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Post by BorderTerrier on May 6, 2013 8:44:07 GMT
Hi all,
My Earl has been outsdie sunbathing lately, and been panting quite heavily. I have brought him inside quite a few times now to cool him down, but he is just a mad dog, and loves the sun! We are going to get him stripped by our breeder soon so he can be cooler in the warmer weather as it starts to get hot.
I was wondering seriously, how long a dog has to be outside in the sun to develop heat stroke? I would like some answers if people know please, just so I don't leave Earl out too long, or bring him in too often. When he comes inside, he lays with his head on the tiled floor, his chest heaving. He cools down eventually, but I would just like some tips and help because we are getting wonderful weather lately.
Thanks! BT.
Edit: also, please make sure your dog(s) stay safe in the heat too
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Post by SarahHound on May 6, 2013 9:39:48 GMT
It is one of those things that depends on the dog and the temperature. Some dogs, like black dogs, suffer more quickly than others, and size/weight of the dog is also an issue, so there's no exact time. I think all you can do is make sure he has shade, and if he's hot, he will go to it. Leave him with cool water too, put ice cubes in if you think its needed I've got sunworshippers, and only ever had one mild case of heatstroke in one of my black greyhounds. She had been lying in the sun all day, even with shade and water, so when I thought she was panting a bit too much, I brought her inside, closed all the curtains so it was dark, put the fan on, and laid a cool wet towel over her. She recovered quite quickly. A wet flannel works well on smaller dogs
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Post by BorderTerrier on May 6, 2013 9:58:27 GMT
Thank you SH!!
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Post by AnnaAmber on May 6, 2013 10:22:38 GMT
Holly loves the sun and would lay in it all day. As she is white and her coat is not that thick, she tends not to get hot, although I make sure she always has water. Amber gets hotter much quicker, both being black and fluffy, but she's not a huge fan of the sun anyway so tends to lay in the shade. I normally watch them and then bring them in if they start panting heavily so they can cool down. And they like to have frozen ice lollies (I make them with fruit) or ice cubes. Saying that, the weather here is rarely hot, and often we have a cool breeze, so it's never really a problem!!
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Post by BorderTerrier on May 6, 2013 10:32:18 GMT
Thanks AA, I have just brought Earl in from sunbathing in the hot sun because he was panting heavily.
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Post by gladys on May 6, 2013 12:30:58 GMT
Cooper is quite good when it comes to the sun and getting hot. He will move about from the sun to the shade on his own when he starts to get hot. But I always keep an eye on him. When it's really hot I have a fan going in the sun room with the curtains closed and the door/windows open, so Cooper has a nice cool place to go. On a really hot day he can usually be found on the sunroom sofa on his back in front of the fan.
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Post by petitsfilous on May 6, 2013 16:52:44 GMT
Bernie is a pain in the ass for overheating. He'll always demand on lying in the sunny spot. His squished face is just no good for keeping himself cool.
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Post by BorderTerrier on May 6, 2013 19:04:49 GMT
Earl is like that too petitsfilous! (Exept for the squished face part Earl deosn't have that ) The saying: 'Only mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun' is really pointing at Earl right now, I don't know about the Englishmen part but the mad dog....
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Post by smokeybear on May 6, 2013 19:28:55 GMT
I do not allow my dogs out in the sun after 10 am and before 6 pm, dogs are too stupid to know when to come in from teh heat, cold, wet etc, we have to do that for them.
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Post by charlottte on May 6, 2013 20:25:56 GMT
I personally don't walk jasper from around the times smokeybear stated although if jasper wants to lie outside, he can.
Our garden has lots of trees so lots of shade and he generally stays where I am. And I don't venture out too much for too long as I burn VERY easily. So if I am outside, I usually sit in the shade anyway.
I don't class Jasper as being 'too stupid to realise'. If he's hot, he will move. If he's too cool, he will move. If I think he's been out too long, I will bring him inside however. He's no more intelligent than most dogs, but he's clever enough to realise when he's too hot to cool himself down with panting.
Yes, there are some dogs that will sun themselves for hours on end until they overheat. As long as the owner is cautious and provides water, shade and the opportunity to escape inside then the sun isn't a bad thing. At flamingo land today, it was quite worrying to see the amount of dogs being dragged around the park in extreme heat (for Britain lol) and there was very little shade. I mean, it's better than them being left in the car but not ideal!
Dark hairy dogs suffer with heat more, light, short coated dogs may burn more easily. I think a lot of people tend to forget that some dogs suffer with sunburns.
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Post by fatamorgana on May 6, 2013 20:52:35 GMT
I do not allow my dogs out in the sun after 10 am and before 6 pm, dogs are too stupid to know when to come in from teh heat, cold, wet etc, we have to do that for them. I've not found that - my dogs will lie in the sun, then they'll go in. Never had heat stroke yet. Although a friend of mine had a rough collie who used to love lying in front of the fire (in winter that is) and had to be pulled away when the fur started to smell of burning. LOL.
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Post by petitsfilous on May 7, 2013 9:06:13 GMT
Omg fatamorgana that's hilarious. I took bernie for a walk at 7am this morning and it was beautiful! We had the whole park to ourselves, obviously! The sun was shining but wasn't hot and it certainly wasn't cold out! He is snoring his head off next to me now.
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Post by gladys on May 7, 2013 13:38:49 GMT
Coopers pretty good at getting out of the sun when hot and like charlottte our garden has some lovely shady spots. petitsfilous I would get a fan set up to cool Bernie off. It really does make a difference. Summer walk times change from winter. Winter we go for an hour walk at lunch time but as soon as the warmer weather comes we don't go till after 6pm.
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Post by BorderTerrier on May 7, 2013 16:13:42 GMT
I do not allow my dogs out in the sun after 10 am and before 6 pm, dogs are too stupid to know when to come in from teh heat, cold, wet etc, we have to do that for them. I agree with that 100% smokeybear! I also have to tell my dog when to come in from play time etc because he would stay there all day and overdo it if I didn't.
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Post by charlottte on May 7, 2013 16:21:05 GMT
In that case we can gather that some dogs are too stupid to come in from the heat. A bit like some people lol
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