Overheating question

[Noah]

Seems like everybody I've talked to lately has overheated a dog.   

My question is, I saw someone say you shouldn't cool them off too fast... is this fact or theory?

I know with myself, if I get that hot, I don't care if I have to jump in a tub of ice to cool down as quickly as possible.  Is there some medical reason not to do the same with a dog?

Not that I carry ice everywhere I go, but I won't hesitate to throw an overheated dog in the water and never had any trouble...

[shawn]

ive thrown a dog in a creek before when i noticed he was lethargic from apparent overheating, i didnt wait either, just didnt leave him in that long, he came threw fine. Im curious about this too, im not hunting this summer but they can still overheat in the winter even (in fact thats when my dog overheated)

[txmaverick]

Just from exp i would say its a bad thing to cool any animal that cant sweat to fast. Not sure why but i lost a dog that was way overheated right after he jumped in a water tank. One developed hip problems after overheating and cooled to fast. Have watched many hogs die that were over heated and dumped water on them.

May not be anything to it but I dont let mine cool to fast if I can, granted they run up to a tank and jump right in after a long run. But I think its the very overheated that this causes problems with not just your normal dog is hot thing.

No medical proof from me but I know what I have seen.

[Noah]

I just wonder if for the severely overheated dogs, the damage may already be done, and the "cooling too fast" may being blamed for what would have happened anyway.    Once the brain and organs start to cook, I don't want to mess around with "slowly" cooling a dog off unless there's a good reason.

[Scott]

The danger in cooling a human/animal too fast is that you don't want them to start shivering. Shivering will drive the body temp up. You definitely don't want that in suspected heat exhaustion/heat stroke.

[djhogdogger]

Well, we have had two dogs overheat and we cooled them down pretty quickly with cool running water. Both dogs survived. We have also let our dogs drink ice water to cool off. I'm not sure what TOO fast is.  My husband has a roping horse that sweats all year long except in june,july,and august. We think it has something to do with the heat and humidity levels. But when my husband ropes off of him in the summer he gets pretty hot really fast so we hose him down from head to toe. A lot of people have warned us not to do it, but we've had him since he was 2 and now he is 10,and its never hurt him. So I think its theory.

[Noah]

I've always done the same with horses as well.   From what I've seen, if they're gonna tie up, they're gonna tie up... nothing to do with hosing them down.

There's so many wives tales out there about this, it would just be nice to know the facts.

[mradel]

IF IT IS THE SAME FOR DOGS AS FOR PEPOLE THE DANGER IN COOLEING THEM OFF TO QUICK IS SENDING THEM IN TO SHOCK

[jdt]

this is my veiw , ive seen some die that i didnt think would die and ive seen some live that i didnt think would live . if i have a dog get hot i will get him in water , i wont encourage him to drink it but just keep running or pouring it over him and especially on the front feet from the knees down . dont know why but that seems to help more . also the more air they can get , like on the way home etc is best . but when it comes right down to it ... if the dog got too hot hes gonna die it dont matter what you do .

[Mike]

Yes, if you throw them ice water for example... you'll send them into shock. The vet says to carry rubbing alcohol with you and pour on their head,ears, belly and pads. This will draw the heat out and bring their core temperature down. He also said to take a bag of ice and place between their hind legs, this will cool the blood flowing through the main arteries and help bring their core temp down also.

[Scott]

Like I said, not sure if human/dog equate...but for humans if you cool them to fast, it actually drives the core temperature up higher from the shivering. Shivering is the body's way of generating heat from it's muscles. If you cool a human suffering from heat exhaustion/heat stroke to fast...it doesn't send them into shock...it cooks their brain.

If you really want the answer, just ask your vet the next time you're in for a visit...unless there is a DVM on this board.

[Noah]

The shock thing sounds reasonable... in a "field" situation most of us only have access to a water hole at best... and that's usually not all that cool, probably not dramatic enough to worry about the shock thing.

So in the field Mike, would you go the dunk your dog in the pond or go the alcohol route?

[Mike]

More than likely the alcohol would be in the truck so I would dunk them in the pond first and then head to the truck. The air flow around their wet body would help start the cooling process. I think the main thing is not to keep them submerged... it doesn't let the heat escape.

I hear of a lot of people wanting to put them in a tub of ice water... that's what you don't want to do.


But if the alcohol was right there... i'd go that route.

[Clay]

I have  had a dog get hot twice in the last couple of weeks. took a bottle of water from the ice chest and covered there legs, belly and feet then take them to a pond and let them get in but dont let them stay in there like mike said it dosnt pull the heat away the water is still hot from the day of sun.

[Circle C]

My vet buddy who also happens to be a hog dogger told me pretty much what mike already stated, though he also said that you can cool them as quickly as you want as long as you don't let them drop below 99.5 degrees. He said that the safest route is the alcohol and ice if available.  I now carry a 48 quart cooloer of ice and water on the mule along with alcohol and pedialyte.

[Eric]

I have never seen a dog go bad after being cooled off, the damage had usually been done already or happened before they could get the dogs cooled off but I was told never to use ice water with dogs... even to drink.

With humans, if we are overheating and you hit the top of your head with really cold water you will drop like a rock.

[Hippy]

i had an older gentlemen tell me to freeze 2 liter bottles and after a run or working the dogs in the pen to put em in the dog box so that they can lay on them.

[Cull Buck]

In the field I don't see how you could cool them down too fast.  I know I don't carry a 94 quart cooler filled with melted ice water on me and that's about what it would take to send them into shock or cool them down too quick IMO.

[coach]

With our athletes we want to bring their temp back down as quickly as possible but we are monitoring it with thermometers. Like stated we pack ice bags between their groin, armpits and around their neck, when their temp starts to come back down we will take it off and let them do it themselves. But one should get them to a hospital or doctor right away.With the shivering well its a double edged sword seen some kids start shivering right away maybe they aren't as hot as they are pretending to be. If a person reaches the point of shivering their core temp more than likely is ok but one should double check. Dogs temp are usually between 101 and 102  at 106 brain damage and organ failure can set in.

Dehydration and Blood thickening can happen this is what puts strain on the heart which could lead to heart attacks and or clotts. When you get the temp to drop to about 103 stop cooling with ice and allow cool water around the neck or stomach area. Cooling to fast can cause problems but I am with yall I beleive it is to hard to do in the field.

Dogs that are suseptible to overheating are overweight, dark colored, or have short muzzles. Pitts, american Bulldogs, and some of our cur dogs may fall into the short muzzle category. Why? well the shorter the airways the tougher to get cooler oxygen into the body. A dog that has had heatstroke is suseptable to them so take care and keep a thermostat in your bag with some alcohol rubbing that is.