Heat (Sun?) Intolerance

[Guest indigojen]

I need any suggestions/advice so as usual, I turn to my answer place

 

We have two greyhounds, Tipsy is 12 and Peanut is 7. We all moved to the beach this summer. We don't have a yard, so it's all leash walks all the time. We are currently living in a vacation condo, surrounded by the same. Grass is limited, so when it was a million degrees outside, it wasn't as easy as just walking out the door to potty. The dogs were fine - they were hot, but understandably so. Peanut is black and her coat would feel like it was on fire. We made it thru the summer just fine.

 

Now, it's cooled off. Still in the 70's and the sun is as warm as ever. Peanut, a few weeks ago, began her transformation into a sloth. She acts perfectly fine inside the condo and is excited to go for a walk, but once outside, she slows down. She begins to pant. She acts like she is melting. She didn't act this hot when it was over 100 degrees.

 

I'm quite a sight to see being led by the old dog (who desperately wants to go home but has either developed new onset SA or dementia - vet's not sure which - and can't be left alone) and dragging the young dog behind. People frequently stop me to ask me just how old Peanut is (the graying face doesn't help).

 

I would love to know if anyone has any suggestions. I fear that if I take her to the vet without specific issues (other than the above), what will she do? Lab work, which always comes back great (even for two pets who ultimately died of cancer)? X-rays of what?

 

It's so very frustrating and some days I feel like I might be going crazy. If I felt like I had an educated guess, I could take her to the vet, but without unlimited resources, I don't feel like I can just go in there blind and hand her over.

 

Anyone else have a greyhound turned sloth?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Jen

Peanut and Tipsy

[MP_the4pack]

My 7 yr old is doing that too. I took her to the vet and he did a full thyroid checkup and it came back low (even for a grey). So she's on thyroid meds and seems to have perked up a bit.

[macoduck]

How long is the walk? Is it on sidewalks, asphalt, sand or grass?

Once home again does Peanut continue to pant heavily? If so, for how long? Gums pink or pale?

[Guest BlueCrab]

Our GSD had particularly sensitive feet to heat, oddly enough, and was a pain in the neck to try to walk in the summer if we weren't on grass. We'd have to resort to carrying him across parking lots if there was no grass nearby and we ended up carrying him a lot when we took him to the beach and stayed in a condo.

 

Perhaps she developed some aversion to the environment that is now - or continuing - to manifest itself. Pain of some sort, remembrance of some pain from earlier (e.g. burned paw pads), fear of someting weird out there that you didn't realize bothered her, general dislike of the environment (not the same as where you used to live that perhaps had more grass = used to be more fun)?

[Guest indigojen]

She seemed better on the walk this afternoon as the sun wasn't so hot. We did have a lot of trouble in the summer with burning feet. We moved quickly between shady spots and were very aware of the hot pavement.

 

We walk on everything - rocks (which unless I carry them over are unavoidable. It's only a couple feet, but I know they hurt - I tried it out). We then walk on the street, on sidewalks, on grass and on sand. We hit it all, every walk. The length of time varies, but during the day when I am alone and have them both, it's half an hour or less (most likely much less). We went around the block just to go potty a bit ago and did it in 15 minutes.

 

Her gums look normal to me. The panting really stops fairly quickly once we're back upstairs (when life is good, there is an elevator). If she is too hot, she lays on the cool tile til she cools off. I hadn't considered her thyroid, but that's certainly now on my list of things to google. Glad you're girl is doing better! Just went through that with the cat (pre-cancer diagnosis and was amazed what the meds did).

 

Maybe her yard was more fun - that's possible. It wasn't that hot, it was grassy and there were no sticky burs getting stuck in her feet. Peanut LOVES to go on walks, though, so unless we're missing something that shouldn't be it. Most days we swear she doesn't realize she is a sighthound, b/c her nose is peeled to the ground I wonder if she could have eaten something so nasty off the ground that we didn't see that could linger all this time making her sick when she's too hot?? That seems a bit far fetched even for me.

 

Anything else you need to know? I'm happy to tell you anything you think is relevant that I haven't mentioned already.

 

Thank you

[macoduck]

If you want to read more about thyroid testing, click here for Dr Stack's site. Most vets only do the T4 test but it's better to get the bigger test. Better yet to make sure your vet knows that greyhounds have different value levels compared to other dogs. Plenty of other good reading on her site.

[RileysLegacy]

My greyhound can't tolerate heat at all. You may want to look back at some of my old topics about Legs, there is some good info there. He's only 6 but can't be walked during the day when it gets to be around 80* +. His whole back end gets weak, he pants like crazy, and needs to stop & rest after just a short distance. On cooler days he can easily walk quite a few miles.

 

I've had a bazillion expensive tests done on him and basically all came back ok so my vet & I feel he is just extra sensitive to heat. We also live right on the beach so it is unfortunate but now that I know his limitations we make do just fine. Now that's it's a bit cooler he is way happier.

 

Good luck, I hope nothing else is going on with your pup

Edited November 22, 2011 by RileysLegacy

[schultzlc]

I wonder if your hound would benefit from something like this Cooling Coat.

 

I looked into something similar over the summer for Luna, but never got around to purchasing one.

[Remolacha]

It's odd that it has gotten worse now than last summer. Fletcher started becoming sensitive to the heat a few years ago, it started when he was 6, I think. It has gotten a little worse each year, this year I couldn't take him out if it was above the mid 70's. Luckily, I have a yard. I have no idea if this is in any way related, but his arthritis has gotten steadily worse at about the same rate as his heat intolerance

[greyhead]

Our Shane had this sort of problem. When we had him tested for TBD's at the age of 7, it turned out he had Babesia. After we treated him for it, the problem disappeared. He would not only overheat easily and get very sluggish on even short walks, but pant for two hours afterward. His ears were also almost always warm. Hope those are some clues.

[Guest KennelMom]

What do her gums look like? With the temps you describe, it sounds more like work intolerance rather than heat intolerance.

 

Side note - I really don't like cooling coats and think they're more dangerous than helpful. If you need to cool a dog, run cool water over them and then let the air dissipate the heat...that's how they're naturally designed to cool.

[Guest indigojen]

My greyhound can't tolerate heat at all. You may want to look back at some of my old topics about Legs, there is some good info there. He's only 6 but can't be walked during the day when it gets to be around 80* +. His whole back end gets weak, he pants like crazy, and needs to stop & rest after just a short distance. On cooler days he can easily walk quite a few miles.

 

I've had a bazillion expensive tests done on him and basically all came back ok so my vet & I feel he is just extra sensitive to heat. We also live right on the beach so it is unfortunate but now that I know his limitations we make do just fine. Now that's it's a bit cooler he is way happier.

 

Good luck, I hope nothing else is going on with your pup

 

Oh, poor Legs! I watched your video and now feel like I heel for being frustrated. She really looks good in comparison, just slow

 

Our first greyhound had very subtle lameness that after spending what felt like a million dollars to (at the time) two grad students, she was diagnosed with erlichia, so testing for a TBD isn't a bad idea. After all, not sure how long she was on the run for before GALT rescued her

 

Unfortunately for the dogs, there will be no more yard. We had to give up our house (after both losing our jobs) and never want to go thru that hassle again, so we are thrilled at the prospect of being life time renters. We should be able to stay in this condo a couple more months and then hopefully whatever place we find will have grass. That at least will make the necessary walks in the heat (which we know will be back before you know it) easier.

 

Thank you for all your input!

[Guest FordRacingRon]

Leia shuts down when it is over 80. She never liked the sun and in the heat of the summer,,even when she was a younger dog (like 3-4) she would move quickly in the sun just to get to the shade an slow down. Now she is 8 1/2. It seemed to be the magic number for her. She only walks half as far as she used to and is even more heat intolerate. We just walk earlier and shorter times. I will do anything to keep her happy.

 

Puzzles me how she could even have stood growing up on a puppy farm in Texas.

[seeh2o]

Carl doesn't do well in heat either. It's iffy when it gets in the low 70's, anything above 75 and I know we're not walking. I'm sure part of it is that in addition to him being heat sensitive, he's black, so he even heats up more. We live in a very hilly area, too, so we're all panting by the time we get to the top of the hill to enter the park (it's about a block away).

[Guest Houndstown]

Ours started that about 7 as well. It seems that now every summer they lose about 10% more of their heat tolerance.

[Cynthia]

It doesn't sound like heat issue, the panting is more like exercise intolerance. If she's fine in house just lolling around, but pants on exertion, that's the key symptom to discuss with your vet. Is she overweight?

[Guest indigojen]

We frequently remind Peanut that she, too, grew up on a farm in Texas and she should understand the heat, but she doesn't listen

 

It really can't be exertion, it's the warm sun. She was great last night - everything the same, but it was dark. I feel like a crazy person saying that, but it's true.

 

I've done a ton of reading on tick borne illnesses, never thought of it before asking my questions here, which is shameful since our first greyhound had ehrlichia and it never crossed my mind. I fully believe that's what's going on. She has quite a few symptoms on the list that have popped up over the years, but a tick panel was never done (though it was probably done when she was captured, I'm not sure). It appears the disease can lay dormant for many years and then come back with a vengeance. It all makes sense now. As does Peanut acts like a crazy puppy when it's time for a walk and if she doesn't feel well to start with, then she's already tired even before getting out the door (I'm working on that).

 

I haven't made a vet appointment yet (see original post of me not being able to leave my other dog alone with a building full of vacationers, but hopefully they'll clear out over the weekend), but I will and I'll come back and give a report.

 

Thanks again!

[GreytHurleyDawg]

Hi Jen,

 

I am sad that you and your family moved away! Jim noticed that your house was probably up for sale before I did so we figured it out . I hope the warm weather you are enjoying will make your winters much nicer!! My sister just moved to Jacksonville, FL so I get to hear about her conditions when I can stand it.

 

Poor Peanut!! (Literally! It seems like all my coworkers use the term peanut for any small being!) I was going to suggests a tick too. is it possible she picked up something there? Our Petra is a carrier for Babesia so we are always on the lookout for lethargy, but with her, it is difficult to tell!

 

I hope you get it figured out soon! I have seen behavior like this though and wonder if she is sad at not having her own yard to roam around. Is she more energetic in a fenced-in park? Does she have access to a place like that? hurley is on leash-walk-only right now and he is very upset that he can't be free. But it is better for him to heal than to damage himself .

 

Hugs to Peanut and Tipsy!