How to use the Pet Heat Illness Temperature and Environment Checklist
Dogs and cats shed heat by panting, so high humidity keeps heat in at the same air temperature. This checklist compares the air temperature and the humidity against the caution limits you set in advance, and if a rectal temperature was taken, places that reading alongside the bands used in the literature.
The bands used here are a normal range of 100.4 to 102.6 °F (38.0 to 39.2 °C), an early range of 103.1 to 104.9 °F, a moderate range above 104.9 °F up to 106.7 °F and a severe range above that, while the rectal temperature used clinically for heatstroke is above 104 °F. The traditional 105.8 °F figure, however, comes from hospital records, and a dog in exercise can reach higher with no medical problem, which is why it is being reassessed. No official temperature and humidity index for pets exists, so the caution limits are entered by hand (as of October 2026).
For that reason this tool never calls a reading heatstroke on its own. The bands are a literature classification, and how they read depends on the situation, such as whether exercise had just finished. First aid steps and cooling methods are not covered here. This tool is for reference only and does not replace veterinary care. Contact your veterinarian right away if you notice symptoms or suspect a problem.
Frequently Asked Questions
Not from the number alone. That traditional threshold comes from hospital records, and a dog in exercise can reach higher with no medical problem, which is why the figure is being reassessed.
No official temperature and humidity index for pets was confirmed. The caution limits are therefore the ones you set with your veterinarian, and the result shows only how many of the two were reached.
Yes. Leave the measurement box unchecked and only the temperature and humidity comparison is shown, with the body temperature line marked as not measured.