Heavy Breathing Dog

A_Sober_Paddy

Just had the dog out for a fairly handy run around the field, throwing the ball for him, but since we've been back his breathing very heavy...

I've given him loads of water, and his drank quite a bit of it, just wondering what else I could do for him, now its fairly warm here(Limerick).

Cheers

SillyMangoX

What breed of dog is it?

My cat was suffering from heat exhaustion before, she was panting like mad and you know its bad if a cat is panting! What I did with her was leave her lie down on the cold tiles in the kitchen and left the fridge open in front of her and pour cool water on her head and paws.

A_Sober_Paddy

SillyMangoX wrote: »

What breed of dog is it?

My cat was suffering from heat exhaustion before, she was panting like mad and you know its bad if a cat is panting! What I did with her was leave her lie down on the cold tiles in the kitchen and left the fridge open in front of her and pour cool water on her head and paws.

His a cross between the Shar-pei and a Bull Terrier.

I've already sprayed him with some water, his laying down on the tiles in the kitchen(coolest room in the house).

andreac

Its very warm out today. I would never exercise a dog in warm weather as its very unfair on them.

I can never fathom how people bring their dogs out when its so hot out

SillyMangoX

Shar pei are a breed which can be prone to over heating because of the shape of their face, they are classed as a brachycephalic breed (like boxers, pugs etc) so they don't do well with heat at all. Bull terriers would usually be okay with heat so he must have inherited a lot from his shar pei side!

I'd advise you not to let him do too much running around in this heat in the future, either exercise him early in the morning or late in the evening when the heat isn't as intense. You could add some ice cubes to his water or even give him one to munch on now to help cool him off, but definitely don't let him run around too much in the heat anymore or you may run into problems!

Zapperzy

If you've got a thermometer that you don't mind not using it yourself again you can take his temperature until it comes down. Just stick it in his anus and tilt it to the side a little so it's touching the wall and not in the middle of faeces.

If he's calm enough in the bath you can run a cold bath just a few inches up his legs and have him stand in it. Just make sure he drinks loads of water to stay hydrated and hopefully you caught it in time before a vet visit is needed, I seen on fb 3 nurses I'm friends with have already seen overheated dogs come in.

A_Sober_Paddy

andreac wrote: »

Its very warm out today. I would never exercise a dog in warm weather as its very unfair on them.

I can never fathom how people bring their dogs out when its so hot out

I brought him out as he was in the garden enjoying the sun and was mad running around the garden, wanted to give him more space...I didn't exercise him, I had him up in the field and he was running around chasing butterflys, and I maybe threw the ball twice for him but he walked it back to me, more that running back to me

SillyMangoX wrote: »

Shar pei are a breed which can be prone to over heating because of the shape of their face, they are classed as a brachycephalic breed (like boxers, pugs etc) so they don't do well with heat at all. Bull terriers would usually be okay with heat so he must have inherited a lot from his shar pei side!

I'd advise you not to let him do too much running around in this heat in the future, either exercise him early in the morning or late in the evening when the heat isn't as intense. You could add some ice cubes to his water or even give him one to munch on now to help cool him off, but definitely don't let him run around too much in the heat anymore or you may run into problems!

Yeah I heard about the heat thing, but until today his never had any issue with heat, in fact he looks sitting in front of the fire and heaters when they are on.

Yeah I will bring him for a short walk later on as the weather cools down...

His back to normal now

andreac

You did exercise him, you brought him out for a walk which is exercising. Dogs dont know when to take it easy so its up to you to make these calls for him and for his own welfare.

I wouldnt walk a dog in this weather, unless its early in the morn or late in the eve when its cool, as its just not fair on them.

Tranceypoo

It sounds like he might have mild heatstroke, I would phone your vet for advice but keep him in the cool in the meantime. Sometimes you just don't realise with the heat and taking your dog out, as Andrea said, dogs don't know when to stop running around, you have to make sure they don't.

I foolishly and very stupidly let my dogs run around one of our fields on a hot day last year, don't know what I was thinking because I'm normally careful about the heat, the older one (who has a grade 2 heart murmur) ended up with mild heatstroke, I will never forget it or forgive myself for endangering him like that, thankfully he was/is fine but any sniff of the sun or heat and he gets a walk early in the morning (8am) and that's him done for the day (he's not locked in the house or anything, I'm at home most of the day and the garden doors are open and he loves to lie in the sun but I make sure there's no running around chasing the younger dog type behaviour!).

Also re the water, don't let your dog drink loads and loads of water all at once, he should drink little and often, my dog drank nearly a bucket of water at the time and then an hour later was screaming the place down to get out and did the longest pee, literally it lasted about 10 mins. He spent the rest of the day/night sleeping on the cool tiles with me siting beside him watching him like a hawk, I had phoned the vet for advice and it was keep him in a cool place, water to hand and just monitor him and if he got any worse bring him in, thank goodness he didn't. So that would be my advice to you and just bear this in mind for next time, it's an easy enough mistake to make really but learn from this and don't let it happen again because sunstroke can be serious.

Just to add, I know you said your dog loves the heat ie lying in front of the fire etc (as does mine) but that is completely different from being out in the sun!

star-pants

andreac wrote: »

Its very warm out today. I would never exercise a dog in warm weather as its very unfair on them.

I can never fathom how people bring their dogs out when its so hot out

andreac you're familiar with the forum, post helpfully with advice on the situation at hand, or not at all.

I've no problem with people giving their opinion but it's unfair to just berate posters.

seamus

The heat on a sunny day is different from the heat from a fire or similar as in those cases the air around is still relatively cool and there's a loss of heat to the environment.

When the heat is the environment, the dog has to work to stay cool and panting forms part of the dog's heat management system. Contrary to popular belief, dogs don't sweat through their tongues, but panting does perform a very important similar function of heat management because they do have less pores on their skin.

So heavy panting isn't necessarily a sign that anything is wrong, but it should be taken as a sign that the dog is very warm. As we know, dogs are often like little children and will continue running around and having fun until they literally collapse, unaware that they've gotten way too hot.

If the dog is a bit overheated, a cool bath or shower (not cold; but 15 - 20 degrees) for a few minutes can help cool them. For dogs however you must dry them afterwards and not let them dry out in the sun. The wet hair acts as an insulator and will actually make them hotter. Lying in a cool shaded area to dry out is best.

My Staff can't handle the sun and thankfully lets us know when its too hot to be out walking by just lying down and refusing to move. She was out on the balcony this morning just lying in the sun, not moving or anything and panting her little head off. It's a love/hate relationship she has with it, and will move from shade to sun and back again all day.

meoklmrk91

I have a boxer and even cooler days I have to watch that he doesnt over exert himself, he would just keep going until he keeled over if he was left to his own devices.

On days like today, he has a big buck of water and plenty of shady areas to lie in, he is not allowed out from 12-3 as that is the time when the sun is at its hottest. If we are going away I put him in the bathroom as its nice and cool, windows open for ventilation and a big bowl water. No walks, no running, no fetch.

He is currently here lying half on his bed and half on the floor, this is a fog who wouldn't sleep on a bare floor if you paid him for as long as I've had him so he is definately feeling the heat.

girl in the striped socks

<Mod Snip - no backseat modding>

OP my dog is in & out of the house all day, no exercising but he's still bet with the heat.
If you have towels or tea towels spare you could soak them in cold water & lay them over him for a few minutes to try cool him down.
Ice cubes are great too, you could give him a cube to play with & add some to his water bowl.
It's a very warm day out there so I suppose we all need to keep an eye on pets in this weather & alwys make sure that clean fresh water is available. I usually have three or four large bowls of water left out in the shade & refill & move them around as much as I can to avoid them drying out or the water getting warm.

seamus

girl in the striped socks wrote: »

If you have towels or tea towels spare you could soak them in cold water & lay them over him for a few minutes to try cool him down.

Just be careful with that, a few minutes only. Wet towels are actually good insulators, and after ten minutes or so will cause the dog to get warmer, not cooler. Wet towels, constantly being rotated and soaked in cold water can help.

ppink

seamus wrote: »

If the dog is a bit overheated, a cool bath or shower (not cold; but 15 - 20 degrees) for a few minutes can help cool them. For dogs however you must dry them afterwards and not let them dry out in the sun. The wet hair acts as an insulator and will actually make them hotter. Lying in a cool shaded area to dry out is best.

.

Are ya sure about this Seamus? I never knew this and our guys are always in the water for a cool down, I never knew it could make them hotter if they did not stay in shade!

OP glad he is ok again. ours just came to the postbox with me and now they are all panned out wrecked and waiting for ice pops:)

seamus

I would be fairly sure about it. I wouldn't be concerned if the dogs aren't overheated. They will dry out relatively quickly and it'll be fine. But if the dog is already overheated then having a wet coat in the direct sunlight will not help them cool down.

Zapperzy

I remember someone on here before recommending putting tinned fish in the bowl of water. I just put 2 or 3 teaspoons of mackerel in tomato sauce in a big bowl of water and he gulped loads into him. Tried giving him regular fresh water with ice cubes and he wasn't too interested in it.

Zapperzy

Zapperzy wrote: »

I remember someone on here before recommending putting tinned fish in the bowl of water. I just put 2 or 3 teaspoons of mackerel in tomato sauce in a big bowl of water and he gulped loads into him. Tried giving him regular fresh water with ice cubes and he wasn't too interested in it.

Just to note when doing this only put in a small amount of water, I filled a big bowl and of course he drank every last drop in only 3 sittings resulting in him having a very full bladder all evening, he musn't have pee'd before getting into the car because 20 minutes out the road he started whining (very unusual for him but thought he was just hot so I opened the window more), then I realised what was wrong, poor fella was DYING for a pee and eventually gave in and pee'd all over the floor in the car, he wasn't too pleased with himself either. Live and learn I suppose! :rolleyes: