# Watch for Heat Stress!



## redbirddog

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/07/dont-let-your-dog-overheat.html

Article posted about what to do to prevent and treat heat exhaustion and heat stroke with your Vizsla. I'm glad I have the pacific ocean to keep us cooler. The rest of the nation must be boiling.

Keep cool.
Rod
http://redbirddog.blogspot.com


----------



## kellygh

Thanks, Rod. Pumpkin is very susceptible to the heat. We have been a little surprised at how quickly she can shut down. Having no real coat to speak of & being lean as offered little to no advantage like I thought. All canines & people wilt in 90+ temps with high humidity, but Pumpkin has shown she needs a watchful eye. She puts in a couple of good sprints in the field (more exercise than many dogs get on their 2m walk), and it is time to pack it up! We had one incident where I became concerned that she would not know her limits until it was too late. I think the high humidity & 105+ heat index has helped find those limits a little bit  She is a pistol by 6pm now that we are doing most of the exercise in the early morning & later evening.


----------



## Mighty Hunter

Thanks for the article Rod. Hunter and Pumpkin seem to very similar in that respect; He too overheats very quickly. I even invested in a water bottle that converts into a bowl for him that I take everywhere go. We are entering our 6th week of 100+ degree temperatures and you can really tell it has taken a toll on his activity level. Even at the dog park poor guy has to stop play and go lay in the shade for a bit.


----------



## onaggar

Great article, thanks for sharing Rod. One question though, does it work to put sun screen on dogs on sensitive skin areas where it's quite pink or of course they will lick it away ;D? Nubis is 4.5 months old now and Friday we leave on our annual vacation and his first time at the beach, our weather is very desert dry and hot, it really gets very hot in our Egyptian summer, we're talking 105 easily in July, good thing we have the Red Sea beaches and its lovely water as he loves the water. Of course all the other helpful tips in your article will come in handy for this coming week when we have to deal with the sun, but is there anything precautionary we need to do before going out in the sun, like adding rehyd. sachets, sun block, etc. 

Enjoy your summer,
Onaggar


----------



## redbirddog

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2011/07/dont-let-your-dog-overheat.html

Just a reminder that dogs can overheat as the temperatures and humidity go up.

_When humans overheat we are able to sweat in order to cool down. However, your dog cannot sweat as easily; he must rely on panting to cool down. Dogs breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, directing the air over the mucous membranes of the tongue, throat and trachea to facilitate cooling by evaporation of fluid. Your dog also dissipates heat by dilation of the blood vessels in the surface of the skin in the face, ears and feet. When these mechanisms are overwhelmed, hyperthermia and heat stroke usually develop._[/color]
http://www.petplace.com/dogs/be-a-cool-owner-don-t-let-your-dog-overheat/page1.aspx

Watch your pups for signs of heat stress or heat stroke. Always carry water for all of you. The Camelbak backpack water bladder works really well on our hill walks. The dogs drink right from the stream of water out of the mouthpiece.

http://www.camelbak.com/Sports-Recreation/Packs.aspx

RBD


----------



## LaVidaLoca

Hey we live in the Tropics , just near the equator. In dry season like now we have Temperatures between 28-36 C degrees on the day and humidity between 70-90%. The dogs get used to it. We're always happy when a breeze comes up. We avoid to take the pup out at lunchtime or afternoon.


----------



## LaVidaLoca

Hey this swamp cooler vest is really cool. I might order one. I also found on ebay a cooling travel blanket which works same like this swamp cooler vest.


----------



## kristen

Odin did get his nose a bit sunburnt the first day it got really hot out. Now we've been putting some sport waterproof spf 60 on his little pink nose, he doesn't mind at all and sits nicely for it, and hasn't tried to lick it off. Haven't had a problem with his nose getting too much sun since! He also has his own beach umbrella in the backyard so he can go sit in the shade when he's gotten too hot. We have been looking at a kiddie pool for him for the yard as well.


----------



## ironman_stittsville

I have been guilty more than once of forgetting to bring water for Phoebe when we go to the dog park.

I recently bought a 'keg'-style container (it's maybe 1 gallon in volume) and top it up every week and a small metal dog bowl and keep it in the back of my car so we have lots of water when we out, in case i forget to bring my 500 ml bottle w/ bowl.

canadian tire has lots of these types of containers in their camping section.

rh.


----------



## texasred

Just a reminder to watch your dogs in the heat. I received a frantic call over the weekend. A guy went to the lease to do some work and had brought his black lab along to play while he worked.
He said the dog had been playing in the pond and just had the run of the place. Next thing he knows the dog was dragging his hind legs, unable to walk.
He is in a remote location and doesn't know where the closest emergency vet is located. No rubbing alcohol or thermometer.
The best I can do for him over the phone is tell him to place his dog in the cows water trough that's in the shade. Keep the water moving around him. Once the dog seems to be cooling down place him in the truck and I would look up a vet closest to him that was open weekends.


----------



## datacan

In the GTA, if alerted by good Samaritan, police will remove dogs from locked cars (even if window is left open), place them in the pound and fine the owner. 
http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/25...ged-in-2-days-after-leaving-pets-in-hot-cars/

They won't hesitate to charge the owners with animal cruelty if the dog dies. 
http://metronews.ca/news/toronto/257410/dog-dies-in-hot-car-in-mall-parking-lot/


----------



## OttosMama

Just brought Otto for a shorter walk than usual... We walked from 730 am to 830 am..Not super early but definitely not late in the day... I brought his "gulpy" water dispenser that doubles as a water bottle and drinking dish. He drank periodically, came home drank some more, and has been panting on the wood floor in air conditioned bedroom for 20 minutes. Poor baby, his breathing has started to slow a bit. We've had a heat wave for the past few days here in south coast MA and this is Otto's first experience in hot weather! Luckily my boyfriend's mom has a pool and is a really kind woman - she's been letting us bring him over to swim the past few days. Such great exercise in these temps.


----------



## Emily1970

Also, if your V has any type of health problem or recent surgeries, they may not even be able to tolerate early morning or late evening small romps outside in your yard. Found out the hard way and I feel bad because I would never risk my boy's health.


----------



## threefsh

Emily, don't feel bad at all - same thing happened to us with our Riley the other morning. She's still recovering from a knee injury & got overheated on our morning walk. Thankfully I was able to douse her in water & make her rest in the shade to cool off.


----------



## texasred

It can happen so quick. One of the first signs to watch for is their tongue getting wider and heavy panting. It will look like the dogs in the cartoons. Tongue hanging out and wide on the end. Its a way to try and cool themselves off.


----------



## Emily1970

It was so strange, Riley was fine when he went to bed Wednesday night. Then he got up yesterday morning and started with vomiting and diarrhea and a fever. Vet said it was a combo between heat and a bug, but I still felt really bad. I guess I got too excited when he got the ok from the surgeon.


----------



## texasred

This link has some good information on the subject.
Some of the information has been updated since this was written.
I know there is one with more updated information but I can't find it.
I should have save it but didn't. The only real difference in the updated one is not to use Ice water. It constricts the blood vessels. Cool water but not freezing cold water.
A dog can look like it has stomach cramps ( hunched over) and upset stomach after it has gotten to hot.

http://webspace.cal.net/~pamgreen/heat_stroke.html


----------



## harrigab

no chance of heat stress here in NW England...now hypothermia may just be a real possibility


----------



## Vizsla Baby

You are lucky harrigab! Here in Georgia, we are looking at mid 90's every day for the next 10 days. The 100's are just around the corner.....

No relief until late September. Thank God for air conditioning and ponds for my V to "swim"/wade in!


----------



## redbirddog

http://redbirddog.blogspot.com/2012/08/low-blood-sugar-danger-in-field.html

I was going to run Bailey in a AKC field trial tomorrow. We drew the 8th brace which would have put him in the field at around 2pm. Weather said it would be 105 degrees at that time in the field.

I chose to pull him from the competition. He is not in field-trial shape for those conditions.

There was no upside and many downsides to going in that type of heat.

The above post on redbirddog was some information I came across when TexasRed suggested for me to add honey to his water before running and a string of posts on Yahoo VizslaTalk about professionals always having jars of Karo syrup when they run their dogs hard and the dangers of hypoglycemia.

Hope the information proves helpful for those who plan to "work their dogs" this fall.



RBD


----------



## R E McCraith

RBD - smart move - you can hydrate your pup - but to rehydrate them it may be to late - take PIKE out early in the morning for 30 min off lead with a water break half way through - does not compare to 30 min of hunting - they will run them self's to death ! shoot doves because it's sit stay dead bird and his water bowl next to me in the shade - we only start hunting wild upland birds when the high does not get above 40 degrees - set birds are different you control time in the field but why stress your pup - I still think time off lead when it's this hot should be kept to a minimum - you can burn your puppy's paws just crossing the road!


----------



## Ozkar

We have to deal with this every summer. Oz is a hot place even compared to S.A. and the hotter parts of the U.S. But, it's more often than not a hot, dry heat. It just sucks away any moisture. Even on a motorbike, once the temps hit mid 30's there is no longer any wind chill effect and you just keep heating up.

So with our summer walks, I always carry a Hydration back pack and a foldable water bowl for the pups. However, we rarely have to use it, as we manage to organise our walks from creek bed to creek bed, dam to dam and river to river. That way we are never far from water should something go terribly wrong and the pups get to drink regularly. They are strange creatures, they would much rather have the water out of a muddy puddle than drink the clean stuff from a tap!!


----------



## texasred

I enjoyed the article and the insight it gives.
As a young child I loved to go to the fields with my grandfather. He ran pointers that seemed to glide on air as they cover the fields. Yes, he got me hooked early. He always carried water if ponds weren't close by. Shotgun, shells and honey. His rules were you feed the dogs 12 hours before a hunt. You offer them water during a hunt, but not large amounts at one time. You watch the dogs for many reasons. For me at that time it was just for the pure beauty of seeing poetry in motion. He was watching for more than that. Any change in the dogs normal gait. Was anyone of them slowing down and why? Was it heat or a drain of energy for another reason? We could be miles from the truck, and back then you couldn't just pick up your cell phone and call someone.

A normal weekend during the hunting season for my dogs is different than most. We start Friday evening with a dove hunt. Saturday morning wake up is 3-4 am. Duck hunting first. Cash is asked to sit steady and make water retrieves. The temps range from the 20s to the 60s. He wears a vest to kept warmer while sitting and I carry an extra coat to throw over him if he needs it. A lot of the time we hear quail calling in the fields during the duck hunt. So if its quails season we release all the dogs for a quail hunt right after the duck hunt. If its not I still won't pass up a chance to run my dogs on wild quail. I do have to watch Cash for signs that he may be running low on fuel on the quail hunt. and I might give him a packet of honey midway through the hunt. You have to remember that his body has been burning fuel for hours to keep warm on the duck hunt. Then its kennel the dogs, eat and nap before a evening dove hunt. Go to bed early and then do it again the next day. That means Cash hunts 3 different hunts in one day, and to needs to be ready to do it again the next day. Lots of conditioning and good food long before hunting season starts.
We can do nothing about mother nature. She has a mind of her own. Its up to us as responsible owners to make good decisions on when its just best to wait till a better day to run them.


----------



## R E McCraith

Tex - like u when hunting I do not feed PIKE at the start - want his energy going to hunting and not digesting food - light lunch - then 2-3 light meals after the hunt - works for 3 serious days of hunting


----------

