hes a question for you all

can white dogs cope with the hotter weather better then darker coloured dogs...

my sam is just about black and he never stay in the sun to long he will come out for 10 or 20 mins then he will go back in the house for a hour or abit longer before he comes out again...


now if we have a owner of a black and a white dogs that would be good

They suffer worse as they are prone to sun burn Xx

Mine is blue brindle......shes obsessed with the sun she would sit ALL day if she could. We keep taking her in for rests but she really protests

it like us wearing lightr and darker clothes maybe they stay out longer becasue they can handle the sun a bit better?

tessa is black brindle and white (mainly black) and in cooler weather i will walk her 3 or 4 times a day for over an hour a time but only because i work from
home. but when the weather is like this it's down to 2 1hour walks at 6am and 10 pm.
she really does suffer in the heat but just doesn't help herself by lying out in the sun all day.

Too much sun is'nt good for any colour  

Daisy likes laying in the sun but will take herself off to the shade if she gets too hot. She only seems to struggle on very hot days which we don't get very often!

Katy will lay in the sun for quite a while then take herself off to the shade to cool off, but I keep a close eye on her so she doesn't burn   

the only way to stop her lying in the sun is to shut her in but i do take my laptop outside to keep an eye on her but then she thinks it's play time or let's see if this patio furniture will hold an human adult and a 4 stone staffie time

i know to much sun is bad for all dogs and us also im wondering if white dog can cope better then black dogs.... i think i will be getting a white and red pied dog in the future if i decided to get another dog.


xena is a sun workshiper but she a lot ligher then sam who will lay in the sun but not to long

They suffer in the sun... mine hate the heat just as much as the next but I do think it is less than a dark colored one. I put sunscreen on mine for long days in the sun and they do ok, but only if it isn't really hot outside. If just sunlight, with sunscreen, I think it is slightly better for lighter coats than dark coats just like when we wear black t-shirts versus white.

I think they can - with our Dogo's (which are all white), we never had a problem taking them out in the sun and they didn't feel the heat as much compared to Marquez who is dark and really feels the heat if we go out in the sun.

Can't say that we've ever had a problem with sunburn but I think the rule is that if any dog is exposed to long periods of sun exposure, protection is a must regardless of colour just like it would apply to people.

I think it works the same as white washed houses, the white coat will not absorb as much heat as a brindle or black, however, I would be concerned with the pink bits with a white dog.

My Flo is a sun bather but when she gets too hot she'll be right on in cooling off on the kitchen tiles.

You do need to watch them though.

There was an 'off the leash' cartoon the other day that summed Ledger off to a tee....

Mmm the suns nice..ooh it's a bit warm I'll move...ah cool tiles...er it's a tad chilly where's that spot in the sun?

Having a bald belly he gets sunblocked up if we are home and I have the door open to allow him to laze think the short hair actually works against them more than particular colour he is definitely heat affected more than my parents old black shaggy dog and their gsd/lab cross ever were

jshrew wrote:There was an 'off the leash' cartoon the other day that summed Ledger off to a tee....

Mmm the suns nice..ooh it's a bit warm I'll move...ah cool tiles...er it's a tad chilly where's that spot in the sun?

Having a bald belly he gets sunblocked up if we are home and I have the door open to allow him to laze think the short hair actually works against them more than particular colour he is definitely heat affected more than my parents old black shaggy dog and their gsd/lab cross ever were

I saw that and posted this photo which is Marquez's answer on how to deal with that sun/shade dilemma   

Typical Staff Diane... I'll keep half cool   

brilliant I'm still to do Ledgers version

Koda is blue in the body but has a pure white head/chest/paws, in Summer our average temperature is 40C+, he lays out there for ages and burns easily so I have to keep pulling him inside/away. Not sure.

Roxy being brindle/white with shorter fur than Vin can definitely handle being in the sun a lot longer than Vin who is black/white and will over heat quickly. We go through quite a bit of sun block, especially now as the winter sun is really harsh! But just like the others they take themselves off to the shade when it gets too much and at the height of summer they hardly go outside during the day.

Its great fun chasing a white dog to slap sunblock on the pink bits.

No she does not cope well with the heat so I change the time I do walk her, take a big bottle of water and plan a route through shaded cover. I know its hot as thats the ONLY time Pink is willing to let herself get wet. If its very hot I let her play in the hose pipe shower spray and she then chooses to collapse on the quarry tiled floor.

My sister has a bindle staff who also finds the heat and sun a problem. I think the struggle to cope with heat/hot sun may be down to being a staffy rather than a particular colour of staffy.

Snoop was dark brindle and never had a problem Lula red and loves being out in the nice weather. I just make sure she has lots of ice cold water and give her ice cubes. I don`t walk her in the heat of the day and that helps. The cat who ginger has to have suncream on his ears

Domino is white all over and doesn't like the sun. He burns easily and overheats really fast so doesn't really sit out in it. The only difference we noticce between him and Bane when they have both been out in it is that Bane's coat is so much hotter to touch.

its physics, and not such an easy question to answer. to put it in an easy to understand way. white reflects heat black absorbs as im sure you know. now dogs that have double coats will nearly always have white undercoat to reflect the heat back to the body to keep it warm.
now for the flip, single coated white dogs will reflect body heat back while black dogs will radiate it out. so on a still hot day with no wind white is best but when there is something like a breeze black is better as it will radiate it out and be carried away. the thermal properties of the mamalian body will always generate more heat than its surroundings so getting rid with an absorbing coat transfering bodyheat away is the best way to stay cool. that said it depends on the dog and its heat tolorance. both mine are lightish but cant take the heat at all. they will also form an air pocket under the guard hairs whatever the colour for protection against direct sunlight.

in its simplist forms think white = tinfoil while black = heat sink you can see how current weather conditions factor into it so no single answer im afraid

Rupes is black brindle and got sun stroke last year when I walked him in the morning on one sunny day (in the uk).

It was so frightening. He was bounding around and suddenly he just stopped, slumped down and there was no life in his eyes. I was near a farm luckily and got a bucket of water which I poured on him, then stuck him in the back of the car and drove to the nearest dual carriageway with the windows open to cool him off at speed.

Anyway, he does overheat and doesn't realise he's doing it so now I am very careful - but don't have a pale coloured dog to compare him to.

my golden retreiver that has alot of fur hes a light cream colour he doesnt suffer in the heat at all, he is cool to touch even in 26 degrees heat whereas millie is dying!! lol, but i do think its individual to each dog