OUTDOORS
Dog days of summer can be deadly
Tips on how to protect your canine from the sweltering Texas weather
By SHANNON TOMPKINS Copyright 2010 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 22, 2010, 4:13AM

Shannon Tompkins Chronicle
The most common way dogs try to cool themselves is by panting, which isn't always enough when facing the high temperatures this time of year.


The dog days of summer are no treat for Texas canines.
The stretch from early July into September annually proves dangerous and often deadly for Texas dogs. Especially at risk are hunting dogs, which double as family pets.
Heat is the dog days' demon.
"Heat can kill a dog pretty quickly; it happens all the time," said Julian Weslow, veteran dog trainer who runs The Dog Ranch near Trinity. "You really have to be careful and watch them this time of year, especially if they aren't used to the heat. It can happen fast."
A recent incident underscores just how quickly and how deadly a dog can be affected by heat.
My friend Jeff took his healthy, 2-year-old husky/Labrador mix on a walk around his Houston neighborhood on a typically hot day. Zeke seemed fine, Jeff said, tagging along on the trails and being a normal dog.
But on the way back toward home from the moderate walk, Zeke began acting lethargic.
Then he had trouble walking. Then he went down to rest and couldn't get up.
Jeff carried the increasingly non-responsive dog toward home until a neighbor stopped and offered to drive them the rest of the way.
At home, Jeff tried to cool the dog with ice water and get a comatose Zeke to a veterinarian.
It was too late. Zeke slipped away.
And that's pretty much the classic progression of heat stroke in dogs, said Weslow and Pete Thuman, owner of Pecan Hill Kennel in Waller County.
"Once a dog goes down from heat, it's in real serious trouble. It's probably already too late (to save it)," Weslow said.
The heat can work quickly with dogs.
"It progresses pretty fast," Thuman said. "You have to pay attention anytime you have dogs out in hot weather."
Dogs' physiology makes them especially susceptible to overheating.
Dogs typically have a body temperature of 101-102 degrees. If that body temperature rises to 104 degrees, the dog begins suffering heat stroke. At 106 degrees, irreversible damage to brain, nerves, blood, heart and other organs occurs.
And it doesn't take much to overheat a dog on a hot August or September day.
Recipe for trouble
Dogs cool themselves almost exclusively by panting, exhaling warmed "inside" air for cooler "outside" air. They don't sweat except a bit through the pads of their feet. With air temperature in the 90s, panting isn't a quick or effective way of cooling an overheated body.
"You put on a thick, black jacket and go out and run around on an August day, and see how fast you get overheated and how slow you cool down," Weslow said.
Hunting dogs often face the most danger because their owners aren't aware of how quickly heat can impact a dog, particularly dogs that aren't acclimated to exercising in hot weather.
With dove and teal seasons just a few weeks away, many hunters are taking their dogs out for training for the first time in months or, if they have been conducting regular training, increasing the intensity.
That's a recipe for trouble, dog trainers say.
"A lot of dogs have been doing just what their owners have been doing — sitting on the couch all summer, eating Cheetos in the air conditioning," Thuman said. "The dogs are out of shape."
And the dog doesn't know it's getting into trouble.
Doggie do's and don'ts
Some tips to dog owners from veteran trainers Weslow and Thuman on what to watch for and how to avoid overheating their dogs:
Don't work a dog for more than 10 minutes at a time in hot weather, constantly and closely check their condition and give them plenty of cold water.
"Check the dog at least every 15 minutes. Call the dog to you and look at it close. Check its signs. Make it rest. Get in the shade. And hydrate the hell out of it - give it lots of cold water," Thuman said.
Letting a dog take a swim in Texas tank or farm pond is not a panacea for the heat.
Some dog owners, especially those owning retrievers, believe working their dog in a pond or letting it take a swim will keep the dog cool. It won't.
Currently, daytime surface temperature of ponds and canals and stock tanks in most of Texas is 90-98 degrees.
"Swimming is hard exercise," Thuman said. "And the water is so hot, it doesn't help cool the animal at all."
The signs of an overheated dog are easy to see.
An overheating dog loses coordination.
"Their back end will start wobbling, and they'll walk like someone who just drank a 12-pack," Thuman said.
Make sure to act fast if the dog is acting this way.
"They'll look like they're drunk," Weslow said. "If the dog starts weaving or acts dizzy, it's in trouble. You have to do something, quick."
When transporting dogs in trailers or in dog crates in the bed of a truck, make sure they can stay cool and hydrated.
Thuman drills holes in the top of plastic dog crates, then uses bungee cords to strap a bag of ice on the top of the crate. The melting water drips into the crate and onto the dog.
Keep an eye on the dog for at least an hour or two after a walk or an exercise session. Often, the effects of overheating don't manifest themselves until after the dog slows down.
"A dog can look and act just fine until it stops (physical activity)," Thuman said. "It hits them when they slow down and the adrenaline and excitement stop. You need to watch them until you're sure they aren't having any problems."
shannon.tompkins@chron.com

Good post. It's definitely a matter of minutes. Dove season is the worst as the best hunts are usually in the evening. As a dog owner, one trick I learned for my blk lab was to make him stay on a lead at heel for dove hunts. Pick a shady spot, dog sits down. On those hot days, no walking up doves and letting the dogs run around. They just won't govern themselves. Save the walk abouts for cooler days. As a vet, I've seen some dogs that look like they had recovered from heat stroke start destroying their platelets. Last one happened over a 12 hr period and required quite a few platelet transfusions ($$) at TAMU. It's so easy to kill your dog in this heat that you need to be extra careful. No hunt's worth the risk. Teal season can be tough as well both with heat and cottonmouths. Of course, most of us that hunt around gators don't even thing about hunting the dogs during early teal.  Take lots of water, keep them on a leash, stay in the shade and limit the retrieves. Contrary to old training lore, they don't have to retrieve every bird! 

Gauge, I know there is a rattlesnake vaccine that exists because I looked into it when I was considering taking my dog to my uncle's ranch to do some dove hunting.  through my own research, i found that it just wasn't worth the risk of even getting the vaccine.  I found that some dogs reacted normally to the vaccine while it almost killed other dogs.  I just figured the best thing to do was leave him at home and not risk the vaccine or the snake bite.