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Wednesday, July 03, 2002

The yellow Labrador retriever was lean and appeared fit as he jogged alongside his lean-and-fit owner. But temperatures were in the 90s and the dog and the woman ran on a hot sidewalk.

The woman wore shorts and a halter top, and a sheen of sweat was visible along her arms. The dog wore a fur coat, and dogs can't sweat. Their body heat can be released only through the pads of their feet or through their tongues, which is why dogs pant when they are hot.

Every year about this time I get calls and e-mails from people complaining about people who take dogs jogging on extremely hot days.

I resisted their suggestion that I write a column warning about this dangerous practice. I thought common sense would rule, but I was wrong. I see hot dogs like the yellow Lab all the time during the dog days of summer.

So here's the warning: Dogs can collapse when overheated. They can get dehydrated and very ill from heat prostration. They can even die.

When temperatures top 90 degrees, go to a sun-drenched sidewalk, remove your shoes and see what it feels like to walk in your bare feet. The pads on a dog's feet are sensitive and really not designed for jogging along paved surfaces hot enough to fry eggs.

Most dogs are eager to please owners, and most love to go on walks. Some will jog literally till they drop. Labrador retrievers and other bred-to-hunt canines, many of the terriers and of the working breeds, have been bred to have a high tolerance for pain. They might run till they drop or die.

This is where some of the fluffballs and toy breeds show some judgment. Many will refuse to walk or jog when it is too hot, too cold or too wet.

Many breeds were bred to withstand extreme cold. Alaskan malamutes, Siberian huskies and St. Bernards are the obvious examples. Many breeds hail from cold climates, including the hugely popular Labrador retrievers, whose origins actually go back to chilly Newfoundland. They're out of their natural element in very hot climates, and they usually have heavy, dense coats.

Many heavy-coated and long-haired dogs get summer haircuts because owners think that will cool them off. Don't have them shaved down to the skin -- that may make them hotter. Those thick coats, to some degree, keep the heat away from their skin. Keep the coats groomed, though, and free of mats and snarls.

Black dogs get much hotter much faster than white or yellow dogs.

Encourage dogs to get out of the sun and into the shade when they are outside. I don't know why, but some dogs will bask and bathe in the sunshine until their coats are actually painfully hot to touch.

Flat-faced and short-nosed dogs including pugs, French bulldogs and English bulldogs have a harder time breathing in the heat and can overheat more rapidly than other dogs. They need extra care and attention in the summer.

This brings me to the late great Twerp, the pug I owned and loved for 17 years. There was no air conditioning in the house we shared, so she panted and snorted quite a bit.

When Twerp got hot, she'd run upstairs and jump into the bathtub. Twerp groaned with pleasure as the tub filled and the water lapped up against her belly.

The hot dog almost instantly became a cool dog. Sometimes she ran to the tub several times a day.

Water is just the thing for a hot dog in the summer, but be careful with the temperature. Start out with tepid water and gradually add cooler water.

Some dog owners keep molded plastic kiddie pools available in the yard.

At dog shows I've seen bulldogs and pugs sitting around with cold wet towels draped over their bodies. Some pet supply companies now make cloth vests that can be soaked in cold water before being put on the dog.

Some dogs don't like baths or pools. You might try putting a wet towel on the ground and coaxing the dog to lie down on it. Or soak a washcloth in cool water and apply the cloth to the dog's face, stomach and pads of the feet.

Some dogs will run through sprinklers with children. Some enjoy being squirted with the garden hose, but others hate that.

Make sure the dog always has enough water to drink, including inside the house. As they pant in an effort to cool off, they lose moisture from their tongues.

When panting, dripping and slobbering stops on a hot day, your dog could be in trouble.

When a dog is dangerously dehydrated, it probably will be unwilling or unable to drink.

It'll need to be rushed to a veterinarian and may need to be rehydrated intravenously. At that point it's too late for a plunge into a pool or tub.