Cairns and Heat

[Roux's Mom]

Wondering how your cairns fair the summer heat? It's quite hot here today and Roux has been fine until we took a quick trip outside to potty. We weren't out for more than a few minutes, but she has been very subdued ever since. Which is so not like her I am curious how cairns in general tolerate heat.

[hheldorfer]

Buffy seems to tolerate cold better than heat.  It has been in the 70's here for the past few days - which you wouldn't think would be too hot - and she has been panting like crazy on her afternoon walks and really dragging butt.  It's far more noticeable on a sunny day; the same temp on a cloudy day doesn't affect her.

[bradl]

Agreed that as hardy highland dogs they may indeed do best in cooler weather, although they seem to do medium-well (no pun intended) in heat.

 

Ours do reasonably well for our climate, which is pretty moderate but only occasionally gets up to 90, and rarely 100. Our summers are fabulous generally, around 80 in the peak summer.  Around the house they do seem to moderate themselves when it's hot and flop around, much like I do myself They will move themselves in and out of shade to keep themselves comfortable. They pant slightly more than I am comfortable with, yet they will still flop in full sunlight for a bit before moving to shade, so I assume they know what they are doing.

 

HOWEVER -- heat stroke is deadly serious and it's smart to be ever-vigilant to ensure they haven't slipped into losing the battle to moderate their own temperature by panting. I've seen it happen locally once with an elderly Cairn at a summer earthdog test. Quick action by the owner to cool the dog was effective and by the time they reached the vet the emergency was over, thank heavens.

 

As an aside, I do not believe in shaving double-coated breeds "for summer" -- I believe nature has provided the necessary thermal properties with the coat itself. By the hot weather most of the undercoat is blown anyway and the outer jacket protects them from the direct sun while serving as a "radiator" to dissipate heat. 

 

 

[Sam I Am]

In very hot weather would hose Jock down.He seemed to appreciate it after the fact. I am always worried about heat stroke as I know a poodle that almost did not make it and was in emerg for a few days . Jock would go and lay out in the sun and be panting away and I would make him move to the shade.

[hheldorfer]

Terrier lover's post reminded me of this:  We always carry a bottle of water on our walks.  If one of our dogs seems to be struggling, we wet them down.  Buffy will even roll over on her back to let us pour water on her belly and I have noticed that Ziggy, too, seems to cool down quickly when we wet his belly.  Strange but it works.

[Hillscreek]

In summer only take Angus for walks in early morning. He is very sensitive to heat -over 70F and I have to be careful.He will lay in sun for short while then he pants quite hard and usually moves to shade, or even indoors.

He hates water so no pool or hose for him poor guy.

Got a big inhereitance of highland genes I guess.

[_whits_]

My dad (a vet) has seen a lot of dogs with paws burnt right through because lots of owners seem to forget how hot concrete and pavement can get in the summer. I always walk Addie on the shady side of the street at the heart of summer. We traveled to Williamsburg during a particularly extreme heatwave and I put her snow booties on her feet to protect them, which was great when people were pointing out it was so hot their flip-flops were melting. 

 

Addie loves, loves, loves the sun (though doesn't seem particularly fond of heat) and I have to enforce inside time in the summer as she once overheated herself to the point of exhaustion. She will not come inside of her own choosing if it's sunny. That being said, if she's not in the direct sun she's spending most of her time with her head against the A/C vent. She much prefers colder weather. 

 

I also always always always carry water with me on walks and stop just a little more often than I think is necessary to make sure she's getting enough to drink. I'll also give her a little squirt of water over her body to cool her down; which strangely she likes for hating all other water contact (baths, rain, etc.). 

[Idaho Cairns]

Our Cairns seem to self regulate in the heat of summer--if they get too hot they will automatically start heavy panting, lay belly down in the grass in a shady spot, or seek out water to swim in.  Bearing in mind that our while our heat here can approach 100 degrees the lack of humidity makes that temperature more comfortable. 

I find my dogs will actually sun themselves for periods of time which makes me believe they enjoy the hotter temps.  We, of course, keep their coats long summer and winter, believing that the coats are critical to good temperature management for the dogs and we do not take them out during the heat of the day on scorching days--it either early morning walks or late afternoon walks with swims.

[Roux's Mom]

It gets blistering hot here in Nevada in summer, thank you for sharing your experiences. We do two or three miles through the park every morning. The sprinklers are on overnight and Roux loves running through the wet grass on a long Flexi. Guess we'll continue that routine.

[josie&holly]

Here in UK it does not get as hot as some parts of US but have found that Holly will lie in sun but again if she starts panting I move her her into shade.  I walk her when she is well early morning and evening and take water with me.

[Dempsy's Mom]

Cold please.  They like the house and the pool in the summer time.

[Pepper Bug's Mom]

Pepper has a pool set up on hot days.  We always take a water bottle to our little dog park in the summer and she will lay in the tall grass under the shady trees as well.  She prefers cool and dry - doesn't much like the rain (unless it is an Earthdog event).

[LindaMC]

Maisie likes the cold, she will stay outside a lot longer when it's cooler.  Summers get pretty hot here, especially the humidity.  Maisie will move to shade beneath the table on our deck, she loves that spot when it's hot outside.  I will only take my dogs for walks in the early morning or early evening during the heat of the summer months.

Edited May 30, 2014 by LindaMC

[Autumn & Lola]

Molly and my ex live in Alabama, where it gets extremely hot in the summer. When she was young, Molly would have stayed outside all day if we let her, which of course we didn't. We'd make a game of her cooling down by letting her play with an ice cube after she had a good, long drink. As she has gotten older (she's 6 now), the ex reports that she is more mindful of the heat, but will still run and play hard in the early morning and evening. During the afternoon, she prefers to be inside in the A/C, or sitting under a big tree with her water bowl.  Of course he brings lots of water with him when they go to the park, especially when it is hot.

[Lynn in TN]

I live in hot humid Tennessee. Our summers here are very hot to me or maybe It's my hot flashes I can't tell. haha

Summer days in TN are 90 to over 100. Both of my girls do well with the temps and take care of their selves. I watch them to make sure they don't over do it.

I have never seen a dog have heat stroke in our area but have read about a few dogs on chains that have.

Both of mine will have a fenced yard this year with lots of trees to provide shade. I am so excited about that. I don't take mine for walks on any type of concrete in the summer as I know it can burn their cute little Frito smelling paws. They do tend to lay around a bit more in hot weather, and love it when the temps drop. I do not shave my dogs in the summer.

[kjwarnold]

Packy tolerates both cold and heat very well. In the summer here in Missouri, it can get to 100* or higher with high humidity. Packy hangs out on the dock with us and purposely lays in the sun on the hot concrete. He stretches out and you can just hear his sigh of pleasure as he stretches out. When he gets hot enough, he does move to the shade, but I just can't imagine how he can stand laying there in the sun. Kirby, in the other hand, does not tolerate the heat as well and he stays more in the shade. We make sure he gets in the water to cool off if we're on the dock a long time and there is always a bucket of fresh water to drink. That being said, it's hard to keep them out of the water. They love to jump in and swim.

[CharlaysServant]

It seems that most Cairns like the cooler temps...as does Charlay.  Luckily, we live by the coast in the SF Bay Area and it rarely gets above 80. 

[Hillscreek]

Angus says cool off by shedding your underwear! He grew a really thick undercoat in the cold winter we had. In the last month it has almost all come out when I brush slicker and comb him. Now more air gets to him while his outer coat still protects him.

[_whits_]

I just gave Addie a bit of a summer grooming with the Mars Coat King and if I thought I had trouble keeping her off the hot porch, it's double the trouble now. For not liking heat, she will do anything to sit out in the sun even if she roasts. I keep smelling her to make sure she's not becoming BBQ Addie. 

[Moto-Rama]

Fergus,.who was born in the Northwestern USA, and lives blissfully in the San Francisco fog, kind of melts at any temperature over 65F or so.

I'm the same, so we're happy to be cool,/cold or damp all year round.

[Toto-lee Cairn]

Piedmont NC gets hot this time of year, too, and we have had weeks in the upper 80s to mid 90s.  My daughter and I were stunned one afternoon when we returned to our vehicle -- parked in deep shade that never left the spot -- to find the car registered 104.  Note:  in the shade.

Our boys go out early in the a.m., get a walk in if we're going to brave the humidity, and go home and collapse.  Rupert is actually too old now, and suffers with arthritis, so we don't walk him like we used to, and I worry about Toto's paws on the hot pavement.  It never really cools down much overnight -- upper 70s for a few hours doesn't just do much.

The dog who will bark at, and chase, the hose until he's soaked, runs full speed, if I suggest we get a bath (since he's already wet).  Go figure.

I find the dogs do much, themselves, to stay cool.  They like the tile floors, in the laundry room and baths, and will angle themselves in front of a/c vents,  I fill the water bowls in the house and on the porch throughout the day, and they love ice cubes.  Well, Rupert loves ice cubes.  Toto only wants one because Rupert has gotten one.  Toto's gets pushed around the floor, and when Rupert finishes his own, he'll eat Toto's if the stinker has left it.

I see neighbors here walking very heavy-coated dogs, like a Chow, or a Husky, and feel so sorry for the poor animals.

 

 

[Eliz222]

It's been really hot here too. The highs have been close to 100, with heat indexes I don't even want to think about! At night it's still in the upper 80's.

I've been walking Atticus in the morning, and even then, I stop halfway for a drink of water and a short rest in the shade. Atticus loves long walks, but the summer heat we only walk between 20 and 30 min. He hates the heat and I don't like it either!

On a side note, our upstairs AC went out a few days ago (while we were out of town). Now we have to get bids for the units. Thankfully the downstairs unit is still working! It's 93 degrees right now!

[Moto-Rama]

I hate to say this, but it got all the way up to 67F today, and we (Fergus and I) were both sweltering.

Tomorrow it's going to hit 71 here, 1/2 mile East of the Pacific Ocean.

I know that even my friends up on Whidbey or in Portland are really getting scalded, despite the PNW's normally cool climate.

"Luckily" Western San Francisco gets colder when the Sacramento Valley heats up, the heat acts as a flue, pulling the colder air off the ocean as the valley air rises. In fact last Summer was downright miserable, wet, cloudy and 45 F till September. Cairns just love it, damp,.cold, misty. Kind of like Scotland.

 

[Hillscreek]

6 hours ago, Moto-Rama said:

Cairns just love it, damp,.cold, misty. Kind of like Scotland.

So true. I'm originally from UK where it is often cool  and wet. Cairns (and their folks) are suffering like us. This year's heat up to 104 F is way above a normally "hot" 80 F. Up in the Scottish Highlands where Cairns originated "hot" would be several degrees below that. Only about 20 percent folks in UK have a/c.           

[BucksMum]

Buck has zero heat tolerance, he pants and breathes >100 breaths per minute. We have to avoid afternoon walks and put him in a cold bath a lot to cool down. He doesn’t benefit from those cool coats but seems better when his undercoat is stripped. Never too sure if he’s better with a haircut (double coat etc so probably shouldn’t be?).

He’s great in cold/ snow/ wind/ rain in the Scottish highlands but I guess that’s what they’re made for!