Hot weather

[Nanny71]

It is extremely hot in the UK at present. Unusually so for us. A veterinary clinic in our town has put out a warning not to walk dogs while it is so hot as they have had dogs in with heat stroke. One of which had only been on a very short walk.
I am concerned because I have been walking Dudley in the woods where it is quite shady but have about ten minutes of pavement walking to get there. We have been walking early but he has been unusually tired today.
I took him out fairly late this evening, only a short walk, but he wanted to come back as soon as he had done his business.
Should I walk him? Or just let him in the garden.? I leave the door open but he likes to lie on the tiled floor in the kitchen. I have a fan on for him and he has not been panting.
He doesn't moult but I do keep his coat short.
What do I look for regarding heat stroke, or heat exhaustion?
I just want advice please.

 

[JoanneF]

Heat stroke presents signs that the dog is hot to the touch, may drool or vomit, panting (possibly hard enough that the dog has difficulty swallowing and will look distressed), loss of coordination, collapse and coma. Treatment - obviously get the dog out of the hot environment if possible, slowly bring down the temperature with towels soaked in cool water - not cold water and don't put the dog into cold water such as a stream as the dog could go into shock if chilled too rapidly. The wet towels should be placed between the back legs and along the belly to the forelegs.

Once the dog has become comfortable offer cool water to drink, but in small amounts - if he drinks too fast he could vomit.

Prevention is obviously best, I have just bought a cooling coat for Timber and I am quite impressed. They are used to keep working dogs comfortable in places like Afghanistan and the Gulf. I bought this one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=pets&field-keywords=Prestige+cool+coat

You wet the coat and wring out the water, the evaporation makes it quite cool to the touch and if you slip your hand underneath it you can feel the dog is quite cool underneath. It doesn't make your dog wet.

 

[leashedForLife]

.

Dogs under severe heat-stress will have SPOONED tongues: the end of the tongue tips upward, the edges curl inward, & it forms a spoon-shape.
They also RETRACT the COMMISSURE [corner of the mouth] to maximize the airway & expose as much mucus-membrane as possible; the more surface area, the better.

Look how HIGH their tongues are, retracted to the center to lift the tongue off the floor of the mouth, & create as much surface-area as possible.

Note the COLOR, below - congestion, poor oxygenation, swelling, tacky / dry surface.

This dog, below, is cool & composed...

This dog, below, is relaxed - tongue lolling over incisors, only slightly warm.

That tongue also grows darker as the dog's core gets hotter - the tongue will swell, & the color darkens to purplish or dark red.

The swollen tongue will begin to occlude the airway; breathing will begin to "snore" on the inhale, & the airway will swell more, blocking it worse.


At home or abroad, in hot weather:
Cool water to drink [not ice-cubes, & not from the 'frig - thermal shock is not good, for hot bodies] at all times, is good - carry water in a sport-cap bottle for the dog, U can dribble it in from the SIDE to wash thickened saliva off the tongue, & help cool them.
Never point the sport-cap STRAIGHT DOWN THE ThROAT - the dog can choke & inhale water! - dribbled into the flews is safe, in the narrow slot between lip & outside of teeth.

SHADE is good; so is cool substrate, tile, lino, etc. A shallow pool in shade is nice to lay in & clamber out of; shaking off also helps to cool, flinging warmed water off the body, exposing wet skin to air.
A FAN is also good, if U don't have AC.


Rectal temps:
Normal temp RANGE is 99° F to 102.5° F (37.2° C to 39.2° C).
AVERAGE core-temp is 101.2° F to 102.2° F - 101 is walking, 102.2 is brief running / not overheated.

Any dog whose core-temp reaches 103.2' F is at risk for seizures, & a seizure will quickly spiral into faster overheating - each seizure interrupts the body's cooling function, & also causes brain-damage, which accumulates.
Dogs with a core-temp of 104.5' F or more can die of heart failure or organ damage. 105' F can only be sustained briefly; anything over 103.5' F is a mandatory vet-trip for safe medical cooling, by car, in an air-conditioned vehicle, lying down, on their side, belly wiped with cool NOT COLD water. Dogs take longer to cool down than humans do; that's why U need the help of a vet to bring their core-temp down safely.
Heat stress & heat stroke can both cause delayed injury, such as organ damage 24 to 48-hrs later, epilepsy, deafness, paralysis, etc.

take care,
- terry

.

 

[JudyN]

Don't worry about not walking him for a few days if he seems to be struggling with the heat - it won't do him any harm. Dogs are more sensitive to the heat than humans and all we want to do in the heat is flop around too! You might find he does better being walked early in the morning rather than later in the evening, as it'll feel a bit fresher then.

If you do walk him when it's hot, make sure that the pavement isn't too hot for his paws - if it feels painfully hot when you hold your hand against it for any length of time, it's too hot for him.

 

[Nanny71]

Thank you for your advice and information. I walked him atn6.30 am when it was comfortable and will probably walk him at 9 or 10 this evening just for the toilet because he is really reluctant to poo in the garden.

 

[Mayblossom]

We’re about 50 metres from shady woods , I tested the pavement first with my bare feet to see how hot it was as I know if it was hot for me it would be worse for the girlies, it was actually fine but walked them on the grass verge til we were in the woods, only did about 10 mins but it pacified Molly Springer she gets really hyper come afternoon walk time so it was easier for her to have a short walk then keep fretting it was lovely in the shade though, had another longer walk at 9 pm when it had cooled down . Had an early walk this morning for about 45mins but getting very warm out there already .

 

[Josie]

Heat stroke presents signs that the dog is hot to the touch, may drool or vomit, panting (possibly hard enough that the dog has difficulty swallowing and will look distressed), loss of coordination, collapse and coma. Treatment - obviously get the dog out of the hot environment if possible, slowly bring down the temperature with towels soaked in cool water - not cold water and don't put the dog into cold water such as a stream as the dog could go into shock if chilled too rapidly. The wet towels should be placed between the back legs and along the belly to the forelegs.

Once the dog has become comfortable offer cool water to drink, but in small amounts - if he drinks too fast he could vomit.

Prevention is obviously best, I have just bought a cooling coat for Timber and I am quite impressed. They are used to keep working dogs comfortable in places like Afghanistan and the Gulf. I bought this one

https://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias=pets&field-keywords=Prestige+cool+coat

You wet the coat and wring out the water, the evaporation makes it quite cool to the touch and if you slip your hand underneath it you can feel the dog is quite cool underneath. It doesn't make your dog wet.

I saw a lot of dogs wearing these cool coats at Dogfest and there were quite a few stalls selling them. I was really impressed with them actually. Have you tested it out on him yet? considering getting Dennis one.

 

[Josie]

I've made these ice cubes using a bit of chicken gravy and then popping some treats in. Hoping it helps cool him down! He's enjoying them

 

[JoanneF]

I have, on Sunday he wanted to be in the garden with us so I used it for the first time. Even after an hour, the coat felt cool to touch and if I slipped my hand under it, T felt cool too. I bought that one as it had good reviews - it is lightweight, doesn't make his hair wet, and can easily be 'recharged' with more cool water. My only complaint is they reduced the price by about 20% between the time I bought it and yesterday when I posted the link!

 

[Josie]

I have also seen a few dogs wearing these....

 

[Biker John]

I had a cool coat for my Shih Tzu, ok I actually bought three, because the first two were not good fits, tried one at a show and it fit him properly so that was what I used. It was brilliant and as JoanneF said if you slip your hand under the coat the dogs body is quite cool. I did once get accosted by a woman when walking him, she stormed up saying 'Do you not think its to hot to have a coat on a dog?'. I told her it was a cool coat and got her to feel under it, she apologised but I told her not to worry as I would not want her to be put off speaking up if she thought any dog was not being looked after properly.

 

[Caro Perry]

Harri is really feeling the heat - we go out early but even so it's very warm. Luckily there's a walk nearby that's got a lot of shade and as it's alongside what's left of the river he can paddle when he wants to. It's now shallow enough that he can lie in it and soak his tummy fur in the water- you can see the look of bliss on his face!

 

[arealhuman]

I have, on Sunday he wanted to be in the garden with us so I used it for the first time. Even after an hour, the coat felt cool to touch and if I slipped my hand under it, T felt cool too. I bought that one as it had good reviews - it is lightweight, doesn't make his hair wet, and can easily be 'recharged' with more cool water. My only complaint is they reduced the price by about 20% between the time I bought it and yesterday when I posted the link!

Hi @JoanneF - can you post the link again please? I can't find it and would be interested to have a look.

 

[JoanneF]

Hi @JoanneF - can you post the link again please? I can't find it and would be interested to have a look.

Try here - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Prestige-Cool-Dog-Cooling-Coat/dp/B01MZEG6PT

If you have any problems, it is the Prestige Cooling Coat on Amazon.

 

[Biker John]

Just a thought, obviously the type of dog will affect how they deal with hot weather, coat type, short faced or not, over weight or not, very young or old. But other than these things how much will fitness levels affect them? I know in humans an athlete has less problems than most people. I take Folly to racing, she has been doing it for years and as such is quite fit. Looking at her and the other Whippets, even on a hot day they are only panting for a short time after each run. I always have water for her and after a run I take her to see if she wants a drink, sometimes she has two or three laps but sometimes she is not interested. So is it the breed or is it her fitness that lets her run in hot weather with no ill effects? I have heard the theory that most sight hounds originated in the desert areas of north Africa, if this is right then it could be their bodies are adapted to hot climates. Any way what do people think?

 

[JudyN]

Jasper is rubbish in the heat but he has deerhound in him. Often just the sun affects him - he'll be panting on the first decent spring day when you can feel just a hint of warmth from the sun. He's in good shape but isn't that fit as he doesn't run for the fun of it or play chase with other dogs very often - he's saving his energy for if he sees a deer.

His stamina is rubbish too, which I think is common in greyhounds and their crosses, so that might be a factor with heat tolerance too.

 

[Caro Perry]

Harri is pretty fit - but hopeless in this weather. He was bred to be at home in the cold wet mountains of Wales after all!

 

[Flobo]

Yep, all of the above, keep it simple and watch your dog, if he/she wants to go home after doing business, so be it.. This week I have walked all my dogs in woodland only and driven there, then played it by ear.. Had one hairy moment today with my leonberger in back of van going home on the bypass, windows open, air blowing through, lovely, then hit a sudden tailback! Thankfully it was only about half a mile and kept moving slowly until I could exit.. but a good lesson and reminder in why to be prepared for the random!(already had a stock of water on board etc)

 

[arealhuman]

Thanks for the link @JoanneF

 

[JudyN]

We're on staycation next week and the week after, and I'm not overly pleased that the weather's not forecast to be any lower than 23c (max in the day) throughout. We had planned lots of days out, long walks, lunches in beer gardens... No way would Jasper accept a cooling jacket - at least, if I started work on it now we might be there by November - and he thinks being sprayed with water is terrifying. I don't particularly want to leave him in the house while we go out for lunch as it's a lot cooler with all the windows open. Any suggestions for helping him keep his cool without us having to spend the whole holiday watching Wimbledon would be appreciated!