Getting an old dog through the summer

A stiff dog in January is uncomfortable. A hot dog in July can be in trouble within minutes, and an old one has less margin than any other dog in the house.

The reason is mechanical. VCA notes that dogs cannot control their body temperature by sweating the way people do — they have relatively few sweat glands, located in their footpads — and that panting is their primary way of regulating body temperature. Panting is an active process requiring effort and airflow, and a senior dog, a heavy dog, or a flat-faced breed does it less efficiently.

The numbers, from a veterinary source

VCA gives figures worth knowing rather than guessing at. A body temperature above 103°F (39.4°C) is considered abnormal or hyperthermic. Temperatures above 106°F without previous signs of illness are most commonly associated with excessive environmental heat and are referred to as heat stroke. The critical range where multiple organ failure and impending death occur is around 107°F to 109°F.

The gap between "too warm" and "critical" is a few degrees. That is the entire reason this page is more urgent in tone than our winter one.

Cooling a dog correctly, if it happens

There is a specific piece of first aid here that most owners get wrong, so it is worth knowing before you need it. VCA advises that safe, controlled reduction of body temperature is the priority: cool water — not cold — poured over the head, stomach, armpits and feet. And a crucial detail: do not cover the dog with wet cloths, because that prevents evaporative or radiative cooling. You can mist cool water over the dog and place them in the path of a fan.

Then go to the vet regardless of how much better the dog seems. Heat stroke does internal damage that is not visible from the outside.

What actually causes it

VCA identifies the most common cause as leaving a dog in a car with inadequate ventilation, where body temperature can rise very rapidly, often within minutes. Other common causes listed are being left in a yard without shade or water, exposure to a hair dryer for an extended time, and excessive or vigorous exercise in hot temperatures.

Two of those are worth flagging for senior-dog owners specifically. The hair dryer one matters if your dog is groomed at home — see our grooming guide. And VCA notes that excited or over-exercised dogs are sometimes at risk even when the environmental temperature and humidity do not seem high, particularly in a poorly ventilated space.

Changing the day

• Move the walks. Early morning and late evening, and accept that the midday walk simply does not happen in a heatwave. A missed walk costs an old dog nothing.
• Test the ground with your hand. Pavement and decking hold heat long after the air has cooled. Press the back of your hand to the surface for several seconds — if you would not kneel on it, do not walk your dog on it.
• Shorten rather than skip. A stiff dog still needs gentle movement, and our page on keeping an arthritic dog moving covers why. Three short outings beat one long one in summer.
• Water in more than one place. A dog that has to walk the length of the house for water drinks less. This is the same logic as having more than one bed.
• Airflow beats air conditioning you do not have. A fan at floor level where the dog lies is worth more than a cooler room they are not in.

The bedding problem nobody expects

Here is the summer tension specific to this site: the deep supportive foam that helps an arthritic dog also traps heat. A dog can genuinely need the support and be too hot on the bed that provides it — which is why old dogs abandon good beds for kitchen tile in July.

Owners often read that as the bed having failed. Before replacing anything, try a cooling mat on top of the supportive bed: you keep the core that holds the hip off the floor and lose the heat retention at the surface. Our cooling bed page covers the products, and heat or cold for a stiff dog covers how to tell which problem you have.

One caution: a cold hard surface tends to stiffen an arthritic joint, so the aim is a cooler supportive surface rather than sending the dog to the tiles. Cold floor plus arthritis is a bad trade.

Cars, and the one rule

Do not leave your dog in the car, at all, in warm weather — not with the windows cracked, not for five minutes, not in the shade. It is the most common cause of canine heat stroke and the temperature rise happens within minutes.

If summer travel is unavoidable, our guide to car journeys with an old dog covers the setup: load with a ramp rather than lifting, keep the space ventilated, and break the journey more often than you would in spring.

Dogs that need extra care in heat

• Flat-faced breeds. VCA notes dogs with a restricted airway are at greater risk, and can show signs when temperature and humidity are only moderately elevated.
• Overweight dogs. Another reason keeping a senior lean earns its place.
• Dogs with any breathing or heart condition. Ask your vet what your specific dog's limits should be.
• Dogs that cannot move away. A dog who cannot get up unaided cannot relocate out of a patch of sun that has moved across the floor. Check where the sun falls during the day.