can dogs overheat if they get wet during a walk?

i was telling the boss today how i managed to get Lola to paddle in a small river on our walk yesterday evening, it was still pretty warm and its a freshwater shallow slow river, so she can have a quick drink and a splash to cool off.

"you want to be careful doing that, if they get wet like that on a hot day they can overheat and it's really bad for them"

never heard of this before, any truth behind it?

Not heard it before, but I'm sure someone will be along soon who can offer help

They can I the water is then exposed to the sun. It heats up. They cool down with water but only if they then go Into the shade. Humans burn much more in the water than out.

personaly i would say heat transfer through the water would be greater than the soak taken in by the sun. yes if they were bald like humans it could be bad but guard hairs keep the sun away from the skin. both my two have a husky dad and they love a cool dip in the river and come alive afterwards. they have blown there undercoat like many dogs will have at this time of year and as long as there is a breeze they are fine. they also have a very complex heat transfer system running through the legs with cool and warm blood running next yo each other to regulate core temps in hot and cold, even the fat is different to the rest of the body to help with temp regulation.

Either way they can overheat

A greyhound I know died 2 days ago from heat stroke, went for a nice shaded walk lots of water but didn't make a difference still collapsed and died

I just don't walk in this heat, lexi can't cope with it and her wee paws would get sore.

I agree, some dogs cant cope in this hot weather, Pixee being one of them, ever when we walk in the woods, I always carry her drinking bottle. Best to not walk the dogs, or just keep them short and gentle with plenty of play in the house without overheating them.

Ella, that's horrible about the greyhound But yes they can overheat either way, best to keep them out of the heat as much as possible, they cant handle it as well as we can.

If your dog can't cope with the heat then it won't matter much if they're wet or not, they'll still overheat; it isn't the sun so much as the humidity & temperature. Mind you, if they're wet & there's a breeze it'll cool them.

If your dog can't cope with the heat then it won't matter much if they're wet or not, they'll still overheat; it isn't the sun so much as the humidity & temperature. Mind you, if they're wet & there's a breeze it'll cool them.

It's bad to put them in a bath of really cold water to cool them as the temperature difference can induce shock and kill them  

Chiara wrote:It's bad to put them in a bath of really cold water to cool them as the temperature difference can induce shock and kill them  

Yes, if you're going to use a bath to cool them down, there should only be a couple of inches in the bottom, and then just splash the water over their body.

In this weather it won't hurt for them not to get a walk everyday, keeping them cool is much more important especially if they don't cope well.

The boys have been for a walk today as it's cooler, but they haven't been out for the last 3 days, and they haven't missed it. All they have done is chill round the house and sleep

My back door is left open for Boss to go sunbathe then when it gets a bit hot he comes in and lies on the cold tiles in the kitchen also got him a small paddling pool from tesco for £1.50

Mine haven't been out so much or for so long and only earlier and later , no midday walks, Tommy copes much better than Tilly but still suffers none the less , better safe than sorry