Geoffrey Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 My poor little agility dog is really bad at heat tolerance. He has to take breaks every few minutes to cool off and get water, while the other dogs in class are still going strong. He can't even play with his tug because he's panting too much (can't pant and tug at the same time). Does anyone have ideas to help him deal with the heat? He stays outside a lot during the day so he should be used to it, and he is - he just can't run/jump much without getting way too hot. By the way, he's not a BC - He's a 23" and 68-70lbs Labrador (the center dog in my signnature). Actually, he's quite thin (many labs his height weigh 90lbs or more), he's just got a heavy frame with thick bones and lots of muscle packed on......not ideal for heat transfer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 Since the other dogs are ok, I would be wanting a vet check on mine. It could be he's just less heat tolerant, but just in case. Just a thought, but some dogs get into a habit of "I can't do anything, it's too hot". Usually it's taught ("here baby have some water" every 5 minutes by a doting owner).. I'm not saying you should ignore the problem but I would be very concious of patterns. You might also check his temperature quickly when he's like this and see what it is. That sort of information would help the vet as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shetlander Posted July 23, 2007 Report Share Posted July 23, 2007 I've had a couple heat intolerant dogs, including my skinny two year old BC Quinn. I probably do baby them along because they do respond so differently from my other dogs to hot weather. I've always worried about heat stroke. In the past year, I've known three dogs who died from heat stroke, so now I'm even more freaky on the subject. I just do less activity/shorter periods of time with the heat intolerant dogs in the hot weather. I'm not a big fan of high temps myself, so it isn't the biggest sacrifice on my part. On the plus side, we're out there playing in crazy cold and snow and my dogs have all been very good "mudders" in agility on those cold rainy days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat W. Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 My aussie who carries alot of coat, does not enjoy the heat either, although he is too aussie to admit it ). Does your training facility offer a hose or baby pool to allow dogs to cool down on hot days? If not I would ask if it would be possible to do so. On really humid days dogs have a harder time cooling. I do not train at all in temps 90+ or days slightly cooler with extreme humidity 80%. Heck I dont like it myself blah! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoffrey Posted July 25, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Well, I live in the south so 90+ temps and extreme humidity are the norm.....I'd retty much have to quit training for several months if I wanted to avoid it (although the weather has been nice lately). I guess I will just continue with short training sessions and lots of water/rest breaks. I guess there's not really a way to alter his natural response to heat, to make him more tolerant Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lenajo Posted July 25, 2007 Report Share Posted July 25, 2007 Well, I live in the south so 90+ temps and extreme humidity are the norm.....I'd retty much have to quit training for several months if I wanted to avoid it (although the weather has been nice lately). I guess I will just continue with short training sessions and lots of water/rest breaks. I guess there's not really a way to alter his natural response to heat, to make him more tolerant Trust me, there are many here further south than you, and 100F is the more normal than not right now. I still training agilty on my normal schedule about 2-3 times a week, but at 6am and after 7pm. This weekend we will train midday and then probably go swimming. Herding we spread through the day more, but usually not between 10-3 right now unless urgently necessary for livestock care. Genetics plays a big roll, but you can help it with diet. What is your dog eating? If its high grain based carb kibble you could be hampering her by making her burn "hot". Also kibble should be soaked in water - not sure of the science but it does help. Probably because so much water doesn't have to be diverted to breaking it down. A supplement I'm really impressed with for day to dya use is K9 superfuel (sold by clean run). There is a thread in another forum...maybe somebody could link it here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4pack Posted August 2, 2007 Report Share Posted August 2, 2007 Labs can just have a limit on how much heat and humidity they can take, but a dog that spends most of their time outside (read no access to A/C) will be better acclimated. Heck we have a drug dog at work, that transferred from El Paso to Houston (used to heat but not humidity) and we let him sit up for a week before taking him out for retrieve work.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lizmo Posted August 5, 2007 Report Share Posted August 5, 2007 My BC mix is having the same problems. What I decided to do is just put off practicing and classes till about October(we live in the south where it's been 100+ and humid each day), we still do a jump/tunnel here and there but nothing major. I've tried spraying her off completely, having a full pool for her, and water in her bowl. But she just doesn't tolerate the heat any. Then she just started shutting down because it wasnt fun since it was so hot out. So that's when I chose to just wait for cooler weather. Also, in my case, I started training about 2 months before it started getting really hot, so I'd rather start in the cooler weather so she learns to enjoy it without the heat, then when it does get hotter she will already have been trained on everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Beer Posted August 6, 2007 Report Share Posted August 6, 2007 Dean is having the same trouble. This past week, when it was in the high 80's and humid in spite of the fact that we were not in direct sunlight, we did a lot more sitting around than agility. At home I ended up getting him a little pool that I put about 4 inches of water in. He plays ball and then sits in his pool and then plays again. He understands how to keep himself cooled off. I thought about bringing it to class and asking to fill it for him from the hose. If it's so hot this week, I just might. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michelle K Posted September 10, 2007 Report Share Posted September 10, 2007 You're not alone. We're in TN, so we're dealing with the humidity and heat just like you. With 3 Shetland Sheepdogs and 1 BC, I can relate. I've been just training them late evening or early morning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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