Staff acting REALLY strange in warmer weather

I'm sure this may seem like a strange question, but hopefully some of you fellow Staff owners may recognise this behaviour...

When the weather is (very slightly) warmer, our Staff completely FREAKS out! The thing is though, it doesn't so much seem to be the temperature that's affecting him, it seems that it's the thought of the heat when the sun is shining through the window.
At around 3 o'clock every day during nice weather (which it seems is the time when the sun is directly above our house, casting more sunlight into the room), he starts trembling, excessively panting, becomes unbelievably clingy (actually trying to wrap himself around our legs or cuddle behind us while we're sitting down), and generally extremely distressed.
To keep the house cool for him, we open all of the doors and windows, put out plenty of water (which he never seems to drink when he's acting so strangely) and use a damp cloth to cool him down.
As a result, the house is actually cooler than it is during the winter but he still is frantically panting.

He seems to want to hide behind something or someone constantly, by standing behind our legs or trying to squeeze into small spaces. Earlier today he climbed into the space under the kitchen counter and got himself stuck briefly.

I do live in the U.K (although my description of his reaction to heat would suggest that I live nearer to the Equator) so I'm baffled as to how to comfort or calm my dog during moderately sunny weather.
He seems to calm down at around 6 o'clock (or when the sun has passed from direct view in the window).

If anyone recognises this or has seen their Staff displaying similar behaviour or has any advice, I would be extremely grateful, as it's horrible to see him so distraught.

Rather than the heat, it sounds to me like he's reacting to something visual, so either the sun itself or shadows or reflections in the windows or something. Have you tried drawing any curtains to see if that makes a difference? I've got a couple of ideas as to what you could try but we need to pinpoint what it is he's reacting to first.

If drawing the curtains doesn't help, get down to his level and look at the world through his eyes. You might be able to see something that might be upsetting him.

Great advice from Liz, I wold say its the reaction to probably shadows also, Vin is affected by hotter weather but just by being lazy and doesnt know where to get.

That is strange. Have you had Gus from a puppy or is he a rescue ?.. I ask as there may have been something in his past that makes him worried by the sun like being stuck in direct sunlight.

If you've had him from a pup then the explanation Liz offers is more likely but it is odd as most Staffies are like solar panels and love the sun

great advicee from liz haven't experienced this myself is there perhaps a mirror in the house and the sun is directly shining in his eyes ?

I would advise the same as Liz as well

Hi all,

Thank you all for taking the time time to comment, I agree that is great advice from Liz, thank you so much.

We have had him from when he was a pup so the development of this behaviour over the past couple of years does seem strange.

It does seem likely that it is more to do with the visual aspect of seeing the sun shining in through the windows. We had considered this possibility, and so today have put up a large white canvas in front of the window, so that we are still getting light in the room but not casting direct sunlight onto the surfaces.

Gus (our Staffy) seems fine at the moment but he usually starts acting distressed at around 3 o'clock when the sun is directly above the the house and shining in through the windows.

Hopefully this works, and I'll keep you posted. If it does work, we'll fit a set of blinds to the window as a more permanent solution :-)

Thank you for all of your comments and advice, I really appreciate it :-)

My boy reacts the same to the sun and often won't go out of the house
when he spots it.  My last two were the same, they would look up in
the sky before going outside in the summer months

I have always put it down to the fact that we live in an area where
we get a lot of Hot Air Balloons (in the Somerset countryside) from
the Bristol Balloon Fiesta.  A lot of dogs hate the Balloons, some just
bark and bark at them, all mine have been really freaked by them.

Closing the curtains should give you a good indication if its a visual
thing thats disturbing Gus.

Will be very interested to find out what you discover.

Lizzie wrote:My boy reacts the same to the sun and often won't go out of the house
when he spots it.

You need to move to the Lake District, he'd be happy here