Last summer my uncles girlfriend in holland was running her 2 lil dogs out in the woods in the heat, n one of the dogs passed away in the car from heat stroke <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif" alt="" /> After hearing how this can just suddenly happen if proper care isn't taken to not overheat the dog, it's made me very paranoid about heat stroke.

Florida summers are hot (obviously) n the weather's picking up - what methods do you use to make sure you're not overheating the dog? Can you use an infra-red thermometer in the ear? What temperatures are acceptable n what is a "OK we should go inside now" temperature?

One thing you said was "in the car"

I think one issue is crating the dogs after excercise, particularly in a plastic crate without adequate airflow.

My car has a thermometer but we are looking at adding a deep cycle marine battery, a charging set up, and serious fans to keep the air moving around the dogs in the summer. I know several folks who have done this.

So it does not answer all of your question but, perhaps, part of it. Of course in the South East we have horrid humidity to complicate things.

Heat stroke can kind of sneak up on you. Like an idiot, I almost killed my wife's dog when we first got married because I went running with it when it was way to hot. I had that dog under the water hose for a long time. I knew if it died I would not be far behind it. Thankfully it lived to a ripe old age.

Anything above 80 degrees I would keep a close eye on the dog. The tell tell signs excessive panting, foam around its mouth, staggering etc mean to stop what you are doing and get that dog out of the heat. Our summers down here are brutal I will not let the dogs out during peak summer hours 10 to 3 much less do any real physical activity during that time.

Also dogs are like us, if they are not conditioned to the heat or the physical activity the you can expect problems sooner and they will be more severe. We also have fans set up in our dog run.

I think humidity plays a big part in dogs overheating. i know of a few dogs that died in Florida. I live in soCal and we have 90 plus here but without humidity. The dogs can work in that heat here and Las Vegas without dropping.

Humidity is a big problem here in Oklahoma, too. Sometimes in the summer it's like trying to breathe through a sponge.

Leaving any dog in a car in summer, even with windows down a few inches, is asking for a vet visit. Use shade, fans and even a big ice block if necessary. The worst problem with heat stroke is often dogs will have profuse bloody diarrhea after they are cooling down and recovering from the initial symptoms. Then they are back in shock again and weaker than the first crisis. They can also develop edema (fluid) in the lungs. Heatstroke can be like dominoes falling over, one thing causes another, causes another... It's nothing to take lightly.

Like Mike I too live in Orlando with my two GSD's. I simply don't work or exercise my dogs during the heat of a summer day. I don't enjoy the sweltering heat and humidity and neither to do they. In the evenings I'll take them to a large, grass field and hit them tennis balls for exercise. I alwyas have plenty of cold water for them and I let them drink as much as they like, we've never had a problem. Simply put, don't work your dog in extreme heat and humidity, unless, of course, you must (K-9's, etc.). On another note I have heard it said that one should only give their dog a small amount of water to drink after heavy exercise. Like I said, I've given my dogs as much as they want and they lap it up pretty quickly. One dog will soon be 8 and other 6. I've done this with them countless hundreds of times and have never had even a hint of an issue. Of course, that doesn't mean something CAN'T happen. Have any of you here ever had a dog get bloat or some other medical problem because the dog drank too much water too quickly?

I'd watch letting them tank up after exercise, especially the older one. If we go to the lake or are out when it's really hot, I keep a cooler of crushed ice for my dogs and give them handfuls of that and only a little water at a time. I also keep a spray bottle of water in there so it's really cold and mist their inner thighs and head and backs of their ears often.

So is there a specific body temp you can also use as an indicator? I've heard of people also checking ears to see how red they are as an indicator.

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I'd watch letting them tank up after exercise, especially the older one.

Thanks for that input. And that's pretty much the standard advice I've heard on this topic. But do you recommend this based on something you've seen first-hand or something that you've heard? I'm just wondering if it truly is dangerous or if it's an old wives tail, as they say. My feeling is, if the dog is thirsty, let him drink. What's unnatural about it? Why should it be dangerous? If it is then it is. But I've let my dogs drink like this hundreds and hundreds of times without any problem.

Mike, I didn't mean to hijack your thread or get off topic. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> Actually I think it does correlate. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

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Mike, I didn't mean to hijack your thread or get off topic. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" /> Actually I think it does correlate. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

THIEF!! HIJACKER!! ... <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" /> I was kinda curious about that too, I'd heard about the food and exercise thing, but the drinking was news to me, when you mentioned it to me a while back that was the first I'd heard of it. I figure if my dog's thirsty he needs to hydrate, he seems to drink like he eats... just enough to stay alive <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />