Worried about your dog over heating?

are you serious

Just thought i'd throw this statement/question out there..

Is anyone else out there worried there dog in this hot weather going to over heat while out for a walk/run?

I know my fella, after 5 minutes of running around on the last few really hot days is just ready to turn back home and pan out on the cold tiles in the kitchen.

I have noticed he is drinking a lot more with the hot weather, he still eats the same so I'm not worried about his health in any way at all just while out walking..

But that said... I would hate to think that out on a walk he might over heat (if its even possible)... well you get what I mean :rolleyes:

Any thoughts on this???

Shanao

Because of the hot weather, I've taken to walking my guys between half seven and half eight in the morning when its still coldish, and after eight at night. I dont go anywhere without a bowl and 2litre bottle of water though.
We went to a show recently and got stuck in traffic on the way; was terrified the dogs would overheat in the car even with all four windows down so eventually we had to pull in and give them a bowl of water each just in case.

So, as you can see, constant worry for me!!

Edit- Forgot to mention that we bought a plastic kids sand pit for them out the back and filled it with water. Throw some apple chunks and raw carrot chunks into the 'pool' and they're happily diving in after them for a good while.

pokertalk

my lad has bein too ii have being leaving him in from 1-5 pm when the temp is at its hottest

Whispered

Heh I asked this question last summer and was told by a poster that "your dog is not made of chocolate". :rolleyes: But I think you're right to think about it.

If you ever think your dog may be suffering heat stroke you need to get medical help immediately. Symptoms like excessive panting, vomiting, very viscous drools, staggering should be treated straight away. I had a boxer last year who I picked up on probably the hottest day of the year wandering around a local town. I didn't realise how serious it was tbh and all I did was sit up with her sponging her with a wet t-shirt and coercing her to drink. Thankfully she was ok, but when I spoke to the vet he told me that the best thing I could have done was call for advice. I never realised how serious it could be. I'm so careful now.

When it's hot we tend to go walking where they can get into the water. Harley gets most of his exercise swimming. Phoe gets his paddling (aaah).

When it's really really hot and we're not going out I'll make "pup-pops" (:o) cheese, meat, cooked vegies, tinned dog food, kibble - whatever you like really, in a lunch box with gravy or stock poured over, then frozen into a block of food. They love it. I also wet towels and lay them on the decking and they lie on them.

When it's very hot it's either a walk by the lake or river, or else a night time walk only. They're usually happy to spend the day lazing out the back when it's hot anyway

Shanao

Whispered wrote: »

When it's really really hot and we're not going out I'll make "pup-pops" (:o) cheese, meat, cooked vegies, tinned dog food, kibble - whatever you like really, in a lunch box with gravy or stock poured over, then frozen into a block of food.

Hope you dont mind, but I'm going to rob this idea:D Had thought of giving them ice cubes but I dont know would they be bothered with them. I'll try freezing up some things in a lunchbox though and see how they get on. Great idea, thanks.

Whispered

So long as you too call them pup-pops :pac:

are you serious

A bar of chocolate... must have been an idiot looking for a fight :rolleyes:

I wouldnt go anywhere without a bottle of water with me. I dont like letting him into the river at my local park its so contaminated its horrible!

I have been thinking of getting him a good size Childrens paddling pool to jump in and out of so tomorrow I think I might just go spoil him even more and do that. My local pet shop gave me some free doggy ice cream last week which he loved so another trip down to my petshop this week for ice cream will be made also

Whispered

garkane wrote: »

My local pet shop gave me some free doggy ice cream last week which he loved so another trip down to my petshop this week for ice cream will be made also

:eek: Would love to get dog ice-cream. I'd say it'd be gone very quickly though?

Shanao

Just make sure its a plastic pool you get. The inflatable ones are useless, my guys didn't even need to use their teeth on it, their claws ripped through it even though they're kept short.

@Whispered- Of course, Pup-pops it is.

are you serious

Yeah Whispered, its the same size tub as the small Ben and Jerry's tub's if you know the one i'm talking about!

I didnt even know it existed! I was buying other things in the shop, some knuckles and bones for him, i'm there every other week buying them as they are good to keep him entertained and he asked did I want to try the ice cream for him and gave me 2 tubs for free.

Needless to say after taking the ice cream out of the bag when I get home Buddy was trying to eat the lot including the packaging

Chris_Heilong

Just a side note. never shave your dog during summer, a dogs coat is designed to protect them from the elements such as UV light, even long coated breeds do much better with their full coats, shade and lots of water or Ice cubes in your dogs water bottle are all good ideas.

piperh

Yes i worry about overheating to so walks have been early morning and their evening walk is alway between 9 and 9-30 anyway. Normally i have a bit of a lie in at weekend:D so the walks are about dinner time but it was so hot yesterday that i just played games in house with them.

I freeze water in their Kongs as well and they love them in this weather.

star-pants

Yup ours get so hot (dual coats! :pac: ) - you'd always notice they'd be out of breath / panting pretty quick if you brought them for a walk when it was too warm.
Again like others, early in the morning or late-ish in the evening (not too late cuz someones afraid of the dark *insert rolleyes here*)

The little one loves being outside but obviously if it's very hot out we'd not want her lying in the sun, but we have a large wooden table out the back that she lies under, so she's in the shade outside, she loves it. We also sometimes put up the umbrella to create more shade for her if it's very very sunny out.
She likes playing with ice cubes too, when she gets bored if they're not melted I throw them into the water bowl. She'll only drink 'fresh' water, if it's been down for say more than an hour she turns her nose up at it and looks at you as if to say 'excuse me? is this stale water?' lol

We have a paddling pool too which she likes to play in when it's hot. Lily on the other hand, likes to be indoors and certainly not wet (suspect she's part cat). We just keep them trimmed (not shaved tight) because their fur can be so thick and heavy, especially the little one they're just too hot and itchy all the time.

But definitely it's something everyone should keep an eye on, especially if their dog likes to be out the back a lot.

Love the pup-pops idea

piperh

This was just posted on DTI facebook page, some poor dog lost his/her life to the heat, some good advice here.

"Hi All Please be careful walking your dogs in this heat. Be aware of heat stroke. We have already heard of one canine fatality who died as a result of a long walk in the heat. Be especially careful with muzzles or anything that tightens around dogs nose, mouth or neck. Water, shade and cool fresh air is needed do avoid midday sun."

andreac

Garreth as a fellow rottie owner i am very concerned about heat and rotties are very prone to suffering from the sun so i never walk them on a hot day during the hot time. Be very careful with Buddy in this heat as rotties dont do well in the sun at all.

They get walked either early morning or late in the evening when its cooled down.
I often see people out walking dogs in serious heat and i really do wonder..:rolleyes: Ive seen people walking Huskies and they are dying with the heat, its just not fair on them.

If its a very warm day then just dont walk them, it can be very dangerous and unfair on them. Just because we think its lovely out doesnt mean the dogs are going to enjoy being baked in it.

are you serious

Thanks Andrea

The furthest ive gone with him in the last while during the day is the field at the front of the house, its roughly the length of a football field just a bit wider. After 2 or 3 lengths chasing his ball and he's done water and cold tiles time! Walk him mostly at night now or when my shift is over and he's fine

Tranceypoo

I posted about this recently, through my own stupidity my older dog got a mild heatstroke, I let them out to run around the field on a really hot day in the afternoon. Luckily he fully recovered and is fine but it was a lesson learned and now I'm super cautious, I take them both out around 8/8.30am then around 7.30/8pm/later depending on when it's cooled down enough, I take younger dog out in the afternoon cos she's just mad to go walking but the last couple of days I've noticed her slowing down so I've cut the walk short and headed home. To be honest I can't take the humid heat myself and I'm out in shorts & teeshirt, I imagine what it must be like wearing a fur coat on top of that!!

Lucyx

I'm very conscious of my doggy overheating and this time of year I only walk her on our nearby beaches so that she can have a dip and cool down. In cooler months she might hop into the sea once on a long walk but this time of year she jumps in about 5 times and she isn't a swimming dog or anything like that (maybe part cat as well as another poster mentioned lol )

For indoors this time of year I have a fan for my dog and she loves it!!
When i bring her for a quick toilet walk locally, she would pant quite a bit when we get home so she sits in front of her fan (bigger than a desk fan say) and she cools down in about 2 mins. It makes a HUGE difference to her and I think it makes her body temperature cool much quicker than just lying on a cool floor. She usually gets into a position so that the fan is blowing at her tummy and it actually looks so funny. Shes a real pro at this stage.

Its something I'd highly recommend. Obviously it my take some dogs a few goes to get used to this machine blowing at them but honestly they'll love it when they do. And because it only comes out of storage for about 3 months a year, it stays in good condition for a few years easily.

tk123

Whispered wrote: »

:eek: Would love to get dog ice-cream. I'd say it'd be gone very quickly though?

Petzerts are over priced imo. Aldi do kids organic yogurts - 4 of them for around €1.50 - I freeze them and give him one to cool down. Also we got a pool for him in smyths lol so he can swim at home :pac:

ppink

I just made some of Whispered's "pup-pops":D this afternnoon after reading here.
4 very very happy, cool, sleeping doggies here now:D

anamaria

I am really glad someone has brought this up. I have been worried about my little girl (westie/cairn x) and was feeling bad for not letting her run around too much during the hottest times of the day. She really seems to be feeling the heat and even in the house is searching for the coolest spot.

I might try freezing something in her Kong for her like someone else suggested

spb

Dogs can definitely overheat and need to be looked after carefully in this kind of weather, we Irish are great for getting out and about if there's even a sniff of sun but that doesn't mean we should be taking our dogs out in it. If its very warm my sprollie will find a cool spot to lay in however my boxer is a complete sunworshipper and will find any spot of sun to lay in and just stay there so today I had to keep moving her into the shade and cooling her with a cold wet towel!

Frozen stuffed kongs are great and use their actual food as much as possible, my dogs food comes in frozen nuggets that are perfect for popping into their kongs, or you can just moisten their kibble with hot water so its mushy and freeze that in their kongs. I also save those plastic takeaway containers and make meaty pops by freezing stock (stock cubes can be really salty though so use low salt ones), or low fat, natural probiotic yoghurt, anything that your dog likes can go in! And rain or sun I never go out with the dogs without taking a bottle of water

anniehoo

I know its obvious to "most" of us here, but ive recently seen 2 Bull Mastiffs die of "cardiac failure" due to excessive heat. Dogs dont get "heart attacks" as such, but these dogs were left in a car (windows open) on a "mildish" day, for no more than 20 mins in and died as a result of organ failure.

You may go "oh my god", but as a brachycephalic (shortnosed) dog their ability to regulate their breathing and temp is very different than many others. The owner was devastated and lost both of his dogs as a result.

So, yep Garkane you're right to question it. Dogs cant sweat, but pant, to cool themselves down but caution needs to be taken on a day like today that they dont "overheat". We can take ourselves into the shade/drink water...the same has to be done for our pets

john t

How do shepards fare in this heat? My 20mnth old black female seems too pant a lot just sitting in garden, she has two water bowls but i dont notice her drinking any xtra..

anniehoo

john t wrote: »

How do shepards fare in this heat? My 20mnth old black female seems too pant a lot just sitting in garden, she has two water bowls but i dont notice her drinking any xtra..

I wouldnt worry too much as long as you're not over exerting her. She will regulate herself and will drink water if its there for her. Today was brilliant for us sun wise, but if you aren't asking her to do anything above and beyond what she normally does she'll be grand...avoid leaving her for any length of time in your car though

Galway K9

I was worried about thsi esp in car and felt water and windows wasnt enough....I recently got a reflector for the windows of the car and bought a decent size pool for back garden from argos so dogs can take a dive in also theres good shade, so theyre happy out now, they just dive in no prob, Lucky fecks!:D

Whispered

Galway K9 wrote: »

I was worried about thsi esp in car and felt water and windows wasnt enough....I recently got a reflector for the windows of the car and bought a decent size pool for back garden from argos so dogs can take a dive in also theres good shade, so theyre happy out now, they just dive in no prob, Lucky fecks!:D

I know someone who bought a pool big enough for 5 rotties to paddle in. Filled it, threw in toys, the girly rottie went in and took the toys out. And the boys pee'd on the pool

tk123

We have this pool - http://www.toys.ie/Index-8ft-Easy-Up-Pool-!100458-prd.aspx It's filtered and heated so we can do hyrdotherapy sessions. :P

borderlinemeath

Galway K9 wrote: »

I was worried about thsi esp in car and felt water and windows wasnt enough....I recently got a reflector for the windows of the car and bought a decent size pool for back garden from argos so dogs can take a dive in also theres good shade, so theyre happy out now, they just dive in no prob, Lucky fecks!:D

Snap, I bought a pool in argos last Sunday week, my girl loves dipping her belly to cool down. All it needs is about 2 inches in the bottom and she's like a pig in sh*t.


I didn't walk her yesterday morning, it was just too hot even at 8am. We didn't get out until 10pm last night and even still she was panting for a good hour afterwards. (off lead run)

toadfly

tk123 wrote: »

We have this pool - http://www.toys.ie/Index-8ft-Easy-Up-Pool-!100458-prd.aspx It's filtered and heated so we can do hyrdotherapy sessions. :P

Thats very cheap :eek:

**Vai**

Just remember that a dogs core temperature is 4 degrees warmer than a humans so when u feel warm, add 4 degrees to it for your dog.

I wish I could get mine a pool but neither of them like water very much. Kinda like myself!