How hot is too hot?

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by Travel time on 17 March 2009 - 14:03

I've got a question about running with my dog. Since the temps are starting to warm up I wanted to see how high of temps you guys run your dogs in. I usually only run about 2 -3miles, which takes about 20 minutes.
Thanks

by ShelleyR on 17 March 2009 - 14:03

80F and not too much humidity. Go-Dog before, after, and at rest stops. Only a handful of food that morning and none for a couple hours after the work.

SS

by hodie on 17 March 2009 - 14:03

My protocol:

I never run a dog if the temp is higher than 72F. Humidity here is never an issue and is rarely above rh15 during times when the weather would be suitable for me to be out. I never do this before or after watering of feeding (minimum of 4 hours). I stay with the dogs as while they cool down. They are not allowed to drink more than a few slurps until much, much later. Am careful to provide a suitable warmup depending on how cold it is and how inactive the dog just was prior to running. I trot the dogs with some short sprints here and there which they seem to enjoy. Usually 2-3 miles unless specifically training for AD. Then protocol is the same with increase over three weeks time in terms of length and duration of trotting time.

I hope this helps. My feeling is that it is very risky to run a dog in temps over the low 70's. It only takes once to have a dog with heat stroke and probably a dead dog.

by ShelleyR on 17 March 2009 - 15:03

I did road work for years in the CA central valley for years and years. Low hunidity, but not below 75 degrees after sunrise for months on end. I do warm up, sprints at the end, cool down walking on-leash, tepid water for the Go-Dog in small amounts (like cooling out a horse) Never had a probelm, dozens of dogs. You work up to distance, of course.
SS

by Rugers Guru on 17 March 2009 - 15:03

Does this apply to training as well???

by hodie on 17 March 2009 - 16:03

Personally,

I am also very conservative about heat and training in protection. If it is too hot for me to be comfortable, then it is likely too hot for a dog to be worked hard. Too many people have experienced heartbreak because they did not use common sense. Can one get away with doing it? Sure. But if you care about the dog, you will consider heat stress and stroke. The latter will likely kill the dog. Why risk that just for some title? Too often it becomes about something else rather than the health and welfare of the dog. Where I live summer daytime temps can be near 95 by 10am. We change training time to when it is cooler, or don't train protection. We always have a hose hooked up and I have IV fluids etc., if needbe. But I don't want to have to use medical means to revive a dog who is ill from some human not being sensible.

Of course, some dogs have to work in heat. But too many pay the price. The military dog schools routinely see dogs go down and some die from heat.

by Travel time on 17 March 2009 - 16:03

Thanks for the replys, but I have a question. What are the temps that the GSD was bred to herd/work in? Aren't they supposed to be bred with endurance to mantian that powerful trot? I guess I should clarify. I'm not sprinting, just casual jogging which has the dog comfortably trotting. Oh and I'm not trying to start an argument, just an honest question. I seems strange that the answer to so many behavior problems is "they need more excersice", but we can't run them above 70s and 80s?

by mccia on 17 March 2009 - 17:03

Here in S. Florida most protection work is done in early morning, evening or at night. Sometimes even then it is kinda warm. I use Stress-Dex in the water until they cool off. After a run of 2 miles or more, even between 11pm-5:30am (after that too many cars on the roads), I cool them off just like race horses. I walk them around the yard giving them a few sips of water with electrolytes in it, ( if I have it), at a time, until they stop breathing hard and pretty much have had their fill of water. That takes maybe 10-20 minutes depending on their conditioning. Down here most people turn the ac on in their vehicle for their pets even if they have to wait an hour or more before their time on the training field. And that's for all phases of training even at 10pm to 12 midnight. Sometimes we're not headed home until 1-1:30 in the morning. But that way the pets are completely cool and not at risk for heat strokes or bloat. Marcia

by 4pack on 17 March 2009 - 17:03

I run my dogs when it's over 90, if I didn't, they would'nt run all summer. I try to go in the am by 8 but if not, we go in the late evening. My main concern is the HOT pavement/asphalt and their feet. Where they run they have access to water and they will and do jump in, when they want to cool down. Obviously I can't regulate how much they drink in that situation but I have never had a problem with it. The dogs usually set the pace and we will go slower for longer or just shorter and go out twice am and pm. Bottom line, you should be able to read your dog well enough and common sense enough not to push the dogs harder when it's really hot. If you run all year with your dog he is used to it. At 5-7mph, thats just a trot, he should be able to go twice as far as your going with no issues, that's cool down speed and warm up speed for my guys.

by MVF on 17 March 2009 - 17:03

You didn't say the pace or the condition of the dog, both of which are critical.

A well conditioned dog, like any athlete, can handle much more heat and pace than can an unconditioned dog.

Shelley is the expert and she keeps her dogs fit, so 80F can work for her -- and for you, if you condition your dog well. Shelley is so responsible she can hardly imagine anyone foolish enough to take a fat dog on a summer run.

I was once one of those fools. I once took an unconditioned dog on one of my training runs (7.5 miles at between 7-8 min/mi) on a summer day and nearly killed her.   And I was an experienced athlete and thought I knew dogs. But my dog was not ready to step up to that pace in that weather.   (I had been running with a fitter younger dog and felt guilty about leaving the older dog behind.)

If you are slogging 3 miles at 10 minutes a mile, don't worry about the weather at all. Especially if you soak your dog in cold water at the hose at the outset, getting at her underbelly, ears, face, and paws.  But if you are running 6 miles at 7 min/mi, you need to run at the cooler times of the day.

Beforehand, plenty of cold water is a very good thing. The water consumed before the run (even only 15 minutes before) is already circulating critically in organ and muscle tissue and in the bloodstream. (The transfer of fluid through membranes is fast.) Afterward, you must be careful. Cold water all over the OUTSIDE of the dog, but do not allow the dog to consume more than a pint of cool (not ice cold) water every half hour. Dogs do not lose nearly as much water as do we during heat, so replacement is not the same issue as for a human athlete. But termp reg is more important, so a hosedown at the start and finish of any run less than 4-5 miles is a good thing -- and in the middle of a longer run if at all possible.

Humidity matters more for humans than dogs as they are not using body-atmosphere fluid and vapor transfer to cool their bodies very well. Even on a dry 90F day, a dog can suffer while a human can survive. Think temp more than humidity -- especially if it is dry, as you will not feel it as sharply as the dog.

Oh, one more thing. I have for many years run dogs in the summer on a 6Km run around a lake at a state preserve so they can jump into the water whenever they want. If you can find a big pond or lake to pass by every 3 miles or so, you can run in pretty much any weather.

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