TO ALL DOG OWNERS!!! WARNING; HEAT STROKE!

[fishhuntcutwood]

I damn near had a dog die yesterday from heat stroke! My Mom and Dad were visiting, and we had my dog, Pride, and Dad's dog, Prairie out working with some retreiving dummies. It was only about 10:00 in the morning, high 70's and only about ten minutes into it, and Prairie went from 60-0 instantly. Her back end fell down and she couldn't get back up. We got her into the truck and on the way to the vet. On the way, she starting screaming, puking, seizing and passing in and out of conciousness. By the time we got to the vet, she was as good as dead. Not responsive, done puking, and only had bile and drool coming out of her nose and mouth, eyes shut, all that. And this is all from a healthy, fit, 14 month old lab!

She actually survived and is doing well, but the vet said that's the absolute closest he's ever seen a dog to death from heat stroke and survive. If I had to bet, I'd have bet she'd die. She had brain swelling and the whole bit.

Afterword, the vet, who specializes in retreivers and working dogs, said you should not work a dog dry in anything close to 80 degrees. Either get them in the water, or hose them down so they're soaked. He said it can happen in as little as five minutes. So now Pride and I have new rules of no exercise in anything resembling hot weather, or he's in the lake. It happened so fast, and with no signs whatsoever, other than her collapsing. And from there, it was within five minutes that she was clinging to life.

So dog owners, watch your dogs no matter how often you've run them in the heat. I've been running dogs in the heat for as long as I can remember. I always thought, "just give them some water and they're good go go," and I've never had any problems until yesterday.

So please be careful, and hug your doggies extra today, because in ten minutes they could be as good as gone.

This is Prairie and Pride-

 

[squisher]

Damn Jeff, scary!

 

[MasterBlaster]

Who'd ah thunk it? Thanks for the heads up, Jeff!

 

[Al Smith]

Makes good sense .The poor old pooch can only expell heat by panting .

If you think about it ,an 80 pound dog has to move a lot of air to cool down that large of a body .Besides all that a lab has fur about a river otter ,all that inner hair etc . Good for in the water ,not so good in the heat .

 

[wiltingoak]

Did the vet take any x-rays?

Do you have her on heartworm meds?

 

[TC3]

Damn, that was a close one Jeff. Glad she's o.k. ! Michigan's combo of heat & humidity can get to anybody. It was 86 degrees out at 7:00 p.m. yeaterday.
Has anyone seen the new 'doggie water' at the stores ? I pooh-poohed it, but now I wonder if there's something to it ?

 

[stehansen]

Thanks for the heads-up Jeff.

 

[Frans]

Hey Jeff, glad to hear it turned out o.k.

FYI, (you prob. learned this at the vets), dogs sweat through panting and through their paws.

We have many days of extreme hot weather here, and the trick is to have a baby pool (the plastic ones), filled up with a minimum of 6 or more inches of water.
That way the dog steps into the pool and drinks and also cools it's paws.
It is also a good idea to hose down the belly of the dog. Helps to lower it's core temps.
Working should only go on for 5-10 minute bursts, then shade after the pool wading.

Whew, close call huh?
Our silly dogs just don't know when to quit


Hey, here is an idea! Bleach a big white strip down the center of your doggies back. Help to reflect the sun and also keep away admirers

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Yeah, knew about the panting, and she wasn't even panting that hard. It wasn't the incessant, hard panting you see alot. She seemed fine, until she went down.

And I do hose down Pride's belly, and did before this. You can see bare skin on his armpits, belly and crotch, so I figure if I can cool those areas off, he'll lose some heat that way. I'm even more cautious now.

Just wanted to post and let y'all know how quickly it can happen.

 

[Blinky]

Man that was good luck and quick action. I had an friend who used to go mountain biking and let his year old lab run with him. He said he always gave the dog plenty of water but one day it died on the trail from heat exhaustion.

 

[GASoline71]

I never would a thunk it mang! Glad to here your Dad's dog is okay.

I guess I have always worked Yukon in the water or during times when it was not so hot... Or we used to play in the water with the hose usually right after his workouts...

Sounds like we have always been lucky...

Gary

 

[Al Smith]

In a former life with a former wife I had a 3/4 acre pond . When it got really hot in '88 the ex,all her friends and two dogs where all in the pond .

Those goofy women sitting in lawn chairs under an umbrella up to their ta ta's in the water sipping beer .The dogs sitting with just their noggins out of the water .What a sight that was . Hot ,sunny beech nearly a hundred for three weeks straight no rain for 30 some days .

 

[woodworkingboy]

Close call, glad your dog is OK. A lot of dogs get heat stroke in the spring, when their owners think the temp is mild enough to not be a concern.

 

[Jonseredbred]

Jeff does your dog drink enough?? We have a female GSD and she is not a big drinker at all she actually hates drinking water.

On the other hand our male GSD drinks 2 - 3 gallons of water per day.

 

[Frans]

Jeff does your dog drink enough?? We have a female GSD and she is not a big drinker at all she actually hates drinking water.

One of our dogs is like that. It is a job to coax her into drinking. She will drink running water, a bit, but not standing water.

Unless it is in the toilet:roll: She likes that just fine.

 

[woodworkingboy]

Frans, your pooch needs this.

 

[Al Smith]

Unless it is in the toilet:roll: She likes that just fine.

Typical dog ,slurps out of the toilet ,licks it's butt then wants to lick you .

 

[Jonseredbred]

Exactly Frans, My female GSD will drink out of a running hose like a crack head but won't touch the dog bowl.

 

[Mr. Sir]

Gotta stay hydrated:

 

[Koa Man]

Another thing to watch for that some dog owners don't even think about is putting the dog in the back of a pickup after the truck has been in the sun awhile. A dark color or a liner can get very hot and actually burn the paws of a dog. Put down an old blanket or some kind of cloth pad. Your dog will thank you for it.

Glad your dog will be OK Jeff. I'm looking forward to getting my new dog in 3 weeks.

 

[vharrison]

Jeff, is the pup still doing good? Glad to hear she made it.

 

[SkwerI]

I just had a vision of Jasper telling Prairie that the recovery period is great. She's going to get lots of steak... with cottage cheese!

 

[fishhuntcutwood]

Talked to Dad a bit ago, and Prairie is back to her old self, and doing fine. They're still watching her really closely as the vet said it could be a couple of days, up to two weeks that she could show signs of brain damage!

But she still knows sit, stay, come, heel and still wants to fetch, still knows Mom and Dad and acts normally, so she's still intact for now.

I've thought about that damn dog alot today; thinking about how sad it was and how bad of shape she was in. I honestly don't know how she survived. She was littlerally shutting down in a matter of minutes. And the noises she made....dear God that was hard to listen to. It was pitiful.

But it's over, and she's better.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Good to hear.

 

[Bodean]

Glad everything worked out Jeff.