Wamer Summer Days

My 10.5 month old American Foxhound is having a lot of trouble adjusting to the warmer weather. He probably only remembers the cooler (snowy) weather and I'm really worried because it hasn't been truly "hot" or humid yet (only about 15-20 degrees celcius so far). I bring a 2 litre bottle of water with us but he still pants heavily and when I leash him to cross the road towards the house he just lie's down, even though he knows we are close to home.

We usual walk/hike in the woods for an hour and a half but since he seems to be struggling I've been walking him on-leash for about 30-45 minutes (twice a day), which he has handled quite well. (When hiking we are usually home by 9:00am well before the heat of the day, in the afternoon we are out when it is quite warm, but Dodger reacts the same at both times of the day)

I'm really not sure what I can do - especially since it is going to get much hotter in the very near future. Dodger hates water at this stage but I'm still working on getting him to like it so that he could swim for exercise and to keep cool. I also bought him a cooling bandana that I will try out this afternoon's walk.

Has anyone experienced this before? Will Dodger be able to adapt to the heat?

I am really baffled by this because no other dog I've seen has reacted like this to warm weather. Even the Pugs, Bulldogs, Bernese Mountain Dogs and Collies are all more active in the heat than Dodger.

I really don't know what to do, please I hope someone can help!!

Melissa

my dog has been the same and he is a bulldog.

Usually his mid-day walks were his long ones. Now he gets longer ones in the morning/night instead. During the day it's out to pee/poop and that's it.

I too have been worried about the panting as well, because my dog tends to get overactive and pant for a long time and he refuses to relax and it kinda freaks me out. Last night it was warm in my apartment, yet my dog was running back and forth chasing his ball for 30 minutes!

I wet my doggies. They've got really dense black fur and Jemma for one is ALWaYS hot. So from about 12 degrees to about 40, I keep her wet when she does any sort of exercise. I'm really worried about the over heating.

I put my dog under a cold shower for about a minute the other day to cool her off and the good thing is, it takes a little while to dry so hopefully that helps her stay cool a little longer.

Please be careful when spraying your dog with very cold water, during very hot days. The sudden temperature change can cause a shock to the system. I might go with a kiddie pool and toss some of the favorite toys in, making them want to jump in. Not only does it give them the option of having LOTS to drink, swimming around is plain fun to do! (and fun for us to watch! :D )

I have Siberian huskies so they really hate the heat. They also really hate water, when I try to give them a bath they freak out and when I get the hose out they freak out but when we walk down to the river they all go in no problem. I also bought them a little pool which they all go in and walk around in the water to cool off.
My sibes have 2 coats of fur, a dense undercoat and a nice outer coat. They shed only twice a year, and only their undercoat. But my dogs never lay down or settle down when we are out walking, no matter how hot it is. and yes they do pant like crazy sometimes Sasha pants for hours.

My boy Copper, loves to lay out in the sun - even on a hot day!! He will pant heavily, but will not get up to move to a shady spot. I will get him up to go lay elsewhere, but he usually goes back out in the sun. When I think he's had enough, I bring him indoors because I don't want him to overheat or get a sunburn! He has a kiddie pool too, but only goes in it to play! :p

Just becareful how much exercise your dog is getting when he's out in the sun. You don't want to over exert him - even by accident! Make sure he drinks lots! Panting is how a dog sweats, and sometimes may look worse than it is. It is always better to be safe than sorry!

I've always heard you shouldn't use water to cool down a dog on a hot day, as the water gets trapped in their fur and heats up. They're fine when they're being sprayed, but after being in the sun for a while, it can actually make them hotter if they're covered in water. Don't remember where I heard that, but it made sense to me...

The layers of dog's fur helps them maintain their body temperature as well. I don't remember exactly how it all works, but their coat can help keep them cool. Obviously when they shed, they get rid of their winter fur. You should never shave your dog, unless it's a grooming requirement with the breed, because of the purpose of the dog's fur. Sorry I can't remember the exact science of it all, someone else may be able to explain it!

And yes, I've heard it too, to never spray your hot dog with cold water. Doesn't the water attract the sun??

it's already in the mid-90s here (that farenheit obviously, don't know the conversion :o ) Our pup is mostly black, and we're not even close to what it will be, heat-wise. I've been planning to get a kiddie pool for her.

I'm wondering, would it be a good idea to maybe add a bit of broth or something to her water to encourage her to drink more, or do they know what they need?
She drinks fine, but this will be her first summer, and I don't want her to dehydrate or overheat!

Thank-you all for sharing, I can see that I need to ease his "fear/dislike" of water!
Dodger did better today, although it wasn't as hot. I made him wear his cooling bandana AND he actually stepped in the creek!!! I was very impressed!
Here he is with his bandana:

I was wondering that too about water and wet things.

A friend of mine bought this for her great dane, who is mostly black. I would be worried it would have a "wet suit" effect, and hold heat into the body, not cold.

http://www.chillydogs.ca/Soaker.htm

I agree that it could possibly keep heat in...I think it is a good idea theoretically but I'm not sure how well it actually works. If I did buy "the soaker" (Cool Coat) then I would probably only put it in for short periods of time. Maybe a better purpose for the coat is to bring a dog's temperature down slowly?
Because the coat looks like it is made out of fleece I think it would do better at keeping a dog warm!?
Melissa

Owning Newfs (black ones) I know that the summer can get pretty hot for them. I just always made sure that I kept the water bowl full of clean cold water and I didn't make my dogs do a whole lot. If they felt like playing, they would tell me, but I never forced it. Because they stay inside during the day in the A/C at my husband's shop, they only went for walks in the evenings when it was cooler. On weekends out at the lake, I encouraged them to swim and made sure that they had plenty of shade if they wanted it. I also feed them doggy popsicles. I have seen the various cool vests, and thought about trying one but haven't yet. The one I was looking at put most of the wet side on the dogs belly - and since they can keep themselves cool by laying on something cool, I thought that would be good. I know the new puppy thinks the best place to be is in the bathtub, water or no. :D

I agree that it could possibly keep heat in...I think it is a good idea theoretically but I'm not sure how well it actually works. If I did buy "the soaker" (Cool Coat) then I would probably only put it in for short periods of time. Maybe a better purpose for the coat is to bring a dog's temperature down slowly?
Because the coat looks like it is made out of fleece I think it would do better at keeping a dog warm!?
Melissa
You're supposed to soak the coat in water before you put it on. So you don't cook the fur, I guess... A good idea but expensive for a clip-on towel...

Here is Boo in the too bright sun... I just got this one today...