Bulldogs World

w/my archie one sure sign was excessive panting and drooling...

and very thirsty...and he just couldn't find a comfy spot anywhere!

I tell people when I'm conducting a phone interview with applicants to adopt one of our rescue bullies:

Bullies hide pain/distress quite well until they are in imminent danger.  You, as the owner, should become very familiar with your dog and his/her quirks so you can immediately identify any subtle changes.  I don't have a hard and fast number for the "danger" threshold for the temperature but anything above 75 does require diligence on your part.  There are many factors that come in to play like humidity levels, amount of sunlight, previous days temperature (affecting the ground/pavement temperature), etc

Some obvious symptoms are excessive and labored panting, the sudden stop of any drooling (if your dog is one that's prone to drooling when panting), faintly colored (or white) gums (normally they should be a healthy bubble gum pink), flushed or red inner ears (that are hot to the touch) are some of the subtle indicators. Lethargic behavior and disorientation should be big red flags.

A few safe ways to quickly and safely bring down internal temperature: immediately remove your dog from the heat and directly sunlight.  Bring them in to a cool dark room.  Do not provide them access to a lot of cold water to drink (if they drink too much too quickly it could cause bloat).  They can drink some room temperature water if they are interested.  If your bully is in distress placing them in the bathtub with running cool (not cold!) water to cover their paws (dogs do lose a lot of heat through their paws) as well as you keeping a cool, damp towel pressed to their belly or under their front armpits will help. 

If your dog is immediate danger you can always put an ice cube in their rectum (disgusting, but sometimes the only way to bring it down quickly).  Julie (Buford's Mom) and I an instance last summer with a surrendered bully who was in the midst of a panic attack AND suffering from the heat.  Julie quickly got her in my car (with the A/C on) and did the ice cube treatment after talking with one of the directors of rescue who directed us to try that to help bring her temp down quickly.  It worked (thank God).

I'm sure others will have helpful tips and suggestions, but that's what I go over when people aren't sure of the signs of overheating or how to handle the situation.  I hope some of this helps!

I can tell Gizmo is getting warm, when she starts panting, the warmer she gets the more she pants -  her mood also changes. If it gets to 74-75 degees in the house - she just looks uncomfortable - panting etc.  We wanted to put a small fan down that she could walk infront of or sit in front of, but she goes balistic at the fan spinnng :)

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Now there is a product that we saw on other bullies, and we just got one for Gizmo  "KOOL COLLAR" its an oversized collar that you put Ice in, and it melts down the front of the bullies :)    

www.koolcollar4dogs.com

They also have inserts of reuseable/refreezable pieces too.

We really limit most activities n the summer - play is in doors -   no walks on the road when its hot out (not only does the heat reflect from the road, but its hot on the feet/paws)   and finally  

'Better Safe than Sorry'  from my reading 2 of the biggest factors in premature death in bullies is from

1) Heat

2) Drowning

I could be wrong about them being the top 2, but that's my understanding

non-stop incessant side heaving rapid panting.

We have had a few scares with Audrey-she does NOT stop on her own. I have to pay attention to her-when she walks back instead of runs back, I know it's getting time. She also ALWAYS has that ball in her mouth, which interferes with cooling, so I have to take it away from her.

The 2 times we had to cool her down, I put her in the tub and ran cool NOT cold water and splashed her armpits, belly, feet. It is running water that cools, the evaporation is what pulls the heat away, NOT standing water.  Since the tongue is a big heat exchanger, I dribble cool water over her tongue too. Not enough to where she even needs to swallow it, just splashed along with the armpits, belly, feet.

It was really scary how FAST Audrey overheated!

Unfortunately they have no idea when they have gotten too hot.  MacKenzie could lay in the sun forever sleeping.  I check on them after 15 or 20 minutes to make sure they are not breathing too hard...and if they are then they have to come in for a little while.  Luckily we usually have perfect Bulldog weather, not too hot.

Besides the heavy panting, watch for a curled tongue.  That is a sign they are getting too hot.

They do cool from the underside of their bodies like Cathy said and through the feet.

All this information is amazing and will be really useful when Rugby enters his first summer... I give all of you gold stars for the day!

I just took Molly to the dog park for the first time ever. When she plays with other dogs or when it is semi warm out, it only takes her a few minutes to start panting. is this normal? I only noticed it as she's gotten older and put on more weight. How long can you bullies play for before they start panting?

Last summer Gracie was a puppy so she was really good and didn't get too overheated.  But now Im noticing that she is getting overheated really fast.  The other day she was playing with another dog in the neighborhood and I could tell she was getting over excited so I brought her in.  It took a long time for her to stop panting.  I told my husband and kids that we need to be EXTRA CAREFUL this summer because she cannot get too hot!!  I don't want anything to happen to my princess!