Heat Stroke

[rottnluv]

Thanks Francis!! That's what I figured, and is where I usually hose them off anyways, but I just wanted to make sure

[rencook]

When we train in the heat-we always have a baby pool handy, that way, you can take the dog to the pool and make them "down"-it cools of their belly's and privates. I do not take any chances with my clients though, if it is tooooo hot, we do not train!!

[chakka]

i was also told never to hose down my boy from head too toe, they said it can cause heat stroke or heart attack is this true? I wet down the yard!! and the shaded places, where he likes to keep cool. And when i'm around i wet only his lower body ........

[pazzo]

Hi guys,
I've been away for awhile and just wanted to jump in some. As for where to hose off, (if you can't submerge your dog in water) the major arties are where you want to concentrate as they work the hardest. They are located on each side of the testicles, on the leg and down some. (hope that's clear) next is the underarms, then the chest cavity. It is important not to give too much to drink (at once), pedialyte, gatorade are good. Remember the body is going thru alot of stress, so easy does it. Get to a vet ASAP. As far as after effects there can be many depending on how long the dog's temp was elevated. Also you want to watch for a swollen toungue and bright red ears.

I took Nando for every test under the sun, as it turns out he was diagnosed hypothyroid, so that was a contributing factor. His energy level has returned and he is tolerating the heat well, although we are very careful. Please be very careful and take necessary steps to restore body temp before going to the vet. (if possible)

Also I wet Nando under his body before he trains, not on top. If it's too hot, we stay home in the air! :)
be careful everyone!

[fbkeays]

This weekend was very warm (90's) and sunny. Something that is not normal for this area. We had an AHBA herding trial on our "home" field. Saturday I wet the dogs underside before doing geese and sheep. They had awesome geese runs and passing sheep runs (not their best work).
On Sunday, I didn't wet down their undersides for the geese run. I forgot as we were running earlier (9 am vs 10). Both dogs could not herd. All they did was sniff and pee- a sure sign of stress. Both dogs are VERY keen on stock, especially the geese.
I wet both dogs down for the sheep trial (after lunch). Duncan didn't have enough energy to effectively cover the sheep and lost too many points on only doing one attempt on most of the obsticles. Fizbin passed by the skin of his teeth. He was noticably slower on the sheep and actually kept his stops, sometimes a little too long.
They didn't get heat stroke. I kept them in the van until ready to run. I usually have to play ball with them to run off the extra energy. I have solid, reflective sheets that attach to the outside of the rear and side windows. I have the tail gate opened a foot using a locking bar. I have one cool mat (the ones with the water absorbing crystals) that I laid over the top of the two crates to give a swamp cooler effect. I had battery operated crate fans going. I know that these things worked as the dogs were not panting much and did not drink much while they were in the van.
Duncan and Cipher have an AKC trial in a few weeks at the same location. I will NOT forget to wet their undersides down. Duncan is nine and has never liked the sun. Cipher is a year and a half old and doesn't seem to be too affected, but I am not going to take chances.

[lecuyer]

Originally Posted by debbiej

thank you for the timely reminders and advice.

a few summers ago, my vet thinks Hilda had heat stroke while swimming.

Sounds odd, I know, but she collapsed in the pool and I had to drag her to the deck. According to the vet, she was unable to stop swimming, since the water was deeper than she could stand in. She had the hot sun beating on her back and top of her head, and she couldn't properly pant, as she was swimming in the water, and would have inhaled water. She wasn't swimming that long, but we had been swimming laps together, but apparently long enough. She swam to my arms and just begain to sink as I grabbed her. I got her up and out and into the house under the ac, called the vet and by then she seemed ok. I still took her in and although not sure what caused it, heat stroke seemed most likely. she is very intolerant of the heat now.

No! Not odd , I just had the same thing happen to one of my dogs (Case).
Thinking a swim would be great since we have NOT been training in this 115 degree crap, and all my dogs swim every day. Things seem to be normal; Case and his mom Frankie were the last dogs to swim. They had been in the water only a few minutes when Case ( who is very athletic ) gave out from the assertion of swimming in this heat. Case came to the bank of the pond and dropped, tongue swollen, breathing hard, eyes red . Thought for sure I had lost my dog, but after a good rest and lots of cold water on the underside, he snapped back and is doing just fine. The swimming in this heat did not bother Frankie or any of my other dogs, just Case .

[missrock]

Wow! I would never have dreamed that a dog could have a heat stroke while swimming! Once again..........great info on this site!

[lecuyer]

Originally Posted by missrock

Wow! I would never have dreamed that a dog could have a heat stroke while swimming! Once again..........great info on this site!

Yes , It was a pretty scary , I am still not sure he is over it ! I had him out training Monday night was a cool night , during a little guarding in the blind his tung started turning a little blue . His pinch was on as normal ,but was just to much for him to handle. After taking it off he was fine. I have also had him swimming sense and he seems to be ok , but now maybe I am just watching thing a little to close, I freak every time I see him do some thing different out of the norm. I am sure the build up to going swimming had a lot to do with what happen.

I would like to mention my vet told me to have rubbing alcohol on hand ( first aid kit ) to rub on the stomach after cooling down the underside parts with COOL water NOT COLD water.

[LolaLaRue]

Why is it bad for the top of them to be wet? Lola swims everyday, its actually hard to keep her out of the pool but after a swim she gets a burst of energy, I guess because she just cooled off, because she is normally very lethargic in the heat, then, still wet, she goes and lays in the sun and her back gets very hot, can this lead to heat stroke too? And should I also limit her running around after her swim? Also is a swollen tongue a definite sign of heat stroke? sorry so many questions, we love to spend time outside but it is starting to make me nervous, especially since she swims so much.

[pazzo]

Lola,
As far as the dog being wet and laying in the sun, the water attracts the sun,(also why it's good to wet the underside) black heats up the quickest......so I would be very careful when temps are above 80 letting my dog do that. I am not saying all dogs will get heatstroke if they swim and then lay in the sun, I am saying it is just good practice not to do that(when its hot,sunny and humid). As for the swollen tongue that is a sign, one of many and it doesn't mean your dog is having one, but I would start to cool my dog if I noticed it. Don't be so nervous that you can't enjoy outdoor activities in the heat, just use common sense and keep activity light during the hot hours and if it's really hot and humid (like it's been here, 90 -100+) It's best to stay in the air, only excercise in the morn and evening. It is good to know what to do, if the situation arises.

A friend just lost his 3 yr old rotti to heatstroke this week. It is scary it can happen so quickly.

[webangel2b]

Another question on this subject. When Dixie and I go to the dog park or exercise outside of the home grounds I often forget water. So a quick stop at the convenience store is in order but should she drink that cold of water while she is heavy panting?

TIA