The Parade....Maverick

mamawsdaughter · Post by **mamawsdaughter** » Jun 26, 2005 9:49 am

Hi all...thank you so much for all the congratulations to maverick...he is a fine mutt...and I am thankful he is my mutt...

The parade was yesterday...and boy was it interesting...we were suppose to be there at 9:30 to check in...of course the other dog owner and I both show up at 9:40....so we find the truck that they are using for us...well the parade is suppose to start 10:00...we were #38 on the list....we end up waiting in the shade for 35 minutes before we load up....just to let you know it is already 90 degrees out at this point....well they finally tell us to load the truck...so we do...and the other owner and I realize this is going to take a long time...we both brought water for our dogs of course...we are in the full sun...and the parade keeps stalling out...about a 1/3 of the way through the parade the dogs stop drinking and won't stand up...(the bed of the truck we were using was lined with the hard black plastic)....we both realized we needed to get the dogs off the truck...they were roasting....so we got off and walked about another 1/3 of the way, and we told them we had to pull out of the parade, because of the heat...people in the crowds were helping us out by pouring water on the dogs to help us cool them off...we finally get to the Masonic Temple, and they turn on the out facet for us to drench our dogs in water...and they fianlly got them to drink for us...is was a mess...we did not finish the parade, but no one seemed to care...everyone was more concerned about the dogs....maverick breathed heavy for about 2 hours after the parade, then he seemed to get under control...if I had to do all over again, I wouldn't do it...it was just tooooooo hot for the dogs.....the person that was driving the truck is going to email me some pictures that they took....as soon as I get them I will post them...thank you all for the support....

mamawsdaughter

Tundra_Queen · Post by **Tundra_Queen** » Jun 27, 2005 12:08 am

aw poor things. I had a dog that got heat stroke and I didn't even realize it until after he was sick, poor thing. I said never ever again would I let my dog get that hot! I felt terrible.

I'm glad u were able to get the dogs hosed down and everyone is ok.

Debbie

newtohosta-no more · Post by **newtohosta-no more** » Jun 27, 2005 6:37 am

Awww...poor doggies! And good thing you all realized what was happening and took measures to prevent the situation from worsening!

PeggyC · Post by **PeggyC** » Jun 27, 2005 8:35 am

I'm so sorry to hear things turned out the way they did. But also very glad to hear that you got the dogs off the truck and cooled down! Looking forward to seeing your pictures!

Old earth dog · Post by **Old earth dog** » Jun 27, 2005 11:26 pm

The heat can be really tough on house dogs. I keep Thunder outside, and work him a little every day to keep him in condition.
One VERY iimportant point I'd like to make concerning cooling off a dog. They loose heat from their mouth, feet and stomach. Try and NOT get the whole dog wet. Wet down just the feet and belly. I can remember swimming in my levis in the local park lakes and my grandads farm pond. When I came out, the wet Levis seemed to transfer the heat right to my skin. Same with a dogs coat. One of my hunting partners is a vet. She said she's seen more than one furkid in serious trouble from being wet down, and let in the sun.
After a workout with Thunder, I take the hose, if avalible, and wet down his undersides, and inside his rear legs. If nothing more is avaliable, I let him go in a creek or pond, but ONLY up to his belly. If he absolutely has to swim across a body of water, I try and get him out of direct sun as soon as possible. If I can't get him out of the sun, I keep a white t-shirt in my gear and toss this over his back. Realize, he's a working dog and has to "tough it out" in certain situations, but his health is always going to be first if he's to be effective.

Ginger · Post by **Ginger** » Jun 28, 2005 4:01 pm

Good advise OED! I actually got all three of my boxers to let me hose down their feet the other day, and they normally will run as far as possible to get away from water

When they willingly walked up to me and let me hose them off, I knew they were HOT! I did not hose them totally down (I did not know not to) but I started with the feet because I knew that is where they sweat from the most. Glad now I did not hose them completley down.

Ginger

mamaw2 · Post by **mamaw2** » Jun 29, 2005 12:23 pm

Wow, OED. I did not know that either. I do know that they weren't out in the sun too long after that. My daughter brought Mav back here to my house and put him in the backyard where he instantly headed for the hosta beds and stretched out on his belly. Makes sense after what you just said. My poms do the same thing when its hot and they are outside. The ground is typically damp and of course shaded so they are only doing what comes naturally for them to cool off. Thanks OED, I sure won't be running them out of the beds anymore on hot days.

wishiwere · Post by **wishiwere** » Jun 29, 2005 3:29 pm

Yeppers. I have one dog with Hypothyroid and she does much better with life if stretched out belly down on lino or hardwood in the summer and a snow bank in the winter! Winter is definitely her fav. When granny's here and we crank up the heat to keep her warm, the girls love to do belly flops in teh nearest snow bank to cool down!