Dutch Shepherd Forum

Ok I'll admit it, this will sound silly juvenile and stupid, but I swear with this hot weather Dutch's tongue has gotten longer.

Poor guys panting up a storm. He went to take a drink out of our pond when he went to smile he had tadploes hanging on it.

H

Tadpoles

i have been meaning to ask -- Saki - whose body does not cope with heat well at all [ he even overheats easily in the winter so he has really been suffering in this heat wave!] - now has a tongue that is color-wise more like a piece of raw beef than the pinkish color i expect to see. Should i worry? / is it indicative of a bigger problem?

and it is SO long - hanging out of his mouth desperately trying to fulfill its cooling function.

Come to think of it; it is rather raw looking (tonge). I'm just careful not to walk him til it's cooler or drive him out of the city for relief at the beach. He seems comfortable. Again I find brushing loose fur and watering their chest cools them off. I'd be careful if they're getting to cranky cause that's a sign they are really over heated. Then I'd give him ice bowl to like and get him inside.

H

Sadie has a very loooooooooooooooooon tongue too and its really long in the heat.

Odin's head seems to get bigger in the heat. Is that normal?

Tongues do get larger when a dog pants. Dogs cool by panting. The air flow over the blood vessels in the tongue makes the blood cool with moisture and heat playing a part too. The whole process with the extra blood flow makes the tongue bigger and more red. That's really dumbed down. I'm sure there's a very scientific explanation too that will cover the actual science behind it if you look for educational sources about panting.

You can always take their temperature if you are at all concerned. Malignant Hyperthermia has been found in the breed and the overheating is due to muscle movement, not external temperature.

I know how much everyone loves to stick a thermometer you know where.

is the Malignant Hypothermia what you were discussing on the forum perhaps 6 to 9 months ago without using that terminology; ''exercise intolerance'' was used a lot in the discussion - though maybe not by you, Christie?
you laid out a ''cool'' food diet that helps along with trying to limit the extremes of exercise. is that the same case, OR IS ''MH'' SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAT REQUIRES A DIFFERENT RESPONSE? Saki seems to overheat due to exercise even in the depths of winter, but when it is hot AND humid, almost any exertion will get the same result.

I try to limit him. I was already feeding pretty much the diet you indicated; and I give him bowls of ice - which he loves. for many months [ when and after I rescued him ] his lungs were also a congested mess, but they are finally fairly good [ probably as good as they can get ] and so his overall condition after exercise is now much improved from the winter months - assuming I do not let him get wild in the humid,100-degree heat of the last 2 weeks.