# Heat stress?



## daul77 (Jan 22, 2014)

Hi all, its been a while since ive been on the forums. been to busy running and mountain biking with my sidekick Tucker Dog. He is almost 3 1/2 years old and i would say in good health. quality food and lots of exercise.
however it seems every summer we have a spat or two of where the day after a run (typically 5+ miles ) he just seems off. doesn't want to eat a whole lot, lots of wanting to lay around and seems really tired, just wants snuggles and seems to tire easily, usually this is accompanied with diarrhea and grass eating. I am starting to think that he is susceptible to heat stress? He hasn't been feeling well the last week or so after we had been out in the heat on a run. he seemed to be bouncing back and i took him for a run last Thursday. it was hot that day, low 90's but we always run where there is easy access to water, ie stream crossings or on trails that follow creeks. that way he can get in the water every couple miles and drink and cool off. however the next day he was back to not feeling well, picking at his food and diarrhea. after about 3 days he was eating well and having normal bowel movements. so last night it was in the low/mid 80's and i thought we would do a small run (3 miles) we got back and he seemed tired after that. today he's back to picky eating and tired. he did have 1 normal poo today. we had him at the vet last Friday for a check up, blood work and exam. everything came back ok and the vet remembered this happening last year as well but didn't really offer any explanation. gave us some meds to help with his GI tracked. so i was wondering if anyone else has had experience with their pup taking a week or so to fully recover from anything like this? like i said he was seeming to get better but i think i should have waited a few more days to take him out running. thanks all!!

Ken and Tucker


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## texasred (Jan 29, 2012)

The staying tired longer, but more so the diarrhea makes me believe he is overheating. He would do much better just playing in the lake. But be sure the lake water is cool. Some lakes warm up over the summer, and won't keep a dog cool.
Out running dogs in the summer you not only look at the temperature, you need to look at the humidity. 
Some bird dog people say temperature + humidity should not equal above 150, others say 120 is the number.


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## Robechta (Aug 2, 2017)

We have a 3 1/2 year old female Vizsla. She has all kinds of health problems. At one year, she was diagnosed with spinal meningitis which is life threatening. The vet did a spinal tap and her meningitis is in remission. However, she has severe allergies which affect her skin. She is taking an allergy vaccine which does help her. 

I take Sophie for two walks a day. In the cool weather, she can go for an hour and fifteen minutes. The heat does affect her so her walks are limited to 20-30 minutes. After the walks, she breaks out in small hives on her head. I believe these are heat related. The vet said to give apoquel if she is itching (for allergies) and benadryl for the hives. She is undersized so I only give her 1 tablet. She also has a special prescription diet which keeps her regular. It is ultamino (Royal Canin). It is expensive and you need a prescription, but she likes it. I really feel the heat is a factor for the vizsla. Try cutting down your runs until the weather is cooler.


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