 1, 2004 (Vol. 224, No. 1)

Effects of a whole-body spandex garment on rectal temperature and oxygen consumption in healthy dogs.
S. Brent Reimer, DVM; Kurt S. Schulz, DVM, MS, DACVS; David R. Mason, BVet Med; James H. Jones, PhD, DVM

Objective: To determine whether a full-body spandex garment would alter rectal temperatures of healthy dogs at rest in cool and warm environments.

Design: Prospective study.

Animals: 10 healthy dogs.

Procedures: Each dog was evaluated at a low (20 to 25C [68 to 77F]) or high (30 to 35C [86 to 95F]) ambient temperature while wearing or not wearing a commercially available whole-body spandex garment designed for dogs. Oxygen consumption was measured by placing dogs in a flow-through indirect calorimeter for 90 to 120 minutes. Rectal temperature was measured before dogs were placed in the calorimeter and after they were removed.

Results: Rectal temperature increased significantly more at the higher ambient temperature than at the lower temperature and when dogs were not wearing the garment than when they were wearing it. The specific rate of oxygen consumption was significantly higher at the lower ambient temperature than at the higher temperature.

Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Results suggest that wearing a snug spandex body garment does not increase the possibility that dogs will overheat while in moderate ambient temperatures. Instead, wearing such a garment may enable dogs to better maintain body temperature during moderate heat loading. These results suggest that such garments might be used for purposes such as wound or suture protection without causing dogs to overheat. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2004;224:7174)

From the Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital (Reimer) and the Department of Surgical and Radiological Sciences (Schulz, Mason, Jones), School of Veterinary Medicine, University of California, Davis, CA 95616. Dr. Reimer’s present address is Michigan State University, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, East Lansing, MI 48824. Dr. Mason’s present address is the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, College of Veterinary Medicine, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011.
Presented at the 30th Annual Conference of the Veterinary Orthopedic Society, Steamboat Springs, Colorado, March 2003.
Supported by the K-9 Top Coat Company.
The authors thank Drs. Lyn Smith and Jarred Lyons for technical assistance and John Doval for assistance with the illustration.
Address correspondence to Dr. Jones.

1999-2004
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