EAST TEXAS HOG DOGGERS FORUM

Do yall think that puppies born in the summer grow into more heat tolerant dogs? A dog matures much faster than humans so I was thinking that if  they are born in hot weather and its still hot by the time that they are four months old maybe they would be more  heat worthy.  Any experience or  opinions on this?

Well miss Dinah, that's some real food for thought now. You just might be on to something there, logic would say that you're right about them being more heat tolerant if born in the heat. Makes sense to me, but I've never really checked on it I guess.....now you've got me thinking about when this dog or that dog was born. :-\

x2...now that is thinking outside the box... :)

I know I leave my dogs outside so they learn to deal with it. They all learn to get in the water. Not sure about when they are born. Never noticed anything.

Our yearlin pups were born the first part of July and they seem to handle the heat pretty well. But  I have never had a litter born in the cooler months to compare to. So I am just curious. My mind goes in wired places when I'm bored. Hahaha

Yours too huh?  :D

Interesting thought but I doubt it... unless one was on the extreme end of heat sensitive... then good riddens at an early age

Well take a look at it from a human aspect. You take someone that was born and raised in canada they would probably die if they stepped out of a building down here right now. Good head scratcher for sure.

Guess if anybody wants to prove it viable. The next litter of winter pups I have. I will throw them in the oven for some desert training. Lol :laugh:

just make sure you set the timer... ;D

Don't know if its true but we did it. We bred our cattle to calves in the dead of winter old timers said they grew bigger and stronger being born in the winter. We lost a few here and there but we weaned exceptionally big calves. Might just have been good milkers we ran baldies.

Well Dinah I remember something that I read a few years ago,....took me a bit to recall this, but I read about a team of sled dogs from way up north that were being flown to some destination for whatever reason and the flight had a stop in Miami....I'm thinking this was in cooler weather, however their flight was delayed for a few extra hours there in Miami. The temperature got up to 80 degrees and 3 or 4 of the dogs died from heat stroke. Soooooo, I guess you were right about it making a difference, of course this was somewhat to the extreme, but it apparently mattered to those dogs.

It sure don't hurt them.  Also how much internal fat you put on them young dogs makes a big big difference in young adulthood .

Sounds like good scientific evidence to me. I was wondering since it seems like we deal with extremely hot days more than cold ones. A lot of dogs die every year from over heating and it would be nice if we could figure out a way to breed heat tolerent dogs.

I haven't been on the board much lately and it was interesting to see this thread today. A buddy of mine and I had a similar conversation a week or so ago. I have always tried to have a litter born in the winter time. Its easier on the momma and the pups when its not 100 degrees. It doesn't get that cold for long here in Fla so the winter litters were what I always tried to have.

About 3-4 years ago I had a planned litter of Monkey x JJ pups and they were born in the winter. Most got to be 60-65 lb dogs , when grown, and the ones I hunted with seemed like they did better when it was cold, and worse in the woods, when it was hot. My Spur dog was a winter pup and he is the same way.

Last year I had a litter of Monkey x JJ pups born in July ( Monkey's idea...not mine). They are a year old and most are about 45 lbs. There is one BIG male out of the litter but the rest seem to be under 50 lbs. They also seem to be lighter built, not as heavy bodied and finer boned, than the full siblings that were born in the winter. I don't own one from the first litter but have two of the one year olds. Around the house they seem to be more heat tolerant than some of the other dogs.  I haven't actually started hunting them yet but intend to as soon as it cools off some.


So I am curious if being born in the summer prepares them better for the heat. It surely seems like the summer pups, with the same parents, didn't get as big as the winter pups. And is it youth, or being born in the summer that makes my year old pups seem more heat tolerant? Or a little of both?

I will see how they do starting next month, in the woods and in the heat.

Well Mark, I have never noticed that winter born pups might make bigger dogs than summer born ones....that's some food for thought. I'm thinking that you might be onto something there, since you've made that certain cross at both times and have seen the pups right on up. Anyway.....good luck with the new pups and keep me posted on their progress....maybe it'll cool off a bit and we older,....or should I say 'mature' gentlemen can enjoy a hunt when it's not into the triple digits. :o

 Well I can honestly say that I was born in December and I do much better in fall and winter than in the summer months.  :D I am also sturdy built. LOL  So maybe its something to take a closer look at.

pups, dogs tend to eat more in the colder weather. Is it possible that the pups get more growth nutrients from the dog food because they eat more in the winter even though they burn more energy in the colder weather???

did the winter pups get a higher quality food than the summer pups???

 I found this article on the net about breeding heat tolerant sheep. Interesting.....

 " Ron Parker in The Sheep Book discusses a program wherein a Professor Leroy Boyd of Mississippi State University attempted to develop sheep that would be adapted to the hot and humid conditions of the deep South. He noted that "animals with greater development in the loin and rump, thicker skin, and deep rather than wide bodies tended to have a greater heat tolerance." (p. 87) If this is true, then continuing to improve your sheep's conformation for these traits may help create a more heat-tolerant flock. " 

 I also read where thicker skin on cattle make a difference in heat tolerance.

wasn't the arabian horse bred to be heat tolerant?

wasn't the arabian horse bred to be heat tolerant?
You're exactly right Reuben.
Another thing I thought of last night while pondering this idea of Dinah's....we have forgotten to mention Bergman's Law, which states that as you move farther from the equator, the size of the animals gets larger, in order to be more cold tolerant. So that would of course work in the reverse, smaller dogs should be more heat tolerant than larger ones.

Everyone wants a big bad azz dog but looks like the little buzzsaws are going to be the best bet.

A 50-60 pound dog is a good weight for a large hunting dog, after that the bigger they get the more endurance/heat exhaustion issues. That is how I see it.

Firemedic, Bergman's law is a new one for me.  but it makes sense...

Dude, gotta disagree with that statement lol. My husband was born and raised in Saskatchewan till he was around 20, then moved down here. He handles the heat better than I do and I was raised in Texas heat.

He's a man and your a women! :o

eth , i'm afraid that you are fixin to get a hard time my friend . ;D ;D

Oh well its all in good fun! ;D

                    yessir,  it beats days of our lives when its too hot to work lol

Since humans don't live outside in the elements, and put coats on at will or dress lightly, also have indoor heating and cooling,  it would be hard to count humans as good test subjects.

I will not go for the smack. But I would say there are exceptions. But in general I would say where you are born rather than the time of year makes a bigger difference. Is is never cold down here except last winter.

But I think bidy build has more to do with heat tollerence than anything. Tall skinny handles heat better and shorter thicker handles cold better. Just look at the native people in any area before fast transportation and a/c. The population in Houston exploded with the a/c being put in houses. I know I have added a few punds and my heat tollerance has dropped. I used to work all day in the 100 degree heat with just water. I would die now. I think it is the extra lbs. I plan to lose it but just so I can hunt more ;D Skinny hunting dogs needed down here.

I watched a documentary years back and they were saying that the eskimo had big fatty cheeks because of the cold cold environment. The fatty cheeks acts as insulation against the extreme cold weather.

I don't think it matters when they are born. They may get better conditioning from the natural heat of the summer. But give any dog time to climatize and he will do better hot or cold. Don't think it will last a life time. This is just my opinion. I do not like to tend to puppies in 100 degree weather. What I have noticed is hyper,excited dogs go out fast. Layed back,or experinced dogs will last longer. I know that sounds obvious. But those who are line breeding can put a little too much in a dog and end up with one that will be short winded same in horses. You got to cool that blood off once in a while. This will probably stir some one up. But bark and bite won't do much good with out the stick.unless you hunt 50 acres or a rodeo cowboy.