Do dobermans take a long time to cool off?

[StateOfMine]

The weather is warming up here, about 70's and occasionally low 80's at the hottest. I do most of our training/walking outside at about 12 to 2, sometimes 3. I make sure Flint has plenty of water and give him breaks in the shade.

When we come back in he lays down on his side and he pants for a good 30 to 40 minutes after. I know he's a black dog but that still seems a long time to me when I give him opportunities to cool down while we are out. I don't remember my black lab in the Florida summer heat taking this long.

He whines too, but that goes away when I give him something to chew on. Is he okay? I thought he would be less cold tolerant but he handled the winter very well. It seems like spring/summer is going to be harder for him.

 

[JanS]

They have to acclimate to the warmer temps just like us. I would say 30 - 40 minutes can be average if they got pretty warm.

 

[MichiH]

The weather is warming up here, about 70's and occasionally low 80's at the hottest. I do most of our training/walking outside at about 12 to 2, sometimes 3. I make sure Flint has plenty of water and give him breaks in the shade.

When we come back in he lays down on his side and he pants for a good 30 to 40 minutes after. I know he's a black dog but that still seems a long time to me when I give him opportunities to cool down while we are out. I don't remember my black lab in the Florida summer heat taking this long.

He whines too, but that goes away when I give him something to chew on. Is he okay? I thought he would be less cold tolerant but he handled the winter very well. It seems like spring/summer is going to be harder for him.

I was wondering the same thing about Pepper. I don’t recall my Dobermans doing this when I was a kid.

It’s been up to 80 here not consistently, it’s spring so the weather is all over the place.

She’s started to lay down when it’s warmer out mid walk, we haven’t even gone far! I’m like is she broken?! What is going on. We walk and train outside 10-11:30 am.

Should I be on alert about her laying down and panting a lot?

Same with winter @StateOfMine no issues - she loved it and I was shocked. Now the heat she’ll lay in the sun forever loves it, but our walks with her panting and laying down- now what I wasn’t expecting.

 

[Kaiser2016]

This is common for Kaiser. He just melts in the sun and I enjoy every second of it He even gives off low energy vibes. He is way less demanding when it’s warmer. It’s such a wonderful change of pace that I don’t permit my hb to use the AC unless it’s going to be unbearably hot. But that also means he’s a crazy maniac in winter

 

[Ddski5]

Freyja, my red handles the heat/sun 10x better than Ragnar, black male, did.

Down here in South Louisiana, it did not take long for the heat to sap Ragnar’s energy. It was common to see him in the shade and Freyja basking in the sun. I would even venture to say that he disliked the sun/heat. Touching either one of them in the sun and you could feel a major difference. Rags black coat was always very hot to touch.

In saying that, if you wanted to train…he would go all out regardless. I really had to monitor his exercise in the sun because he would go go go. Rag would come inside, lay on the cool floor and pant for a good hour- it did concern me as I watched him close. Be careful as not to allow them to overly gulp up too much water at one time for this is not good and can cause bloat or asphyxiation.

Anytime we would go to the soccer fields, I always had 2-3 of those soaker towelettes at the ready to put around his neck. I would have them immersed in a cool ice chest to keep them nice and cool. ALWAYS having cool water too. If they get extremely hot, it’s not recommended to give cold cold water or put an ice rag/towel on them. This will cause the internal tem to flux too quickly. Better to use cool water to slowly cool them off. Also, the ice rag around their neck will cause arteries to constrict too fast decreasing blood supply. Again, better with something cool to cool the blood flowing through their body.

Soaker vests were not recommended because of our high heat/humidity, they say it would only make things worse with Rags body temp.

@Jan is absolutely correct with acclimation to high temps, it takes them some time to become accustomed to the rising temperatures. Dobermans are susceptible to heat stroke so always keep that in mind.

Side note:
Seizures in animals cause their body temperature to rise to dangerous levels. If having a seizure, calmly sit down and caress them letting them know you are there for them. Get a cool towel and place on them to help keep their temp down. Really nothing one can do during a seizure except for support them and keep them from hurting themselves. I had a lab that had seizures once in a blue moon and he always knew I was there for him…when he came out of it, he always acted very gracious and thankful. Ole Alex lived to 13 If I remember right.

 

[jazzies mum]

Jazz lives in a very hot climate and our winters are short and mild but it does get down to freezing at night at times. She hates being too cold but handles the heat well. It makes a huge difference if the humidity is high though. Both she and I melt even at relatively low temps if the humidity reaches 40% or above!

 

[Ravenbird]

Asha loves the sun in the winter - she can lay out in the yard on a sunny day while it's 25° for 20 minutes, happy as a clam. Then she does the same thing at 70°, still wanting to lay out in the sun. Working, training, hiking is a whole new ballgame. Shade-seeker, panting, doesn't take much to make her "look like" she's too hot, but she always does fine. So I don't know if I'm imagining heat intolerance or if she's just a black dog absorbing heat. Like @Ddski5 said, if the game is on they just do what's to be done. Otherwise take to the shade. If I have to work in the heat I take plenty of water, cool-coat, cooling neck bandana, put feet in water (one of the fastest way to cool a hot dog!). Also, in Idaho I imagine you are at altitude. This makes a big difference. I'm at 6400', 75° here is hot and dry in full sun. On the other side of the coin is @MichiH & @Ddski5 with heat and humidity - yes, miserable hot, shade doesn't make much difference if it's 85% humidity! My dog has never laid down on a hike or a walk unless I stop or sit down, so I don't know if that's normal for normal dogs. I still don't think Asha is "normal" so there's that.

 

[JanS]

with heat and humidity - yes, miserable hot, shade doesn't make much difference if it's 85% humidity!

That's the issue here too in the summer since the humidity is usually over 90%.

 

[MichiH]

Asha loves the sun in the winter - she can lay out in the yard on a sunny day while it's 25° for 20 minutes, happy as a clam. Then she does the same thing at 70°, still wanting to lay out in the sun. Working, training, hiking is a whole new ballgame. Shade-seeker, panting, doesn't take much to make her "look like" she's too hot, but she always does fine. So I don't know if I'm imagining heat intolerance or if she's just a black dog absorbing heat. Like @Ddski5 said, if the game is on they just do what's to be done. Otherwise take to the shade. If I have to work in the heat I take plenty of water, cool-coat, cooling neck bandana, put feet in water (one of the fastest way to cool a hot dog!). Also, in Idaho I imagine you are at altitude. This makes a big difference. I'm at 6400', 75° here is hot and dry in full sun. On the other side of the coin is @MichiH & @Ddski5 with heat and humidity - yes, miserable hot, shade doesn't make much difference if it's 85% humidity! My dog has never laid down on a hike or a walk unless I stop or sit down, so I don't know if that's normal for normal dogs. I still don't think Asha is "normal" so there's that.

Haha I don’t know why she does it! She just plops and relaxes like why? We are walking girlfriend.
She gets up from her nap and then we go out for our walk. So no reason for her to plop although she never did it in the cold months. She is an upstate NY girl lol.

 

[Ravenbird]

She is an upstate NY girl lol.

If she isn't stressed, no worries.

 

[Ravenbird]

in the summer since the humidity is usually over 90%.

I didn't know it was that humid so far north! Yikes.

 

[Rits]

They take time to acclimate to the warmer weather. I would cut his exercise when its warm down a little and slowly increase it over time as it gets warmer. People in my IGP club take advantage of the cold months and push their dogs further to build more stamina because they know it'll be harder when its warmer.

 

[Ravenbird]

If she isn't stressed, no worries.

Maybe I should add on to this... Do make sure she isn't stressed! Are you still walking when she plops down or is it only when you stop? Is she panting or breathing hard? Heat stroke is a real thing and we shouldn't ignore signs of heat stress.

When we come back in he lays down on his side and he pants for a good 30 to 40 minutes after.

That is a long time to stay hot. Are you just walking on leash? Hiking the mountains? Playing ball with lots of running? If you have hard physical exercise routine for him, I'd try to move it to early morning or later in the afternoon when it cools down. If your work schedule only allows the mid day exercise you might ease off the stuff that gets him so hot.

 

[MichiH]

Maybe I should add on to this... Do make sure she isn't stressed! Are you still walking when she plops down or is it only when you stop? Is she panting or breathing hard? Heat stroke is a real thing and we shouldn't ignore signs of heat stress.

That is a long time to stay hot. Are you just walking on leash? Hiking the mountains? Playing ball with lots of running? If you have hard physical exercise routine for him, I'd try to move it to early morning or later in the afternoon when it cools down. If your work schedule only allows the mid day exercise you might ease off the stuff that gets him so hot.

We have stopped and she then sits to down. Our walks aren’t stressful either. I let her sniff and do her thing for 20-30 mins and then we switch to prong to walk. Still we stop a lot and train too.

I bet if I didn’t let her do her thing for 20-30 before our walk she’d be fine. Which we will start soon bc she can’t do her long line anymore. The long line isn’t safe now that she’s bigger. She’ll be on her prong right away.

Panting is a new thing for her she does it often. That’s normal though?

 

[Gelcoater]

Rocky is/was way more heat tolerant than either female we have had.
The red girl was fairly tolerant but on walks on hot days she would duck into any shade along the way and would plop down if we stopped.

Years later when we got Millie the blue my wife pointed out several times it took her much longer to recover (stop panting) vs Rocky.
And she is less than half his age.
A session like this out back
for 20 minutes and he would be barely panting, She was on the cool tile panting for 20 minutes.

First trip to the desert she was seeking all shade, and to a large degree kept her from off leash wandering from camp, It was just too hot.

Neither of them like cold weather. Rocky definitely likes warm weather.
He sulks all winter and stays in front of the heater.
Millie doesn’t care for it but has more energy.

 

[Gelcoater]

He whines too, but that goes away when I give him something to chew on. Is he okay?

Just get used to that. Seems to be a male thing

 

[Kswoodssue]

Sasha loves a cool day with time spent laying on the heat vent. That said, she cuts off playtime in the heat and lays flat out too. It always gives me an undercurrent of concern, as DCM is always a fear. In the long run, listen to your dog and know your dog.

 

[Madzy420]

My 10 month old girl does this too. When we play fetch, she'll catch it 4-5 times and then need to lie down in the shade. I thought, being a short hair dog, they would love the heat, but apparently not! She likes her breaks and that's fine...I do too. lol

 

[Two Dobes]

That describes it best @Kswoodssue - undercurrent of concern. Typically, all of my black & tans go for the shade after playing a bit, even when it's only 70 degrees out if the sun is shining. My reds would bask in the sun. Glory follows the sun in the windows in the house, but outside looks for shade.

 

[Ravenbird]

Panting is a new thing for her she does it often. That’s normal though?

If it's hot they have to pant, so yes, totally normal. Once you come inside and it's pretty cool and they have their water, the panting should subside pretty quickly.