Great info- thank you
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Dogs are poor at losing heat, unlike horses and humans. Thatās why they are the fastest land mammal over distance on the planet but only in the Arctic. If you move sheep and cattle with dogs you deal with this issue on a daily basis. One of the first commands any sheepdog learns is āgo to waterā. That means jump in the nearest stock tank. Immersion in cool (not freezing cold) water is what you want. Freezing cold, and you might stop the heart of a heat-exhausted dog.
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I have one of the elevated mesh beds and use a portable fan under it. My beagle loves to lay on my stone floor to cool off. And they get a frozen broth toy to lick on which seems to help.
I keep insulated water bowls everywhere and keep one bowl mixed with pediatyte powder if itās over 90F.
I try to keep them inside as much as possible but my heeler mix has to have her afternoon outdoor run/zoomie session or I canāt live with her. I push it to as late as possible to avoid the heat.
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I train and trial in sheepdog competitions. Besides conditioning, we manage the dogs with water tubs mostly. It is very low tech compared to agility or other sport competitions with shade cloths covering every inch of the vehicle, multiple fans, cooling mats, cooling vests, etc for a handful of 45-second runs.
Sheepdogs are expected to sprint hundreds of yards and sustain their endurance for six minutes in full sun at whatever time of day you drew. I think the community relies on their dogsā fitness and acclimation instead of cooling routines.
I brought all of the bells and whistles with me from agility but find I most use a Weathertech windshield sun shade, a shorty water jug in which I froze half the night before, and access to water tubs. The key is a dog conditioned to the weather and work. My dogs run morning, noon, and night. Like @fledermaus, they have a cue to get into water. Concrete mixing tubs are strategically placed:
The original short Coleman water coolers are no longer made, but this is similar. I snatch up the original ones used whenever I find them. Perfect travel dog water.
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Coleman-Chiller-2-gal-Stacker-Water-Cooler-Jug-Ocean-Blue/899243453
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Hunting dog tests are similar. I remember being surprised at a NAVHDA training day the first time I saw everyone with dogs in the backs of their SUV/trucks with the back open. Coming from conformation I was expecting EZ ups with sunshades hung all around them, etc.
I will say that Ryobi fans are useful, but most of those dogs didnāt need them. They really only worried about the black dogs on hot, sunny days. But they trained in the heat, sun, etc. so it wasnāt unusual for the dogs.
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Nobody told our dogs that one. When they hear someone crushing ice they all come runningā¦
My old man greyhound is very prone to heat stress, I hose him before his daily walk and I keep it short and early in the morning during hot days. Everything over 20C is too much for him. Even when he was young he always did better in the cold despite his short hair, maybe itās because of him being born and raised in Ireland.
During the day he stays inside with AC and asks to go briefly in the yard for his business.
The little sheperd girl needs a lot of zoomies and playing time but she loves to swim so we often head to the beach or the river for a swimming session . She also launches herself in every bucket/tank/puddle she can find. I have a cooling mat but nobody likes it
