# Overexertion in the heat?



## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

How can you tell if your dog is getting overexerted in this heat? Do you limit activity? Saber loves to run, but after 10 minutes of running around in 85-90 degree weather she is exhausted. How much is too much? She pants a lot afterwords and lays around a bit but seems fine... not sure if I should just keep her from running in the heat??


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

I let my dogs self limit, but don't toss the ball excessively when the temps and humidity is high. But they aren't young pups that don't know any better!
I would try to limit her if it is in the higher 80+'s. And don't let her drink extreme amounts after playtime, a nice quenching is fine, but don't let her load up on water after exercise.


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## Mom2Shaman (Jun 17, 2011)

We play ball in the house. Little harsh on the wood floor, but I would rather that then have the dog get heat exhaustion. I don't want to be out there either, for that matter. We also go out after sunset for some play in the dark when it is cooler and there isn't the added sun-effect.


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## doggiedad (Dec 2, 2007)

once your dog tells you she's had enough, stop.
make sure you have water on hand (for both of you).


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

When they start running over to lay down in the shade... i always take that as a sign.

I'll also notice their mouths or saliva gets a little more foamy.... that's another sign for me.


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## Dinahmyte (Sep 26, 2004)

We just had this conversation with my training group! You can overwork them but I think if you are seeing her stop when she is tired, then keep it at that. Jenga is nice because she still has energy when the others are passed out in the pool (I guess you could call that nice.... lol) She doesn't push herself too hard. Keep short sessions when it is too hot, or to something easy like going for a walk (instead of chasing ball or running), swimming is great too and will help keep her cool!


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## FG167 (Sep 22, 2010)

My dogs wouldn't quit on their own, I always had to limit. I just kept an eye on their panting and their saliva honestly. It gets all foamy and if their tongue is hanging out really far and is really wide at the bottom, then we definitely take a break. I try to stop before that point if I can. A couple of days last summer, Madix was really feeling cooped up because of the heat - I took him out for 10 min of frisbee probably 8 times before he started feeling relaxed. It took that long because we had to keep taking breaks with the heat and humidity so bad.


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## cassadee7 (Nov 26, 2009)

Thanks. I am mainly looking for signs so I can read her a bit better as to when she has had enough. The other day I thought she may have pushed herself too hard (just running, chasing, playing with other dogs and then finally just sort of flopped in the shade and didn't want to get up, but didn't look in distress... just hot and tired).


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## neiltus (Mar 10, 2011)

Man, I am glad your dogs dont live in texas. We just had 8 days of 100+


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## jdh520 (Jun 4, 2011)

Same here in Mississippi! Upper 80s is cool!


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## Tbarrios333 (May 31, 2009)

Ugh heat... the bane of my existence.
My girl is a fetch fanatic. When she starts slowing down I know it's time to stop. Her tongue sticks really far out and I can actually see a vein in her nose pop out a little when she is hot. 
Naturally, she's ready to go back out again a little while later . We always have to do short games when it's hot out. 
I always take advantage of the pre storm weather. It gets cool, windy, and there is considerable cloud cover.


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## Cassidy's Mom (Mar 30, 2003)

I'm really careful in the heat - better safe than sorry. It was 95 degrees at our (outdoors) flyball class last weekend, and could be just as hot this weekend. The trainer had each dog get 2 or 3 runs in and then take a break so they could cool down in the shade. They had a kiddie pool set up too, and when we first got there it took me a few minutes to coax Halo into it because she's never seen a pool before. The second time, after she'd run around a bit, she stepped right in. I told her "down" and she laid down in the water. After that, she was dragging me over the to pool and flopping down on her own. I seriously thought about joining her in there, lol!


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## arycrest (Feb 28, 2006)

I allow the Hooligans to play outside without any intervention from me ... they're free to do as little or as much as they want. 

*:sunburn: However*, in hot weather I only let them stay out until about 10AM, then for an hour or so around noon and again at 3. A quickie around 5, then unlimited time after 7, and maybe an hour or two sometime after midnight. When I play with them it's immediately after putting them out in the morning or evening. If all we do is walk around the yard then I do that anytime.


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