Summer Care

[Guest Exena]

I am thinking ahead to sunny, 80-90+ degree days since Ohio weather has me down. Seems like spring will never really get here! Though the sun is out today

 

My boyfriend and I were talking about Grace today, and wondering about what things would be like with a Greyhound in the summer. Are they susceptible to sunburn? Her naked belly has me worried. Any hints or information you can give to first-time Grey owners in regards to making it through a (hopefully) long, hot summer would be greytly appreciated!

[Guest greyvettech]

You should move to sunny Florida! Weather is always nice and there is always lots to do! I usually apply sunscreen if we are outside longer than a half hour in the heat of the day and only to spots that are bare or....

[Guest lotsagreys4me]

Oh yes they can get sunburned. Be careful and use sun screen. Be careful of the sun and their eyes also. I am not sure what the cause of Pannus is, but the sun is harmful if they have it.

[grey14me]

some greyhounds love to hang out in kiddie pools, so you might want to pick one up.

 

you will probably want to walk them in the cooler mornings/evenings as opposed to the heat of the day. they may not want to/be able to go as far on walks in midsummer as they do in cooler weather.

 

 

[Guest Tigonie]

Buy yourself a bottle of water with a sports cap on it. Drink the water, if you don't like the idea of paying for bottled water for the dog. Refill, if necessary. On a warm/warmish day, take the dog outside and gently squirt some water in/at the side of her mouth. You'll probably wind up getting a dirty look the first few times--especially if you miss her mouth and squirt her in the face--but eventually she'll figure out how to drink out of the bottle. Refill the bottle whenever you go out.

 

This trick comes in very handy on walks and other places where it's not super-practical to carry a water dish.

 

If for some reason she doesn't take to drinking directly out of the bottle, you can also cup your hand and slowly squirt water into your palm for her to drink.

Edited March 26, 2008 by Tigonie

[Guest SequelIsEqual]

I am thinking ahead to sunny, 80-90+ degree days since Ohio weather has me down. Seems like spring will never really get here!

 

Tell me about it! We're in Minnesota.

 

It's true that our thin-coated and sometimes partially naked greys can get skin cancer--especially the light colored pups. I knew a white dog who perished from the disease, so I worry about our mostly-white Minnie, who would lie in the sun all day if allowed. Even indoors, in winter, she follows the sun that streams in from the high windows. But in summer I'm a meanie and won't let her--or her brother, Bruce--stay outside in the sun very long, even with sunscreen. It's not just cancer we need to protect them from; they overheat--the dark pups especially.

 

In spite of the above, I can hardly wait until the last snow of spring has come and gone and my babies are tickling themselves under the weeping willow.

[Guest nerak254]

What color is she? I had to keep an eye on Jessica when it was really hot. She loved to lay in the sun and bake. The problem was that she was black and came pretty close to overheating a couple of times. The pool was good for Missy, but Jessica did not like water and no way was she getting into any!

Edited March 27, 2008 by nerak254

[Guest Winterwish]

One important thing is kind of in your topic title actually,which involves going from one extreme to the next,and preventing that. Taking Grace for walks as it gets warmer,so she is properly acclimated to the hotter weather.

 

Along the same lines, in case you suddenly get a very hot,humid 95 degree day,after weeks of 80 degrees of mild weather,I know this may seem obvious,but,it's best to not do anything strenuous that with Grace that day due to Grace not having become acclimated to it yet.

[Guest Exena]

Thanks for all the info, all! Grace is a red fawn, so I figured that in regards to sun exposure, she might have it easier than say some of the white beauties. Her brother Cosmo is a supermutt (not sure what...Border Collie, Shepherd, Rott mix? ) with a thick coat. We're already used to the drill of getting his marathon walks in during the morning and the evening because of the heat. And we always, always carry water with us! He used to not want to drink out of water bottles, so we would have to resort to splashing at his mouth and such. But he quickly learned to drink out of assorted containers on walks. Aside from walks, Grace wouldn't be outside too much in the sun. We're hoping to put in a fence this year, so they would obviously get a bit more play time outside then, but we would definitely keep the play time short out there when it's really hot and humid.

 

What kind of sunscreen can be used on her belly and naked bum? Is a children's variety best to use? I bet there are expensive doggie varieties out on the market somewhere. It's so nice having experienced Greyhound owners to talk to! I did lots of research before getting our Grace Kelly, but still, questions come up that weren't covered in the books. Thank you

[Guest tcornwel]

 

I have a water bottle for Keeper that is designed for dogs. It has a trough attached to the top, so I flip the trough out and squeeze water in it and then he can lap it up as normal. I will also splash water on to his tummy if I think he is hot as well. Keeper figured out the water bottle quickly but some dogs don't. I did offer it to him as soon as I brought it home from the pet store so it smelled good, as opposed to washing it first. After he drank out of it for the first time I washed it.

 

 

[Guest Cris_M]

Even different greys respond to the heat differently. Gabriel was unaffected by heat, but Duncan is -- regardless of conditioning.

 

What I have found really helps is one of those things you tie around your neck that have hydrophylic crystals in them. You soak them before putting them on your dog, they get really fat and they stay wet and cool for several days. They make some for dogs, but the people ones work just as well -- I've tried both.

 

Edited to add:

If your dog does get hot, put her feet in cool water. It really cools them down.

Edited March 27, 2008 by Cris_M

[Guest IrskasMom]

 

 

The Feet in cool Water really helps . I bought one of this cheap Plastic Kiddie-Pools ,set it up in the Morning and in the

afternoon it's just right to take a Bath or ....... just cool down.