Heat is poison for dogs! Pay attention to your loved ones while running

Since my dog ​​Dante had to go forever a few years ago, I may have become a little more sensitive about keeping an eye on my dogs. to read your signs. Dante was only six years old and died – so the vet suspected – of a heart attack. It was summer then and Dante didn’t like high temperatures per se. That’s why I didn’t take him with me on my morning run, even when it was more than 20 degrees and the sun was shining.

It was quite chilly the day Dante died. Our run that day was short, everything was normal until noon. In the evening Dante could hardly breathe. Something must have caused this heart attack. To this day I don’t know how it came about. That loss hurts to this day.

Look carefully. Engage with the dog.

My dogs Pelle and Bilbo are passionate runners. As with Spagna and Bella, however, it depends on the shape of the day. Not every day is a running day. Anyone who knows their dog will eventually feel whether it is better to walk with or without the furry nose. It took me some time to understand what my dogs needs are. And they really are all different.

Bilbo is clearly Team Short Haul. Pelle and Bella like ten kilometers and like fast and wild. Spagna – when she was younger – loved long, slow runs. It could also be 18 to 20 kilometers from time to time. Bella and Spagna are quite difficult to read. You just walk. Regardless of the weather. The main thing is that they can be there. I have to look very closely at both of them in order to react in good time before it gets too much for both of them. Often meant stopping the run as well. to engage with her. Especially now, when the temperatures are rising, a close look can become vital!

Shadow is the dog’s red alert button

Plenty of sun, some wind, temperatures around 20-22 degrees, perfect running weather for me. Then I could walk all day. As a rule, however, I start early in the morning and combine the run with the dog walk. Especially in the morning the temperatures are lower, and so one might get the idea that it is not a problem to take the dog for a run. I thought so too for a long time. Until the day when Bilbo lay down in the shade of a tree after only two miles. It was 17 degrees, a strong wind, but also pure sunshine.

My running route deliberately does not lead constantly through the blazing sun. Again and again there are trees, plenty of shade. But of course you can’t avoid one or the other ray of sunshine in summer. I was surprised that Bilbo was suddenly absent. As a rule, he always runs near me. He was lying under the tree in the grass, panting no more than usual, but it was very clear: Bilbo had had enough. I always have some water with me for the dogs, so he got a good gulp, which he gratefully accepted.

I stopped the run, postponed a few appointments and walked the dogs four miles home. It happens to me with Bilbo from time to time, and I’ve adjusted to it now. But: It is absolutely dependent on his daily form. Sometimes he likes to run a long way with us at similar temperatures. But why should it be different for dogs than for us humans?

It is clear that dogs do not stay in the car in summer

Pelle also shows this behavior again and again at a young age. He’s the type: “I’ll run the route several times.” Because he runs back and forth, across the fields, back again, across the meadows, back again, and he has to follow the pack again. Every now and then he overestimates himself And then only the shadow can help him.

And then, of course, the slow walk back. Every dog ​​owner knows that high temperatures can be real poison for dogs. In the meantime, we have “learned” that our darlings are of course not left in the car in summer, not even for a few minutes, not even when the window is open. Unfortunately, it still happens every year that dogs die miserably in vehicles. Because the owner “just wanted to go to the supermarket for five minutes”.

Every year you can read these and similar stories in the media. However, it is just as important that we take good care of our dogs when doing sports in the summer. So that we can walk with them for a long time and have fun together.

It pays to be careful!

That’s how it works!

Read all of Mike Kleiß’s columns here.