# Beware of the Heat!



## FTGoldens (Dec 20, 2012)

The temps are rising. We owe it to our dogs to be vigilant in watching out for their potential to overheat. It can happen fast! Just this past weekend, one of the Labs in our area went down from the heat ... he has recovered, thankfully! The group that was training consisted of 5 folks with an aggregate of over 50 years of retriever training experience and no one saw it coming.
First, let's remember to keep our eyes open for any signs of overheating and, moreover, avoid situations which may result in overheating (i.e., long marks (land and water), repeats/resends, high pressure, extended hunt, heavy cover, etc.). 
Second, if it happens, follow the protocol of wetting the dog with cool (not cold) water and then getting the dog into circulating air, such as a fan. [Do not apply cold water or A/C to the dog because, according to the most recent studies, the dog's body perceives the threat as cold temperatures and the capillaries near the skin's surface close down, thereby reducing the cooling potential.]


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

I worked with a very prestigious board certified sports and rehabilitation vet on improving heat tolerance (Dr. Robert Gillette if anyone wants to look him up). One of the most important things is to be sure your dog gets enough fat in his diet, minimum of 22-24%, to improve heat tolerance. It will take about 4 weeks for you to see any difference.
Dogs are not humans (contrary to what some marketing programs for dog foods would try to make you believe) and they metabolize food quite differently than we do. They rely on FAT for readily available energy. The fat is stored within the mitochondria for ready use (side note, dogs don't store fat as belly fat like we humans do unless they are seriously obese, which is why people often think their FAT dogs are solid, or solid muscle, it's because of how they store fat). 
The first ONE minute of activity they burn carbohydrate. Then the next 3-4 minutes they burn protein. After that they burn fat for energy. However, if there isn't enough fat from the diet stored for ready access, they will continue to burn protein. In order to burn protein, the body's core temperature must be raised about 2-3 degrees. This means that dogs who are "running hot" in the field are at about 105-106 degrees F just in their core temperature trying to fuel their bodies. They are physically unable to cool down because they are raising their temperature for energy.
Providing the proper fuel will help the dog keep their core temperature lower, thus they are able to tolerate heat better.
Disclaimer....this doesn't mean you can take them out and run them silly in the field just because they are eating more fat. But it really does help.
As far as the fat, corn oil is the best source according to Dr. Gillette. It's the only oil that doesn't alter their scenting ability. 
It's not a lot. Tito gets 2 teaspoons of corn oil on his food, twice a day, starting about late March through about early November. 
It has made a HUGE difference for him.

Here's his presentation, certainly a better explanation than mine: http://www.sportsvet.com/Art3.html


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## K9-Design (Jan 18, 2009)

Thanks for the link Barb, very interesting!!!!!

I am escaping to Ohio, leaving tomorrow. That'll take care of the heat for June. That leaves July, August, September, October......ugg

The weather has finally turned here from nearly tolerable to suck.

Have only seen a dog fall victim to heat stroke once. Training partner's black lab, probably 10 years ago. He was hacking away at a land blind for a long time, and started to get angry at the dog for cast refusals, sit refusals, etc. Well son of a....the dog was staggering from heat stroke  DUH
She did recover.


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## MillionsofPeaches (Oct 30, 2012)

oh gosh, that had to be terrifying! I hope the dog recovered quickly. Thanks for the tip, Barb. I didn't know that about fat and heat. It makes sense. Katniss was super fit last two summers and she would get hot faster than before. I always thought the fat would make her hotter (as it does us) but she was always super hot, even in the late evenings when we trained and I would have a pail of water on the line for her just in case.


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## gdgli (Aug 24, 2011)

Thank you very much FT and hotel4dogs for your posts.


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## hollyk (Feb 21, 2009)

Interesting information Barb.


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## FTGoldens (Dec 20, 2012)

MillionsofPeaches said:


> oh gosh, that had to be terrifying! I hope the dog recovered quickly. Thanks for the tip, Barb. I didn't know that about fat and heat. It makes sense. Katniss was super fit last two summers and she would get hot faster than before. I always thought the fat would make her hotter (as it does us) but she was always super hot, even in the late evenings when we trained and I would have a pail of water on the line for her just in case.


He didn't recover quickly, but he recovered; although he was still not 100% after a couple of days of rest. It's apparently quite taxing on their bodies.

As for the amount of fat, I wish that the doc who wrote the article had explained how much fat in their diet is recommended depending on their activity. It seems that in light of our dogs' multiple sprints, they would be in the endurance category. I feed PPPP, which is 30/20.


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## hotel4dogs (Sep 29, 2008)

The doctor told me that field work is absolutely endurance activity. Furthermore, the time the dog spends amped up, vibrating and shaking waiting to run, is part of the energy burn, making it even a longer time.
Agility, for example, is sprint activity.


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## MillionsofPeaches (Oct 30, 2012)

I feed the same thing as FT. That is also what my trainer feeds his dogs and what Proof will continue on up north. I might have to add a little corn oil to his diet.

Man, I'm very sorry about the dog. I am glad he is recovering but man it is so scary. I feel for the black dogs the most. That heat is just absorbing into them.


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## Vhuynh2 (Feb 13, 2012)

I noticed that Molly is more sensitive to heat than other dogs. I thought that it was just her massive spay coat, but she is also very skinny and I have a hard time keeping weight on her. I don't have any corn oil but I added a drizzle of olive oil to her food this morning. I have been told a few times that if Molly gained some weight she would be in a better mood and perform better, so this makes sense.

Maise also eats PP 30/20 at home so I am not concerned. She was on Fromm but wasn't keeping weight on it.


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## Alaska7133 (May 26, 2011)

Not that we get a lot of heat up here, but I'll make sure to continue to give my dogs salmon skins and salmon heads. Lots of fat in all that. Plus they love them. I freeze bags of fish heads in the summer during fishing season, the dole out the frozen heads in the winter/spring. Looks like I'm doing the right thing without even knowing it. We give our dogs lots of fat for staying warm in the winter, sounds like it works the same in the summer heat. Thanks for the ideas!


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