At what point is it too warm for your dog?

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BBP

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I just wondered what breed/type of dog you have, if they are double coated and at what temperature they start to find it too hot to go for a normal walk (not chasing balls or herding sheep or doing anything more strenuous than trotting along)?

My collie seems to get hot very fast and at temperatures that I don’t think of as particularly hot (today it’s 15 degrees and sunny). He is double coated and I’m grooming him regularly to strip out his winter undercoat. Someone mentioned border collie collapse to me today as something to look out for. I thought I’d try to get a feel for if it’s normal for them to find this sort of temperature too hot.
 
Some dogs do overheat very easily. My older one has a very heavy coat and no sense of preservation/off stitch, but despite being black seems to cope OK in the heat.
The younger one has a very tight coat and flags after activity in relatively low heat, has to be supplemented/conditioned to it during the summer or when abroad etc and has definitely been more lethargic this last couple of weeks.
I guess you just have to tailor it to the dog.
If he's a busy or stressy type, factor that in, as well as the heat.
You could look at cool coats/mats etc.
I don't use them myself but I know of others who do, I just hose the undercarriage ;)
I also have foil sheets for the car for hot weather and a vent lock/window trellis thing, you can also get fans for cages.

GSDs, double coated. I sometimes think having more hair protects them TBH.
 
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Fizz (whippet) is at her happiest at flyball racing between 19 - 25 c. She's the only dog in our team who gets faster the warmer it is. I still don't like to do much when it's warm and I'm very careful.

Dobby (whippet x Saluki) is the total opposite, gets hot quickly and has really struggled (we weren't encouraging play but he was off the lead and zooming of his own accord alone) twice to the point where he has lay down and refused to move. I'm extra careful when it gets to 18c plus with him so he stays on the lead on walks and do my best to keep him cool competing.
 
My Rough collie tolerates heat very well, better probably than the border terrier. During the prolonged heat wave a couple of summers ago, they were fine. I do walk them very early and late at night through woodland, unless we're camping and hiking, but there's usually a cool stream and some shade for breaks.
They also get fed at 5am and then after the heat of the day.
The collies coat seems to protect her from the sun nothing can penetrate that. Wouldn't travel them in a car when the sun's hot. Our house is fairly cool in summer, which probably makes a difference.
 
My GSDs are both standard coated and seem happier when it’s cooler but can’t think of a time yet that the heat has really bothered them. They are both only young though so maybe we haven’t had weather hot enough to really gauge it yet.

I have noticed that some of our working collies struggle more than others in the heat, and it’s not always down to having long hair or being dark coloured.

I’m sure, like us, some cope with heat and some don’t do so well.
 
My ultra short haired whippet type lurcher cannot handle heat, the double coated collie/saluki can run all day in all weathers. I have always believed a good coat acts to insulate in hot as well as in cold weather but the genetics may have a lot to do with it too. A dog with a lot of natural stamina should fare better than a sprinting type. Most greyhounds will overheat very easily for instance, they are speed machines over short distances but usually lack stamina.
 
my collie cross is double coated and feels the heat but if she can have a dip in the river she copes much better so i usually walk y the river first so she can have a soak. when it was a bit colder and very windy she was much livelier even though she is almost 14.. my terrier is black and loves sunbathing so doesnt seem bothered by the heat when we are walking..
 
Mine will let me know when they’ve had enough by lying down in the shade, or at least Zak will. Bear would carry on til he collapsed. If it’s too hot, Zak lets me know quite quickly, 20 degrees and our walks are short.
 
Rudy is my only dog that would literally play ball until he drops. I have to be very careful with him. Our summer weather is hot and humid and disgusting. My girls don't have as much coat and will sometimes sunbathe. All of my shepherds have liked to either swim or wade in the creeks and ponds.
 
My wire haired JRT never gets too hot. Obviously I don't exercise her when its warm out, but I can’t remember ever seeing her pant because of the weather.
 
My beagle tolerates heat better than my Border terrier. We dont go by an actual temperature but my husband has his summer walking jacket that if he finds it too hot to walk the dogs whilst wearing it then it is too hot to walk the dogs full stop.
It has never let us down
 
I have 2 Great Swiss Mountain Dogs, they are double coated, and struggle when its hot, temps just under 20 and over mean early/late walks and flopping on the tiles or under a tree in between.
 
As my GSD x Rottie (double coated) got older, she overheated really quickly. In her 9th year, she would be panting as soon as it was over 15 degrees. Had all the health checks as we worried heart, diabetes, etc, but it wasn't anything like that. I started clipping off her coat and she was a changed dog. So much happier. She died very suddenly ages 12 of unrelated causes and was clipped out her last springs and summers, as needed, as soon as she started panting and looking uncomfortable. Always seemed to make her comfortable again and always grew back a glorious coat for autumn/winter.
 
I find it varies by dog to be honest? My present black greyhound Marty won’t lie out in the sun at all, but past black greyhounds have been total sun worshippers!

The current brindles both lie out all the time.

The little white one Flick used to lie out all the time (her freckles always increased when she sunbathed!) but my big fawn boy Hoover used to hate the heat and be really uncomfortable if it got over about 15 degrees.

I’ve just had to send Ace (brindle) indoors yet again because he was lying in the sun overheating, he has no common sense ?

I did buy a paddling pool for them and not one of them will use it ?
 
Levrier said:
I did buy a paddling pool for them and not one of them will use it ?
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And god forbid you try and pick them up to put them in it. You can count the time in milliseconds spent in the Pool of Boiling Acid.
Whippet loves sunbathing but droops a bit on walks if its over 15C. Also not the worlds best drinker, so I add more water to his meals, and have electrolytes in the fridge.
I also cool him down with the watering can, but this is not gratefully received :rolleyes:
 
paisley said:
And god forbid you try and pick them up to put them in it. You can count the time in milliseconds spent in the Pool of Boiling Acid.
Whippet loves sunbathing but droops a bit on walks if its over 15C. Also not the worlds best drinker, so I add more water to his meals, and have electrolytes in the fridge.
I also cool him down with the watering can, but this is not gratefully received :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

The one who used to really REALLY get to me was my much missed and much loved Amy lurcher. She would literally dive into any rank stagnant water on a walk, nothing was too horrible.... she loved cooling off.

I gave her a nice clean padding pool? OMG no, wouldn’t go near it!!!!! Far too clean and healthy!!!! Bless her ?❤️❤️
 
My rough collie seems, so far, ok with warmer temperatures (she's 11 months so not had a summer with her yet). We've had around 21 degrees up here and she has been the same as any other dog. We have lots of shady spots in the garden, and I take her for fast exercise early or late in the day if it's hot, and she enjoys a wallow in the stream down the field. A hosepipe is apparently the most exciting thing on the planet. She seems fine on an ordinary walk. I try and get as much undercoat out as possible but I do think rough collies have been bred for too much hair these days, they're not like they used to be.

I do get asked a lot whether I am going to clip her out in summer...er, no?!!!

I used to clip my old longhaired dachshund as he was neutered at 7 and subsequently grew a ridiculous coat. He also developed heart problems which didn't help. After a clip he was like a new dog. She will stay entire so hopefully we won't have to deal with the fuzzy felt coat problem.
 
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My Dane X Husky is a sun worshiper. The hotter the better for her, she loves it. We have to remind her to move into the shade sometimes because she would happily cook herself on a boiling day. She’s happy to walk and run in the heat and doesn’t seem to get too affected.
Our cockerpoo x Corgi is black and hates heat, she actively seeks out shade even on a day that you would simply class as warm.
The one who is really heat intolerant is my Shih Tzu x JR. Obviously she’s a brachy dog, so I am aware to always keep that in mind. Even a slight increase in the temperature and she tires very quickly.
 
The mastiff really struggles if the temperature is over about 15 c. He has no coat to speak of and is a dark brindle. The Bull Terrier is mainly white, also with no vest and pants but copes much better than he does. We have to be very careful with him. Short plods only.
 
Thanks all, it seems mine isn’t at all unusual for finding it quite warm. My old collie used to power on through most things, with a similar double coat, but then she was working stock with an epic work ethic and would run herself into the ground if you let her. This one is more of a diva and wears his heart on his sleeve, very quickly let’s me know if he is hot, tired, hurt, hungry etc!
 
I have a staff x Jack Russell and he has a very short coat. When he was younger the heat never used to bother him. I would hardly ever see him pant even in really hot weather. He is 11 now and the heat affects him a lot more now. He can't tolerate it anywhere near as much so if it's going to be hot I make sure I walk him early or late when its cooler
 
Mine shows panting with exercise and exertion etc over 30 degrees but still wants to bask in the sun then come lie on the tiles after.
35 plus she'll fan worship during the day when at home(We don't have aircon at home bar a portable in one room)we only walk at night or very early morning in the summer heat but that's as much for me as for her.
She comes to work with me so is in aircon a lot either way because I feel like a live at work sometimes lol so its not really an issue
I'm careful with midday heat on days off -running on the beach etc as she hasn't enough sense to limit her exercise and doesn't like to swim to cool down but it rarely slows her down much from zooming about
Temps in the 20's is our normal here though(I'm in subtropical Australia with year round heat and sun)
Midday heat means we limit pavement walks even in winter as I worry they will be to hot for her...But tbh she's rarely bothered by them and gets annoyed at my insistence that she walk on the grass kerbs.
She tried to eat her cool matt but does like the frozen bottles to lick and as a pup would like to be on cool things in summer heat. She rejected all that as a teen though because apparently water is evil and swimming and all other applications of it to her is hell. I get death stares when I wash and groom her.

My fluffy Aussie born dog tolerates heat a lot better then I do to be honest.

We had a week of cooler weather and she decided to become snuggly and cuddly to steal extra bodywarmth....it didn't get below 10! Acclimitisation is a strange thing.
 
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