Heat management recommendation

[Greysfriend]

Hi All,

I read a few old post but thought it would be good to have a new post.

I have my black dog for 6 months now, he has spent the whole winter with us but we are getting into hotter temperature. He still has a lot of kennel coat around the neck area.

Recently the temperatures got around 22 degrees Celsius (72 F) and he seemed to be struggling with the heat already. We have shortened his walks but he still pants a lot when we get home. This is still not very hot and especially this summer we will be in hotter area and this should be the temperature morning and evening. Is it normal he struggles already? He is from Ireland he should have had hotter temperature than that.

Is the kennel coat the issue? Any advice on trying to get rid of it before the hottest days? 

Except shortening his walks, avoiding the sun, taking him out when it's cooler, any recommendation?

I have taken a cold water bottle the other day and helped him a bit with a wet towel when we got home, any area is more efficient to cool him down ?

 

Thanks all!

[Time4ANap]

Many of our previous dogs struggled with heat in the 70's and above. Some of that depended on whether or not they were in direct sun. 

Here in the desert we try to stick to shaded areas when walking, and at this time of year the only good time to walk is before or right at sunrise. As soon as the sun pops over the horizon it is just about too hot here to walk for the rest of the day. Rocket always wanted his walk regardless of weather, so we would load him in the van and drive to a tree lined street so that we could walk in continuous shade. He got 2 rides and a walk that way and he was happy. 

When we've had dogs that overheated, we usually use cold wet towels and washcloths on their necks, belly and paws while aiming a fan at them on high. You do have to constantly change the towels or washcloths out as they do no good one they warm up against the skin. We keep a small fan ready to go and sit it right on the floor in front of them when this happens. 

At this time of year, we really don't do many walks here as the dogs start panting as soon as we are in the sun. Mark, who is a black dog, will go and lay on the back yard in the hot sun at least twice a day.  We do limit his time and make him come inside, but he has little interest in going for a walk in this weather, but likes to go out and warm up a little since our AC won't shut off again until November. 

Good luck! 

Edited May 15, 2023 by Time4ANap
words are hard before coffee

[1Moregrey]

I use the Frogg Toggs chilli towels just add water and they cool down.  Use them like a bandanna around the neck and down the chest between the legs. As long as you add water and shake they keep cool.  
I also have a kids wading pool with water in July/August for them.  We are cooler than AZ so the water does not get to hot in the shade.   Mostly play in the yard early am or get taken to pet stores for AC walks.

 

[macoduck]

Couch Potato Collection offers a cooling vest. They don't have a dot com page but they are on Etsy and Facebook, or you can contact them via mail: 1cozypup@gmail.com

https://www.etsy.com/listing/823077707/cool-vest-wet-wring-wear-no-more-hot?click_key=01efe298eebd46cc923360c1cb0c6e093ace71b0%3A823077707&click_sum=7ce1d32e&ref=shop_home_active_2

https://www.facebook.com/couchpotatocollection/?show_switched_toast=0&show_invite_to_follow=0&show_switched_tooltip=0&show_podcast_settings=0&show_community_review_changes=0&show_community_rollback=0&show_follower_visibility_disclosure=0

The fabric almost feels like a shammy  chamois cloth. 

Water squirted on your dogs back won't work as well to cool him as wetting his belly and inner legs. IIRC, wiping the paw pads with rubbing alcohol cools too.

This explains about heat stroke and rhabdomyolsis and tells you what to look out for. Overheating can happen on warm, and not necessarily hot days, too.
https://pets.thenest.com/rhabdomyolysis-greyhounds-6571.html

 

Edited May 15, 2023 by macoduck

[Greysfriend]

13 hours ago, Time4ANap said:

Many of our previous dogs struggled with heat in the 70's and above. Some of that depended on whether or not they were in direct sun. 

Here in the desert we try to stick to shaded areas when walking, and at this time of year the only good time to walk is before or right at sunrise. As soon as the sun pops over the horizon it is just about too hot here to walk for the rest of the day. Rocket always wanted his walk regardless of weather, so we would load him in the van and drive to a tree lined street so that we could walk in continuous shade. He got 2 rides and a walk that way and he was happy. 

When we've had dogs that overheated, we usually use cold wet towels and washcloths on their necks, belly and paws while aiming a fan at them on high. You do have to constantly change the towels or washcloths out as they do no good one they warm up against the skin. We keep a small fan ready to go and sit it right on the floor in front of them when this happens. 

At this time of year, we really don't do many walks here as the dogs start panting as soon as we are in the sun. Mark, who is a black dog, will go and lay on the back yard in the hot sun at least twice a day.  We do limit his time and make him come inside, but he has little interest in going for a walk in this weather, but likes to go out and warm up a little since our AC won't shut off again until November. 

Good luck! 

My boy is also named Rocket  And he really always want to go out. Even when we see he starts feeling the heat he wants to continue! He has a puppy mindset still at 4 years old

I am in Sweden so really did not think heat was going to be a problem! We will keep him in the shade as much as possible! Thanks!

13 hours ago, 1Moregrey said:

I use the Frogg Toggs chilli towels just add water and they cool down.  Use them like a bandanna around the neck and down the chest between the legs. As long as you add water and shake they keep cool.  
I also have a kids wading pool with water in July/August for them.  We are cooler than AZ so the water does not get to hot in the shade.   Mostly play in the yard early am or get taken to pet stores for AC walks.

 

Thanks I will look into that!

 

11 hours ago, macoduck said:

Couch Potato Collection offers a cooling vest. They don't have a dot com page but they are on Etsy and Facebook, or you can contact them via mail: 1cozypup@gmail.com

https://www.etsy.com/listing/823077707/cool-vest-wet-wring-wear-no-more-hot?click_key=01efe298eebd46cc923360c1cb0c6e093ace71b0%3A823077707&click_sum=7ce1d32e&ref=shop_home_active_2

https://www.facebook.com/couchpotatocollection/?show_switched_toast=0&show_invite_to_follow=0&show_switched_tooltip=0&show_podcast_settings=0&show_community_review_changes=0&show_community_rollback=0&show_follower_visibility_disclosure=0

The fabric almost feels like a shammy  chamois cloth. 

Water squirted on your dogs back won't work as well to cool him as wetting his belly and inner legs. IIRC, wiping the paw pads with rubbing alcohol cools too.

This explains about heat stroke and rhabdomyolsis and tells you what to look out for. Overheating can happen on warm, and not necessarily hot days, too.
https://pets.thenest.com/rhabdomyolysis-greyhounds-6571.html

 

I will see if I can get one delivered here or at our holiday place at least!

 

Thanks for the rhabdomyolisis link I did not know about that! 

[DocsDoctor]

Just to add, my black dog did feel the heat more than either of my brindles. The dark coat absorbs the heat, I understand. Hopefully your Rocket will tolerate the heat better as the summer continues, though - go gently on these first warm days, as you are already doing, and he will probably begin to acclimatise. Grooming is the best way to encourage him to shed his remaining kennel coat, which should also help in the heat.

I am also wondering how fit he is - could he be a bit overweight? How much exercise has he been getting over the winter? I am a little surprised to find a still-young dog struggling with the temperatures you give too, so am also going to suggest asking your vet to give him a condition check - i.e. assess his state of fitness by weighing him, listening to his heart, etc. This was something my own vet was really helpful about, when I was a first-time greyhound owner. In my own case I was worrying that Doc (see signature below) sometimes wouldn't finish his food, and was getting too skinny - and he was firmly informed that he was looking great, and had evidently worked out for himself just how much he needed to eat! 

But Rocket might perhaps get prescribed a little less food, and a little more exercise

[rsieg]

Heat sensitivity is a thing with a lot of greyhounds, which you might not expect given their thin coat and low body fat. My Logan has always been heat sensitive, even in the low 70's. I adopted him in May, and one of the first times we went for a walk, just around the block (about a mile), halfway through he crashed on a treelawn, totally flat and not moving. He was only 3 at the time. I was trying to figure out how I would explain to the adoption agency I killed him in less than a week - but then he eventually got up and finished the walk. Max, on the other hand, always liked walking anytime, and he would start barking at Logan to get moving when Logan would lie down from the heat.

Best thing I have found is late night walks, after dark, which might be 10 pm or later this time of year. Logan enjoys them, and fortunately I live in a safe neighborhood and enjoy stargazing so it works out. Early morning is the other option but I'm not a morning person.

[Greysfriend]

8 hours ago, DocsDoctor said:

Just to add, my black dog did feel the heat more than either of my brindles. The dark coat absorbs the heat, I understand. Hopefully your Rocket will tolerate the heat better as the summer continues, though - go gently on these first warm days, as you are already doing, and he will probably begin to acclimatise. Grooming is the best way to encourage him to shed his remaining kennel coat, which should also help in the heat.

I am also wondering how fit he is - could he be a bit overweight? How much exercise has he been getting over the winter? I am a little surprised to find a still-young dog struggling with the temperatures you give too, so am also going to suggest asking your vet to give him a condition check - i.e. assess his state of fitness by weighing him, listening to his heart, etc. This was something my own vet was really helpful about, when I was a first-time greyhound owner. In my own case I was worrying that Doc (see signature below) sometimes wouldn't finish his food, and was getting too skinny - and he was firmly informed that he was looking great, and had evidently worked out for himself just how much he needed to eat! 

But Rocket might perhaps get prescribed a little less food, and a little more exercise

Thanks! I am struggling to add a picture due to the 60kB limit  

It just happened we needed to renew his vaccines 2 weeks ago and so we went to the vet and did a health check as well and she checked his weight and his heart, and she said he was perfectly fit and very muscular. The vet was recommended by a greyhound breeder nearby and a neighbor who also has an adopted Irish greyhound. 

We are lucky to have flexible working so he actually gets a few outing a day he usually walks between 1h to 1h30 min in weekdays and 2h on weekends (if not too rainy, but even if raining we try to go out 1h per day as we also like walking). He does not run much as here the dog parks are very small and full of small dogs. He does run with the other greyhound we know sometimes but it's not frequent as we struggle to find places for them to be alone. The other greyhound we know has also been beaten a few months ago in a dog park by another dog (and was quite in a bad shape) so we try to limit their time in the parks to when they are alone. 

I will continue grooming him and hopefully he will loose a bit this coat!

 

3 hours ago, rsieg said:

Heat sensitivity is a thing with a lot of greyhounds, which you might not expect given their thin coat and low body fat. My Logan has always been heat sensitive, even in the low 70's. I adopted him in May, and one of the first times we went for a walk, just around the block (about a mile), halfway through he crashed on a treelawn, totally flat and not moving. He was only 3 at the time. I was trying to figure out how I would explain to the adoption agency I killed him in less than a week - but then he eventually got up and finished the walk. Max, on the other hand, always liked walking anytime, and he would start barking at Logan to get moving when Logan would lie down from the heat.

Best thing I have found is late night walks, after dark, which might be 10 pm or later this time of year. Logan enjoys them, and fortunately I live in a safe neighborhood and enjoy stargazing so it works out. Early morning is the other option but I'm not a morning person.

Thanks! We will try to go early morning or late we are lucky it's also safe in our area!

[EllenEveBaz]

One of my dogs was very fit but was always sensitive to heat.  Nothing bad happened except that he panted a lot when the temperature got over 70 F, as your boy does.  It never dimmed his enthusiasm for any kind of activity.  In addition to the suggestions above, it helped ME if he could walk on grass or dirt, not pavement.  I cared about keeping him cooler, but he didn't.