[majik921]

So I took Bernadette on a walk around Greenlake, which is a 4 mile walk that people in Seattle run, bike, walk, roller blade etc around. We went with two friends of mine and one of their dogs. Bernie did really well, it was her first big walk, most of the time we stay around our neighborhood.

Anyway, it was 78 degrees and I made sure to bring bottled water and her bowl, we stopped in the shade to drink about four times and she even got into the lake and waded around a bit. I thought she was fine but when we got home, she threw up about 30 minutes after I gave her a bath.

I've heard maltese can get sunburns and heat stroke easily, are there other precautions I should take for Bernie in the hot weather that I'm not thinking about?

 

[kaylabayla]

I'm a new maltese owner to be honest but my vet warned me of our summers here to only take mine on short walks when she got old enough. Plus I travel to AZ a lot to visit and thats even hotter than where I am now by a lot.... but I was also told to carry/ walk her if I tried to hike with her because I hike a lot. That's all I can think of, just passing down what my vet said. Wish I was more help.

 

[michellerobison]

Heat stroke is nothing to mess with,even to guess at. We had a cocker that hate heat stroke just from playing outside while we poured cement. She started acting funny so we took her in and cooled her off ,called the vet,he said bring her in the moring,if she wasn't better. We stayed up all night watching her,taking shifts,not daring to sleep, watched her all night. She still wasn't better . We took her in early,as soon as the vet office opened,he wasn't thrilled but took her in early. He took her temp,palpated her abdomen drew blood for heartworm,she was due in a couple months anyway. He said she had heat exhaustion,not heat stroke ,he told us to give her aspiring when we get home.

We got home she laid down to cool off and died while I was getting her water. Just like that she was gone. I called the vet,he didn't offer to do an autopsy,nothing. I called a friend and she took us to her vet,he did an autopsy and found she died of heat stroke and he was surprised the vet missed it.

Needless to say we never went to that vet again,it was the first time we'd gone to him,having just moved there.
Heat is nothing to guess at,Malts have short muzzels,close to the ground. They can't sweat to cool down like we can.
Congrete and asphalt is so much hotter than we realize and they can over heat so easily... as concrete an dasphalt will hold heat for many hours...
I love taking mine for walks,it's puppy time,but if it's hot they're happy just to walk around the house in the yard. I learned a painful lesson about heat and dogs and I won't chance it again.

 

[Ladysmom]

Heatstroke shouldn't be that much of a concern in your climate on a normal outing, but I'd be concerned about the distance.

How fast is your pace? Keeping up with humans and bigger dogs on a four mile walk may be too much for her. If she were mine, I'd take a sling carrier with me so she is able to rest.

Heatstroke (Hyperthermia) in Dogs

You need to be careful with the sun with a white dog. Use a sunscreen to protect her skin. Ice on Ice has sunscreen in it.

 

[majik921]

Wow! This info is really interesting, useful and a little frightening. I'm so sorry for the loss of your dog Michelle. That's such a sad story. I'll definitely be more careful with Bernie on long walks like that.

Our pace was really slow actually, it didn't seem like she was having trouble keeping up but I'll definitely keep more of an eye on her next time we got to a puppy park etc... I can't ever forget just how tiny she is!

 

[uniquelovdolce]

im so sorry about ur dog so sad that the first vet didnt recognize the symptoms. i worry about the heat too , because i feel dolce is soo tiny .. and its been blazing hot here lately ..

Heat stroke is nothing to mess with,even to guess at. We had a cocker that hate heat stroke just from playing outside while we poured cement. She started acting funny so we took her in and cooled her off ,called the vet,he said bring her in the moring,if she wasn't better. We stayed up all night watching her,taking shifts,not daring to sleep, watched her all night. She still wasn't better . We took her in early,as soon as the vet office opened,he wasn't thrilled but took her in early. He took her temp,palpated her abdomen drew blood for heartworm,she was due in a couple months anyway. He said she had heat exhaustion,not heat stroke ,he told us to give her aspiring when we get home.

We got home she laid down to cool off and died while I was getting her water. Just like that she was gone. I called the vet,he didn't offer to do an autopsy,nothing. I called a friend and she took us to her vet,he did an autopsy and found she died of heat stroke and he was surprised the vet missed it.

Needless to say we never went to that vet again,it was the first time we'd gone to him,having just moved there.
Heat is nothing to guess at,Malts have short muzzels,close to the ground. They can't sweat to cool down like we can.
Congrete and asphalt is so much hotter than we realize and they can over heat so easily... as concrete an dasphalt will hold heat for many hours...
I love taking mine for walks,it's puppy time,but if it's hot they're happy just to walk around the house in the yard. I learned a painful lesson about heat and dogs and I won't chance it again.

 

[michellerobison]

You'd be surprised how hot the sun can make concrete or asphalt,even 78 degrees. The length of the walk can be hard too. They don't always get overheated during the walk,kinda like people,ever notice your body feels warm for a time after you exercise and it takes a while to cool off?

 

[Matilda's mommy]

I personally think the walk is to long for her, they just keep going to please us. You should get a sling that way she can walk some and ride some.

 

[michellerobison]

Mine do about 2 miles,when I lived in Naples we'd do almost 3 but we stopped,rested and drank and I didn't do it when it was hot or really humid. Even when it's not hot, humidity can be hard on them.

 

[tamizami]

you might also want to watch her stools, she could have had a sip of the water and gotten a parasite or bug of some sort.

 

[Cheri]

yeah, it's humid out here in OKlahoma. Vi's not potty trained and so I HAVE to take her out or she'll use my floor. I will leave the girls out for about 30 minutes if I put them in the back yard (all shaded). I didn't know they were more susceptible, but I don't like to leave them outside anyway, and now this worries me that 1/2 hour is too much!!

 

[k/c mom]

I personally think the walk is to long for her, they just keep going to please us. You should get a sling that way she can walk some and ride some.

Paula, I was thinking the same thing. It is one thing when they have worked up to it but if she hasn't even done it before .. gosh, I sure couldn't walk 4 miles myself. Really, this IMHO is too much walking for a little Malt, esp. one who has not trained for this distance.

And yes, they will keep going to please us.

 

[uniquelovdolce]

im horrible in math soo umm 4 miles is like how many blocks?

 

[k/c mom]

im horrible in math soo umm 4 miles is like how many blocks?

Many!

 

[maggieh]

im horrible in math soo umm 4 miles is like how many blocks?

4 miles is 40 - 50 blocks depending on size.

 

[The A Team]

That's a pretty far walk. I walk my dogs almost every day and they could never do 4 miles. Can you take a stroller and throw her in for rests? That's what i do when i'm taking a longer walk. I have a stroller with larger wheels - it's good for dirt, grass, all terrains.

 

[mfa]

I personally think the walk is to long for her, they just keep going to please us. You should get a sling that way she can walk some and ride some.

:goodpost: yes, it seems way long to me.:blink:

 

[majik921]

If it makes anyone feel better: the walk took more than 3 hours and we stopped many times during the way, once for coffee at a cafe where she had a treat and a rest from the sun as well as water, once in a park area with grass where she laid down for about 15 minutes and another time on a bench in the shade for another rest of about 15 minutes.

But I am hearing what everyone is saying and I do see the value of reducing walks like that for a pup her size. Thanks for the feedback, I just wanted to make sure everyone knew that she wasn't pushed to go go go the entire time we were out.

 

[Silkmalteselover]

Jessica I live in midwest where it can be very humid and hot. While working at a vet hospital we had 5-6 cases of heat stroke in one month and I was shocked at how serious it is. If I remember correctly only 1-2 of them survived. One case the dog was outside less than 30 minutes. Another one was a lab that a part of his daily walk was a jump in the river for a swim time. And this happened before 9am. It is sudden and needs attention quickly. I would recommend researching it thoroughly to be safe. Maybe vet hospitals would be kind enough to answer questions about heat stroke in your area.

 

[majik921]

Wow! I feel like a terrible puppy mommy now It's good to know, I'm glad I asked but now I feel really bad for putting her in any dangerous position. I'll definitely reduce the walk next time! Thanks for all the personal stories and info.