Exercise in hot weather

Caro said:
When we were at the emergency vet last week someone brought in a large English Bulldog that was really straining to breath. It had heat stroke which surprised the owners because they said it didn't do anything strenuous, just stayed in the backyard in the shade. Vet said never leave a brachy breed outside in heat. So incredibly sad to breed a dog that could die just from being outside - they really shouldn't be in Australia where most dogs are kept outside and it gets hot.
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Oh that's scary! Such a lot of people seem to have outside-only dogs here don't they... especially when over a certain size I guess. Poor bulldog. I feel sorry for those dogs at the best of times :no:
 
We live where it gets 90+F for about 3-4 months straight with some days up to 115+F and some nights not falling below 95F at midnight to 82F at dawn. Our saving grace is low humidity but since our fur friends don't sweat too much keeping cool can be a problem. Obviously, work/walk/play them in the morning and keep them out of direct sunlight all day. Don't even think about using an enclosed but uncooled dog house in the sunny backyard for their sun shelter. That's just a bit less cruel than a closed hot car. But we go a bit further. Our dogs always like ice cubes or even better, a chunk(s) of frozen watermelon as a cool treat. Can also put the ice in their water dish. We have ceiling fans on our outdoor covered patios. Our Erin would often choose to lie outside in the fan breeze on a hot day even though she had dog door access to the house and its AC. But when she got fed up with the heat, she would retreat to the house and lay on the tile floor. Finally, we kept the fur on her belly short to allow air to reach and cool her tummy and kept her brushed out, especially the undercoat.
 
Mike in Bakersfield said:
We live where it gets 90+F for about 3-4 months straight with some days up to 115+F and some nights not falling below 95F at midnight to 82F at dawn. Our saving grace is low humidity but since our fur friends don't sweat too much keeping cool can be a problem. Obviously, work/walk/play them in the morning and keep them out of direct sunlight all day. Don't even think about using an enclosed but uncooled dog house in the sunny backyard for their sun shelter. That's just a bit less cruel than a closed hot car. But we go a bit further. Our dogs always like ice cubes or even better, a chunk(s) of frozen watermelon as a cool treat. Can also put the ice in their water dish. We have ceiling fans on our outdoor covered patios. Our Erin would often choose to lie outside in the fan breeze on a hot day even though she had dog door access to the house and its AC. But when she got fed up with the heat, she would retreat to the house and lay on the tile floor. Finally, we kept the fur on her belly short to allow air to reach and cool her tummy and kept her brushed out, especially the undercoat.
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That's a very warm climate! I agree that low humidity helps... we have a dry heat too where I am and it makes it much more bearable. Thanks for the tips Mike!
 
low humidity- no idea what that is like except for the rare times when I have visited the west coast area.
even in the winter, we seem to have humidity here in AL.
 
Calliesmom said:
low humidity- no idea what that is like except for the rare times when I have visited the west coast area.
even in the winter, we seem to have humidity here in AL.
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Oh wow... I just wilt in the humidity!... maybe I'd get used to it tho if I lived in a humid climate.
 
Hannah said:
Oh wow... I just wilt in the humidity!... maybe I'd get used to it tho if I lived in a humid climate.
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I think that you would adjust- I didn't grow up in the South but I prefer it to the Arctic temps in the North during winter.......................
 
I think the hardest thing is not being able to sleep because of the heat. I have air con in the lounge but it doesn't regulate the temp that well (and I do need to move around the house sometimes). Tully just lays around - I think she's feeling the same as me. But being a dog she sleeps all day but is awake by 4 or 5 am (hoping I'll get up). Last night and this morn was the first cool break all month and Tully wanted to do a big walk but I'm still so tired. All I can say is lucky she's not a puppy, and be thankful we don't live in South Australia!
 
Caro said:
I think the hardest thing is not being able to sleep because of the heat. I have air con in the lounge but it doesn't regulate the temp that well (and I do need to move around the house sometimes). Tully just lays around - I think she's feeling the same as me. But being a dog she sleeps all day but is awake by 4 or 5 am (hoping I'll get up). Last night and this morn was the first cool break all month and Tully wanted to do a big walk but I'm still so tired. All I can say is lucky she's not a puppy, and be thankful we don't live in South Australia!
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Agreed. 47 degrees is insane! We are expecting 45 tomorrow which is not a lot better actually... :nailbiting:
 
I will say practically every house in the South- even the older homes- have central air conditioning- it would be much more difficult to survive the heat without AC.
 
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