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Altitude Sickness Dogs actually can suffer from the effects of altitude. Peter Hackett, M.D., President of the International Society of Mountain Medicine (ISMM), in Ridgway, CO, USA. Dr. Hackett, in an email to me, said that there wasn't any documented research out there. He had quite a bit of anecdotal evidence that dogs can at least become afflicted with acute mountain sickness (AMS). A dog with AMS "goes off its feed, becomes listless, doesn't want to do much," signs very similar to those exhibited by humans, according to Dr. Hackett. One indicator that he pointed to was tongue color. The tongues of afflicted dogs, much like humans, would become "mildly dusky." The dogs all responded well to returning to lower elevations. Researching this question took me on a round-robin circuit of altitude physiology experts. All agreed that there was little, if any real research out there on dogs and AMS or high altitude cerebral edema (HACE) and high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE). On the other hand, they almost all pointed to a single story as a well-documented example in AMS in dogs. Back in the late 1980's, musher Susan Butcher scaled Denali with a team of sled dogs. According to Robert Roach, Ph.D., the musher believed that her dogs were afflicted with "mountain sickness" after ascending past 14,000 feet. Butcher described her dogs as having decreased appetite and lethargy. Roach, a scientist at New Mexico Resonance, said that the advice given to humans in such circumstances was also applicable to dogs: "slow down, get plenty of rest and make sure you're hydrated before going to a higher altitude." Dehydration seems to worse AMS. Remember that many dogs don't drink enough, anyhow, so offer water to them often in a manner to which they accustomed to drinking it. Give it in a bowl if they only drink from bowls. Better yet, give them some practice before the hike in drinking from your water bottles, Sierra cups, cupped hand, hydration bottle tube, etc. The backcountry isn't where your dog should suddenly get picky on its water containers.
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Copyright 1996-2005 Jim Greenway Questions? Suggestions? Broken Links? Let me know. SARTECH I(tm), SARTECH II(tm) & SARTECH IiI(tm) are all trademarks of the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR)
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