Connie, I remember you posting something recently, about how black dogs shouldn't have their backs wet to cool off, only their undersides. You said something about a "greenhouse effect," I think?

I was wondering if you could elaborate about that, or point me to some articles?

Carbon acts OUTRAGEOUSLY hot after only about 5 minutes of activity, even if the temps are in the 70's...as long as the sun is shining, he's panting. Panting like his lungs are going to burst. His drive isn't affected at all, but I think dropping dead would be the only thing that would affect it. And he wants to gulp water like crazy.

I would have posted this in a PM, but there are plenty of black and bi-colored GSD owners that might be interested in this. Apparently it's not too uncommon, from what I've gathered in PMs.

It seems cool enough to me to work a mostly black dog while temps are in the 70's, or low 80's, but I want to make sure. Anyone have similar experience?

Also, what do people do...if anything...for a cool-down for their dog after exercise? Do you make them cool down a bit before giving water?

I stick em in the shade or an air conditioned vehicle with water. Dogs need to be conditioned to heat. We work dogs in 90 degree weather in Florida. The sessions are shorter than would be in 70 degrees but they will work just fine.

Soaking a hot dog will trap their body heat inside their body and then on top of that, the water gets warm too. My male goes over to the big water bucket and digs in it to wet his belly, nature takes care of that for me so I don't have to worry about hosing him down

Amber, how often do you work Carbon in the heat, or otherwise? Could it be a conditioning thing related to general stamina instead of heat? Is it all through the summer or just at first when it gets hot and he's not used to it? Does he spend his days in a/c?

Caleb is about as black as they come, and while he's not quite as obnoxiously active in the 90's, he can certainly do whatever is asked of him without acting like he's about to keel over. I've never done anything special to cool him down, although I do leave the Jeep running w/ac blasting if I leave him in it anytime in the summer...but cars get WAAAY hotter than outside air temp. When I'm not home, he's kenneled in the garage w/windows open, so maybe he's just more used to it... but that's recent; he used to sit in the a/c all day when I was at work. Hmmm. I'd pay close attention to his endurance when it's not super hot and see how big the difference is. If it's huge, well, then, he's probably heat-sensitive. If not, maybe that'd be reason enough to look deeper into the issue.

Yeah, what Mike said.

Dark colors absorb heat more than light colors, which reflect it more, as we know from black t-shirts versus white ones.

I read a whole thread (I thought it was here) about dark-coated dogs and how if you soak their fur you then must keep cooling it with more cool water and keep him in the shade.

When I brought it up at our training club, other people said that was why the wading pools there are only half full -- so the dogs can soak the undercarriages but not their backs. The two lighter dogs, though, get water poured on sometimes.

I always give sips of water all along. Also, I know one person who keeps a wire crate in the shade with a flat dish turned over with an ice pack under it to lie on (as well as the regular water bowl).

We keep the pools clean so we don't start a mosquito sanctuary.

http://dogs.suite101.com/article.cfm/heat_stroke_and_high_risk_dogs

Heat stroke (which is more of a danger to dogs than to people):
http://dogs.suite101.com/article.cfm/dogs_and_heat_stroke

Good responses, thanks.

 Quote: Jenni Williams

Amber, how often do you work Carbon in the heat, or otherwise? Could it be a conditioning thing related to general stamina instead of heat? Is it all through the summer or just at first when it gets hot and he's not used to it? Does he spend his days in a/c?

I work Carbon every day, shorter more frequent sessions when it's hot, but I think it works out to be about the same total exercise. Since he's only 9 months old, this is my first summer with him, so I have no experience to go on.

His stamina doesn't seem to be affected. He'll go and go...I always have to be the one to stop the activity. It's just after we're done that I notice the panting (which lasts for a loooong time after the exercise has stopped) and the desire to take frequent gulps of water. Even 5-10 minutes of activity will do this to him. 20 minutes isn't worse, he acts just the same. Again, his energy level while working is identical to work done in cooler temps. It's only after it's over that I notice the changes.

I have noticed that there's been a switch in his over-all energy level since summer came on. Now he's a nut at night and mellow during the day. A month ago it was the opposite. I would work him at night, but that's not always an option. And if he doesn't get some work in during the day...well, lets just say I have a devil-dog at night when I'm ready to be in bed.

Conditioning...more info please? The problem with Cape Cod's weather is that it can be 50 one day, 90 the next. Honestly. And that is what's been happening. Around here, we keep our sweaters out all summer, used just as often as our swim suits and shorts. Could this be the issue? Any advice on how to condition him to variable temps?

Also, human athletes will always walk to cool down to allow their heart rate to return to normal levels after exercise. They do this before they drink tons of water, as well. I get the water thing...cramps...but why does the heart rate have to be slowly adjusted in a healthy human (obviously, I'm not an athlete! )? Also, sudden changes in temps...from really hot to sudden air conditioning is viewed as being a bad thing with humans, or so I've heard. Why?

I realize I'm showing how long it's been since my last health class!

But apply that to dogs. Is it any different? Does my dog need a similar cool down? Should I take him on a short, mellow walk afterwords? Should I keep him in the shade after exercise as opposed to taking him into the A/C (which we haven't turned on yet, btw)? Should I limit his water intake until he's cooled down a bit? I know dogs don't sweat and instead pant and need water...so maybe this doesn't apply to dogs? Then again, I've heard stories of increased rates of bloat in dogs that gulp water after exercise.

Advice? Knowledge? Personal experiences? Thanks!

EDIT: I do have a kiddie pool for him, kept shallow. But I have to throw the ball in it to get him in, or specifically ask him to go in. He never seeks it out. He loves swimming in the ocean and ponds, but no interest in the pool.

Edited by Amber Morgan (06/21/2007 12:42 PM)
Edit reason: a P.S.

http://www.dogwise.com/ItemDetails.cfm?ID=dtb276

This is an awesome book as well as her other books.

All of my dogs are in a conditioning program. I work them when it is hot but times are shortened considerabley and the type of exercise they get changes as well.

I rotate my dogs every 6 hours when it is hot so some get into air conditioning for a while. Depends on the dogs and how they react when it is hot.

I actually set up a water storage tank off of our fire departments tanker which is 20' x 20' x 3' deep, added a set of trailer house stairs on the inside and the outside so the dogs do not puncture the sides climbing in and out and I will do laps with them. Where I am at there is not much for water and what there is is full of snapping turtles so this works well for me.

My next question was going to be the constancy of the weather. What you're saying now makes me think that due to the variation in temperature, he's never had a chance to get conditioned to it. I wouldn't be overly concerned about it as he doesn't seem to be . I don't think you can do much more than you're already doing. He IS still young...if I remember correctly, Caleb's stamina wasn't what it is now when he was that age; they're growing teenagers at that age...perhaps that's adding to the stress?

As far as bloat...I have heard firsthand of bloat occuring in very hot weather...but it was food related-not water. I do not feed my dogs in the heat of the day; I feed them in the very early a.m., or late at night.

Amber,
as others have mentioned, a black dog becomes a "heat sink" ( fancy engineering term ) in the direct sun.

When I train at club during summer months I make the following changes:

Training begins an hour earlier in the am ( we go from 9am to 8am for starting )

We train virually everything except practicing the trial patterns or blind searches in the shade of several large oak trees ( we're lucky at my club, lots of shade...)

Dog are crated in the owners vehicle in shade ( and most of us are running multiple crate fans or the car AC ).

Water available as needed...

This allows us to get the most out of our dogs during the hot season. We also hydrate ourselves heavily ( Betty mothers me with handy water bottles, hey, it's hot doing helper work! )

Okay...I think I'm armed with some good knowledge now. Nobody mentioned a cool-down, so should I assume nobody does that? Not necessary?

I used to live and work dogs in St. Louis, where the heat was blistering (but consistant) and never saw a dog react the way Carbon does to heat. But then again, this is the first black dog that I've ever personally owned, and he is basically a pup still, and the weather here is up and down all the time. So I feel better about it--thanks all.

 Quote:

Also, human athletes will always walk to cool down to allow their heart rate to return to normal levels after exercise. They do this before they drink tons of water, as well

I believe this has to do with the flow rate of blood. When a heart is pumping faster than normal it is doing so in order to get oxygenated blood to the muscles at a quicker rate so that the muscles are able to contract. Drinking too much water too fast at this point can thin the blood out leading to a sudden drop in blood pressure.

 Quote:

Also, sudden changes in temps...from really hot to sudden air conditioning is viewed as being a bad thing with humans, or so I've heard. Why?

Two words: temperature shock. This can adversley affect the heart. It is more of a concern for elderly persons (probably dogs too) as their hearts are less able to cope with sudden trauma. Think about the hot tub in the snow on New Year's eve!

As far as applying this to dogs it is probably along the same wave length as they are a systematic organisms too. But I think there are other concerns to account for when giving water to your dog.

Dogs do sweat by the way; but only through their pads. I remember a couple of threads on heat stroke in the past and rubbing alcohol was mentioned in one of the posts. NOT to drink but to pour onto the dogs belly. One thing I'll sometimes do is put a white T-shirt on my pup and pour water down the front of it... it seems to help.