19/06/2025
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AS THE WEATHER HOTS UP FOR MANY OF US, we thought we'd repeat this post again for anyone who might have previously missed it.
TOO HOT TO FUNCTION: Today our breed expert Carol Price looks at the dangers dogs face from overheating – and how to prevent heatstroke in your own dog this summer.
When summer arrives and the weather warms up, it is natural for us to want to spend more time out with our dogs, while not always realising the risks higher temperatures can pose for them. Dogs, in general, manage heat less well than us because they have fewer sweat glands and mostly lose heat from their mouths through panting. Plus their inner body temperatures are already slightly higher than ours. (A normal human body temperature is between 97.6 - 99.6 Fahrenheit when a dog's is between 101-102.5 F).
Moreover once a dog's temperature rises to 104 F or more it begins to be in serious trouble of heatstroke, collapse and even organ failure and possible death. And this can all happen frighteningly fast. Humidity as well as heat can also be particularly dangerous to dogs.
Despite this reality, however, the number of people I still see out in hot weather making their dogs chase after balls or - my own personal horror – forcing them to run after them on hot tarmac while they themselves are running, or on bikes – is still too depressingly high. As well as being unbelievably thoughtless and inconsiderate. Ignorance is possibly mostly at the heart of this, as well as a dangerous human misconception that a dog is experiencing, or coping with, heat in much the same way that they are. So we really need to realise that they are not.
PREVENTION
Key things to do when the weather hots up is to always walk your dog at cooler times such as very early in the morning or later in the evening. And cut out all the more active stuff like ball chasing. With elderly dogs, and those with heart or breathing issues it may be best not to exercise them at all in higher temperatures.
Black coated dogs, like Border collies, naturally absorb more heat and thus may find hotter weather more uncomfortable, especially if they are not more acclimatised to it. During the hotter parts of the day your dog also needs to rest in the shade, or a cooler room (with a fan or air con), to lessen as much strain as possible on their heart rate and metabolism.
Plenty of cool fresh drinking water should also always be available to them. There are also special cooling mats or jackets you can now buy for dogs.
Under NO circumstances leave dogs in a car or other vehicle in hotter or even just warmer weather - which can so often prove to be a deathtrap for them. Even in overcast weather, or with the windows open, cars can still heat up frighteningly fast inside. Also never leave any dog anywhere outside where they do not have ready access to shade and cool water.
HEATSTROKE – THE EARLIEST SIGNS
Heatstroke is one of those conditions in dogs that begins with milder symptoms – i.e. excess panting, greater difficulty breathing, lethargy. Then moves on to more serious ones – like drooling, foaming at the mouth, shaking, vomiting/diarrhoea, pale or bright red gums – before finally escalating into seizures or collapse and loss of consciousness. And you must be mindful of how rapidly one set of symptoms can progress to another without more urgent and immediate intervention to cool your dog down again. (More on how to do this a bit later).
Every day in warmer weather, keep remembering how utterly fragile a dog's heat regulation mechanisms can be, and it may not take much in the way of excess exertion during the heat to trigger a crisis whereby they are no longer able to sufficiently cool down again. Be aware too that even if dogs are playing or swimming in rivers, paddling pools or the sea in warmer weather, the excess internal heat they are generating from such exertion may still raise their overall temperature too high for the cooler temperature of the water to compensate for.
Ultimately it does neither humans nor dogs any harm to lower their normal activity levels in response to more extreme temperatures. It really is the safest thing to do. Meanwhile the link below is really helpful in outlining more about over-heating in dogs, what to do if it happens in your own dog, and also more tips on keeping dogs cooler: https://www.pdsa.org.uk/pet-help-and-advice/pet-health-hub/conditions/heatstroke-in-dogs
All text © Carol Price 2025
