Cara

I'm wondering whether any of you have experienced this with your hunting dogs. I have a 2 yr old Lab/Golden mix, that I use for search and rescue. She worked pretty hard during training today, and went for a swim afterwards in the lake, which was pretty cold. I noticed after a short while of putting her back up that she was shaking/shivering, so I walked her to try and warm her up, then put her inside the truck. About half an hour later she was still shaking despite having the heating on, and her coat being almost dry. I've never noticed her feeling the cold before, even in snow, as she has the thick long coat and seems to enjoy it. We got her out and fed her some high energy dog food, and10-15 minutes later she was back to normal. She acted the same as usual the whole time, other than the shaking.She'd eaten a good breakfast 3 hours before training, and hasn't done this before.She is trim, not underweight, but there isn't muchspare on her.

She'll be going to the vet on Monday, but i'm getting paranoid that it may not be as straightforward as needing more calories to burn. Have any of you had this happen with your dogs?

Phil from Maine

I am not sure what had happened here, but perhaps with his thick coat it took longer for the heat to get her. Just a guess that's all. I have had one of my Irish Setters go for a swim in early spring with ice on most of the water still. So you know it would be very cold for it. I continued on and kept it on the run after checking him out a little. Sure he shook for a little while but with all the running going on it wasn't long and the shivering stopped. This particular day we had just started a practice run when it had happened and I had to grab his collar to get up on shore again. Up here when the ice is going out there can be a lot of ice on the banks. Walking your dog might not have been enough exercise for his inside temp to warm up?

springerDIVA

Has she ever had any baseline bloodwork done? Hopefully all has checked out okay by now.
One of our girls had a hypoglycemia attack last year after a long road trip (with frequent stops and water and food at her normal times). She knew the guys were headed to pheasant country and was so wound up by the time she got there that she collapsed right as they got into the field.

I carry a tube of Nutrical in my vest pocket whenever we go afield regardless of the season.

Cara

Yes, they couldn't find anything wrong with her, and she hasn't done it since. She's only a young dog, she turns 2 on Saturday, and is extremely hyperactive. It works out great for being a search dog as she always gives her all, but she rarely switches off and rests. I think in future I will feed her puppy food on the days she will be working a lot, and I have put a little weight on her. I'll also carry some canine energy bars for her. I'm reluctant to feed her a large amount of anything during training, as we just lost another of our dogs to a twisted gut.

Doc E

Did they check her thyroid?


.

madvilledoc

Hypothyroid is a thought, but unlikely in a 2 year old dog.

I think the most likely answer is the obvious one. That she simply got a little hypothermic swimming in the cold water. Submergence in cold water for a period of time will drop the body core temperature.

Canned Heat

Had roughly the same issue with my pudelpointer a few weeks back when she got in some ponds while pheasant hunting. All the same symptoms you described. Asked the vet when I went in for her Heartguard and she said because she's so lean and that she's inside more than out, she has very little in fat reserves..and she's just not used to the colder weather yet.