Boxers in the HEAT

[IkesMyDog]

Hey all.

It's unseasonably warm here in Wisconsin today, 94 with humidity creeping toward 70%. The hottest day of Ikes life actually... and the past few years I think...?

I see some of you are from places that are warmer than me. How do you handle exercise in the heat? How about cooling off?

What are some signs he might be overheating?


If anyone have any good links or anything on heat please post them. Thanks

 

[jmz1978]

I just had to take charlie to the vet after coming home to a very lethargic dog. The vet said she was probably overheated. What led her to that conclusion was the fact that after 3 hours of breathing very hard and lying on the floor not wanting to move, a 30 min ride in an air conditioned car seemed to make everything better.

I'm definitly going to try to be more careful with Charlie in the heat now. One thing I've been doing is mixing 1 part peanut butter and 1 part water and filling up a ice cube tray. I stick it in the freezer and have nice cool treats for them, that they love.

 

[IkesMyDog]

I just had to take charlie to the vet after coming home to a very lethargic dog. The vet said she was probably overheated. What led her to that conclusion was the fact that after 3 hours of breathing very hard and lying on the floor not wanting to move, a 30 min ride in an air conditioned car seemed to make everything better.

I'm definitly going to try to be more careful with Charlie in the heat now. One thing I've been doing is mixing 1 part peanut butter and 1 part water and filling up a ice cube tray. I stick it in the freezer and have nice cool treats for them, that they love.

Wow, that's scary about Charlie. What was the temp?

We make frozen treats too. We have done peanut butter like you did. Also with yogurt and frozen banana chunks too.

 

[SweetCody]

We don't play outside when it is the heat of the day. They go out and pee and then right back in to lay on the AC vents. The evenings get cooler and thats when we go and chase the ball or have an impromtu play date with the neighbors little pittie, or go for a walk. If they do decide to have a major burn when it is HOT we refill the water bowls with fresh cool water and I throw a couple of ice cubes on the floor (Aniah loves ice cubes) Cody will then go to the bedroom, which always stays much cooler than the rest of the house, and lay on one of the vents in there.

 

[gmacleod]

If you need to cool your dog down quickly, cold wet towels applied to the body (back of neck, round the torso, belly and between the legs) is often the best and fastest way. Cold water to drink is also useful, but nowhere near as fast and effective as cold wet towels directly to the body.

From one of the sticky threads at the top of the health forum, here is a good first aid link for overheating / heatstroke (to which short nosed breeds like boxers are quite prone): http://www.petalert.com.au/faid/fa17.php#heat

 

[caruse]

First of all...I wish it was a little warmer here in the Boston area!...We have had the rainiest June on file and an average of 10 degrees lower than normal putting us in the 60 degree range!!:confused:
My two don't like the heat and get too overheated...I shorten their daily walks and they love playing outside when its cooler, early in the morning and toward evening...I put ice cubes in their water bowl, have a kiddie pool for cooling off and use wet face clothes to cool down their bodies like gmacleod suggested and it all seems to work well of course with the air conditioner!
A good car ride in the air conditioned car is a great quick way to cool off

Barbaralovicon

 

[BxrMommieNAZ]

I agree with one of the other posters we simply don't play in the heat of the day. It was 109 here yesterday my dogs go out to potty and come right back in. IF it cools off a bit we'll go out around 6:00 in the evening and I let them run around for 15 minutes or so but even at 6:00 it's still around 102-105 so during part of June and most of July exercise outside is simply non existant. I try to get a bit of energy out in the house, but it doesn't always work.

 

[kayboxer]

We are actually in a heat advisory here. Because of the humidity along with the 101 degrees it is miserable. I got up early to take them out and it was so bad we didn't go. Mosquitoes were horrible and we were getting bit up just leashing up. What I do instead is go in the backyard and turn on the hose and water. They run and play in the hose and have a blast. It's great exercise and they stay cool doing it. Buster isn't fond of water, but he will get a bit wet. Olive LOVES the hose! I can only imagine what my water bills gonna be but to me it's worth it. That's our form of exercise on a hot day.

 

[sandy's mom]

I am on the gulf coast and it has been over 100 the past few days...
We do not go out and play or exercise on hot days...It isn't safe.
I encourage them to stay in the house...

We play harder in the house... I also put chunks of ice in their water so it stays cool. They have the run of the house and yard during the day.
I have actually caught Napoleon stretched out in the yard in the sun in the middle of the day and squirted him with the water hose (which he HATES).
I hope he gets the message that this is not a smart thing to do...

I have learned to keep a close eye on my babies this time of the year.
It is about 15 degress about average for this time of the year, I am just waiting to see what the weather does when summer really arrives...

 

[Widges]

In the hotter days Billy get a VERY early morning stretch of the legs and he then gets his long walk usually around 11pm when it is a lot cooler. He gets frozen treats and ice in his water. He loves to play in the sprinklers with my 2 children also.