Do you know the signs of how to know it’s rest time? It doesn’t need to be a hot, sunny, and humid day for your dog to suffer heat exhaustion or dehydration.

We have put together easily recognisable signs when your best mate needs a rest during play and exercise.

Normal –

Tongue is a normal colour, and your dog is panting.

Panting is just your dogs’ way of cooling down and regulating their body temperature.

Continue to exercise at the same tempo; you guys are having fun! Come on, come on, throw the ball!!

Starting To Show Signs of Stress –

The tongue is elongated, wider at the bottom, and may curl up.

We call this shovel tongue. The tongue is straight out from the bottom teeth, they are panting and may be licking their chops.

This means your dog is starting to find it harder to regulate its heat. Slow down a bit with the exercise and /or find shade.

An obvious point, but always ensure room temperature water is available.

Slow down the tempo and have a break. When the tongue is sitting back to normal again; your dog is ready for action again!

Danger Zone –

The tongue is bright red and engorged with blood, the tongue is hanging out the side of the mouth.

This means that the tongue is so engorged with blood that they no longer have control of their temperature.

Time to stop whatever you are doing, back to rest mode. Your dog at this time could quite easily enter heat shock from this point onwards.

Furthermore…..

It is very important when exercising and playing with your dog to watch for all the stages and signs that your dog is showing.

Did you know that dogs regulate their heat through their tongue and by panting? How this is achieved is the blood is pumped into the tongue, and cold air is pulled across the top of the tongue from panting. This is then cooling the immediate blood under the surface of the tongue. Your dog is panting profusely at a fast rate to drop their temperature before heat exhaustion and dehydration occur.

It is not in a dog’s nature to slow down just because they are starting to overheat. For many dogs, not all, the thrill of the activity outweighs their self-preservation. They just want to play and will continue to do so until we say enough. Just think of a working dog, a working dog will work until it collapses with heat exhaustion. A working dog will stop when their handler rests them. Working and hunting dogs can exercise much longer than other breeds.

Of course, for brachycephalic (means short-headed) breeds such as the Pug, Bulldog, and Boston Terrier, for example, extra care must be taken.

It is up to us to watch for the signs and ensure that our best mate is happy!

A dog trainer once said to me; ” we are our dogs’ protector in all situations and at all times”. It’s something I’ve never forgotten.

I have always found this an easy way to read how Bear is coping when we are out and about or just playing.

I hope you found this informative and can relate this to your best mate!

Jules and Bear