Labs and heat a deadly mix

[johnch]

I am sure most of you know ,but for the rest and a reminder .Labs and some other breeds will literly work or play them selves to death to please us. A friend called his lab died from heat stress after playing with the kids for 30 -45 min in 85 deg. temp. tha lab was not overweight or have a medical problem that they knew of . He was on the way home , how will he tell the kids 7 ,8 and 10 that Thore will not be coming home or why. Work your dogs smart in the heat !!!!!!

[huntnma]

thanks for the reminder.....thougths and prayers go out to your friend and his family.....

[Doc E]

Excellent reminder for all of us.

[deerhuntress56]

There was an article in the Charlotte Observer about that this morning. I was gonna post it, but ya beat me to it...

My neighbor had a 3 year old black lab that died last year in 90 degree heat after he walked him on a leash to the newspaper box (about 1/2 mile)[:@]

If anyone wants a comparison, put on a fur coat and go sit in the yard for a few minutes...If that doesn't work, get out in the sun and run around a bit[&:]

[t roy]

any of the vets online have any suggestions to keep this from happening. i normally exercise my lab in the early mornings during the warmer months, but reading about labs dying in 90 degree heat makes me worry about keeping him outdoors when temps are extremely high. its not unusual to have heat indexes at or above 105 here in central illinois, humidity is terrible.

[johnch]

Thanks for the good thoughts just droped a 9 week old black lab pup ,the kids smiled again. It will be loved

[WAYNE1]

Glad to hear they have a new member of the family.....I had to pick up everything my lab would retrieve....he just don't know when to quit...even the tennis ball's that he enjoy's throwing himself to retrieve..

[oldgrunt]

...and be careful when traveling with them. We took or lab on the family vacation this summer and, on the way there, got caught in some traffic. It was a 90 degree day and she was in her kennel in the pick-up bed (which is black and has a black cap). I stopped at the first rest area after clearing the traffic and she was already heat distressed. We cooled her down and everything turned out OK...but I was educated to the reality of how little it really takes a get a lab sick (from heat).

[drgildy]

It isn't just labs that suffer in the heat. A little common sense goes a long ways. Don't work them in the heat especially if the humidity is up in the 60's or over. Mine have shade and never get worked if it is very hot. I may take them to a river or lake and just let them go in and swim if they want to. Sometimes they just want to lay in it for a while. As for the one lab that could not take a half mile walk in 90 degree heat I would guess there was more to the story than just a normal walk. I would have no qualms about taking mine for a slow walk in any heat. Many times when it gets to 100 we walk to the creek which is about a half mile and let them jump in to cool off.

[cnhntr]

use common sence