the heat is ON...

outside during these dog days of summer...

Here's a picture of Poochie, Curly and Cooper all trying to beat the heat. They all found the floor in the basement next to Mavis's desk apparently the only cool place in the house according to the next picture which says it was 30 degrees INSIDE her house..

Dogs often have two hair coats;an outer coat called a guard layer and a fuzzy coat closer to the body called an undercoat. Most dog's undercoats will thin out in spring to prepare for the warmer weather while the guard coat stays. One school of thought is that your dog will benefit from a good shave to help your dog rid himself of extra heat. Dogs don't sweat, their only means for heat loss is through evaporation from the saliva and panting which don't seem like they'd be super effective in the hot summer heat while wearing a coat. If you dog is not regularly shaved, his skin will not be used to the suns rays which may be more harmful that the heat itself.

Because the guard coat actually sits away from the dogs body, there is a barrier of air underneath which is what normally keeps your dog warm in winter. Your dog's skin heats this air which is then trapped by the hair. Some firmly believe that this layer of air between your dog's body and guard coat, as long as the undercoat has thinned will also keep your dogs cool in summer. Kind of like a layer of shade under the coat.

To keep your dog cool, AND his skin protected from the sun try these

• Give your dog a good brushing, particularly with a brush that helps remove the undercoat.

• If you're going to give your dog a shave, go for areas that aren't typically exposed to the sun like the center of the belly. This will give them some relief from their heavy coat and provide a larger area to get rid of heat from when lying on the floor.

• Get them a fan and/or a kiddy pool...

 

• ALWAYS PROVIDE FRESH WATER AND SHADE. If you leave your dog outside, there has to be somewhere for them get out of the sun.

• Keep exercise to a minimum in temperatures over 30 degrees. Even if they'd LOVE a game of fetch, cause you KNOW they WILL play even if it kills them.


• Never leave your dog in the car, even if you leave the window a open a crack. The heat in cars raises incredibly fast and incredibly high. If it's really hot, windows open a crack won't cut it.

For dogs with a single coat layer like our Vizslas, or a boxer like Crash, hanging out in this heat is less of a life threatening issue as long as there's shade and water. In fact, Ruben and Calvin will go lay out in the sun for hours in this crazy heat.

Good Luck staying cool and thank you for the topic suggestion Sheetal!

Comments

[Kal Barteski]

Hey Mavis - our vet said that the heat is particularly dangerous for boxers like Crash. They have no insulation to keep them cool and he's had a lot of trouble breathing, overheating and dehydrating because he's has no hair on the underside and only his tongue to "sweat it out".

[s.patel]

thanks for the info!

[bonnie]

Hi Kal,

There are the two schools of thought. One that the longer fur provides a barrier of air as insulation that actually keeps dogs cooler. This is what I learned in my Vet Tech courses. There is however another argument that heat travels from spaces of high heat to areas of lesser heat and a barrier of air under the hair is likely to be a higher temperature than the outside of the body, and therefore does not provide insulation. I'm not sure there is a definitive answer, except that shaving your dog all over is not necessarily the right choice.

[Melinda29CALHOUN]

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