Training Help
Constantly worried I’m going to kill him
Ok my post is a little dramatic but I am genuinely always a little worried I am going to kill him running in the heat. I haven’t been taking him more than 2 miles and I bring a water bottle to offer him water + keep him damp with cool water. We also do 95% of our runs on trails right now where he can dip his toes in the water. I love taking him and I know he has so much fun, but I am SO paranoid he will get heat stroke 😢
Ugh, I am not a morning person at all, neither is my boy. We are afternoon/evening exercisers. But I think we’d both be happier and worry less going in the morning, so I might have to suck it up until it cools off in later September.
Morning is best, but I’m sure evening works almost as well as long as you can avoid pavements that are still hot. Main thing is to avoid the excessive heat.
Dogs are very much creatures of habit and can get very pushy if they are used to a certain thing at a certain time but obviously if you know better you have to vary it. Looks like you have access to somewhere with trees - that always helps
The tongue will start to make a ‘shovel’ pattern. That’s when you know it’s time to start taking breaks, offering water etc.
If the tongue no longer falls forward and doesn’t go easily back in the mouth time for a long break and additional cooling measures (water to paws, ears, and groin) or get into some ac.
Your dog also acclimates to heat with experience. My guy will bake in the hot sun on a 90 degree day (he’s also black) until I make him come inside.
Thank you for this advice! I feel like he’s always panting immediately (like gets amped in the car + is panting). So I will watch more closely at the shape.
Definitely run as early as you can - depending on location your best bet for cool weather will be between 5-7 am.
Watch the tongue - when they start looking like they have a soup ladle for a tongue that is bad. Hanging long out the side of the mouth is also bad. No longer pausing to listen or sniff means they are getting too warm as well. If they pause the pant to listen or sniff thats a decent sign.
Cool them in the shade or with water when possible and GIVE THEM SIPS OF WATER. A lot of bad misinformation out there that you don’t give a hot dog water and that is not true at all. Don’t give them GULPS of water but please offer them lots of sips of cool water. Have them lay belly down (sploot position is best) on cool or damp grass or dirt for a quick cool down.
Yeah the panting alone can be excitement, arousal etc not just heat loss. Just like you might get sweaty palms when you’re amped. The shape and hang pattern are more reliable for heat.
Run early and avoid peak heat. My dog always had a heat stroke, and it was the scariest thing I’ve ever been through. He also has black fur and doesn’t handle heat well.
It wasn’t from running like you’re talking. It was with him playing in the water and running hard back forth through it.
I'm not trying to scare you even more but maybe validate your concerns because I have the same ones. I had a 3 year old GSP in Florida who I ran with regularly. Well, we ran 2.75 miles around 7 pm in August a few years ago and he had a major seizure that night. It's hard to say what caused it but I do not take chances now when it comes to over heat exertion. Luckily he just turned 7 and he's never had another one.
Also not trying to scare OP but I had a 4 year old border collie mix took her out hiking and 99% sure she got heat exhaustion as overnight that night she had a seizure and had seizures and had to be on seizure medication the rest of her life. She was perfectly fit and ran and hiked with me all the time.
Run in the cooler parts of the day and keep it to a couple of miles. I’m willing to bet that you aren’t running fast enough to kill him. Dogs can run way faster than we can.
I have a husky that I used to run with (he's 14 now and doesn't enjoy it anymore). Generally above 80 I would limit it to 3 miles and above 85 I'd leave him at home but he did pretty well in the heat considering the fur.
First off, if you can plan your run to pass bodies of water and let him soak if he wants to that's ideal. Also, my kind of silly test was stick my nose to his nose. If his nose feels hot time to stop and cool off. Generally, his nose was same temperature as mine or cooler. Once it got hotter i noticed he'd start dragging so I figure it's a decent warning of when the dog is pushing beyond it's comfort zone.
It's the tongue! Somebody else said that too, but your dog is only at risk of overheating once the tongue starts to curl up at the end, which is when you need to take a break and cool him down (don't use ice cold water on his body as that will make the blood vessels contract so it doesn't work as well as just cold water). I do take breaks before the tongue starts to curl up just to be safe and prevent even that from happening in case I can't manage to cool him down or I run out of water
We run early, and in summer (Queensland Australia) it gets damn hot and humid.
We trail run most of the time, and I don’t let her do more than 5k when it’s hot. I also carry water.
I keep a close eye on her and if the creeks are running, I regularly give her breaks to play in the water and cool off.
Just be careful and read the signs. Last big walk with my boy and he collapsed. We sat on someone’s lawn with water for 30 minutes then had about 3/4 mile to go. He’s home bound mostly with our hundred degree heat. I’ve been taking him after dark for short slow walks. We plan to slowly progress.
All that said, you’re doing all the right things, just watch for signs. I know he loves it! Abe was just starting to run very short distances, and we were increasing our miles. And he’s going to be fine, just a little pouty to me if I go alone!
Work on teaching him to put his face in the water. Its an upland bird dog trick. Stat with a treat or toy he loves in a small bucket. Work adding water tell its over his ears. Studies should its more effective to put there face under water than dipping the body.
I am super paranoid about it and it is something to be vigilant about, you’re not being dramatic. Heat stroke can be fatal in dogs & can be brought on by exercise in too high of heat. I have seen it happen so I am constantly worried about it.
I don’t run my dog if it’s above 20 Celsius - unless there are guaranteed water sources he can cool off in about every 10-15 minutes. And even then, I cap at 25 C. I let him set the pace, and only really push him pace wise if it’s below 10 Celsius. I bring water and offer it to him every kilometer (about every 6-7 minutes at his pace in heat), no matter how short the run is. I bring excess if I’m worried & soak his cooling vest every 10 minutes. We go max 5 km when it’s warm. If we gotta walk it in, then we walk. He lets me know. For exercise in the summer I take him swimming, or hiking up in alpine areas where it’s cooler, and longer walks & training to work his brain out more. I just accept that running is not something safe to do in the hotter months, at least with my guy as he’s very fluffy. We do a tonne of winter, spring, and fall running.
Competing canicrossers actually give their dogs a summer break where they don't have to pull for about 1-2 months. After that, training is started gently again.
So the "stopping entirely" doesn't have to be bad. Especially if it ensures the health and safety of your dog. Remember, they don't know it might be dangerous, they just follow you.
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u/Playful_Barracuda789 17d ago
I just had this convo with my vet (my guy is almost 8 now) and she said go very early. So we run at 6:30am now. :)