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Permalink Reply by Sam Tsang on June 10, 2008 at 9:14am

When you say getting sick frequently, could you describe more in detail? How was he acting before compare to now?

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Permalink Reply by alynne on June 10, 2008 at 11:14am

sick as in puking? are you playing with him right after he eats?

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Permalink Reply by Chell on June 10, 2008 at 11:46am

not everyday spitting up or vomitting but every once in a while. It normally looks like partially digested food. He's not acting strange, still has plenty of energy and is sweet and stubborn as usual. No change in appetite or increased lethargy. I was wondering if it might be heat because he only started doing this after ot started getting hot ( I live in central Texas and it has already hit 105).

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Permalink Reply by alynne on June 10, 2008 at 11:55am

the only thing i can think off is him drinking his water too fast, after a long walk (its hot here for us haha) she gets very hot/tired and she will drink a ton of water really quick and "spit up" some white foamy stuff..if your vet said everything looks alright you might just have a puky dog and it could be the heat..im not actually to sure but im curious on what other peopel have to say.

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Permalink Reply by Sylvia & Timmy on June 10, 2008 at 12:37pm

Chell,

Socs is sure a handsome looking little guy.

1. Heat probably is a factor. Might make sure that he has access to A/C or fans to keep him cool on those hot days. If you're comfortable in an area, he should be, also. If it's too hot outside for you, same can be said for him. Living in a very hot climate, I would become familiar with symptoms of heat stroke and heat exhaustion in dogs. This could save Socs' life someday, because it starts very subtly.

2. Food intolerance or allergy (they can develop at any time)

3. Dehydration-lack of means to cool off body precursor to heat stroke

If you can keep him cooler for a few days and no symptoms return, then I would do whatever it takes to make sure he stays cool during the summer.

Good Luck and hopefully the high temps will cool off a little soon. I lived in El Paso for a few years, so I know about Texas heat, not a whole lot of humidity out that way though.

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Permalink Reply by Charlie on June 10, 2008 at 2:02pm

I'm in TX too, and saw my patio thermometer hit 106 one day last month. Everyday so far this month, I'm seeing 102-104 degrees.

One thought in general, regarless of time of year or temperature, is to feed the dog after his major exercise session not before, and wait at least a few minutes after exercise. Charlie and I walk 2.5 miles in the morning. When we get home I wait an additional 15-30 minutes (at least until he quits panting) then feed him breakfast. He gets a small dinner in the evening after we've played a bit of fetch and he's run a bit in the yard.

As to this horrible heat we're having here in Texas, we have dramatically changed our outdoor schedule the last few weeks. We used to get up and Charlie brought me toys to throw while I sat in the porch swing and drank coffee/read the newspaper. We walked late morning to mid-day. With the heat, I'm taking Charlie out for our walk first thing in the morning then having my coffee later while he plays a bit more in the yard. He does seek out shade to play in, and the house shades a large part of the lawn until late morning. When Charlie is finally "played out" mid-morning, I've been bringing him in. We don't go out every couple hours for short play breaks like we did in cooler weather, but stay in the house until early evening when Charlie gets hyper and antsy (and needs to pee - LOL). Around 6-7pm, Charlie is needing to run again and the temp is at the day high. I've been setting a lawn sprinkler in a different place in the backyard everyday. The running water cools the surrounding air temp, and Charlie has had fun trying to "herd" the water droplets. He hasn't figured it out yet. We play most of our toss/retrieve in the hour before dark, when the yard is mostly shady again.

Sorry for the long post, but I can certainly relate to the heat problem and necessary schedule change to keep the pup cool and stay cool yourself. Happily, Charlie has adjusted quite nicely to the new schedule and has surprised me by sleeping more hours than normal, while we're in the house for 7 or 8 hours while it's terribly hot.

Today....Dogs Days of Summer...things to do while it's hot:

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Permalink Reply by Renae & Mark on June 10, 2008 at 10:38pm

Has Socs another source of food? Could he be eating his food and that of his neighbour's? I found Rupert was doing this. He would often have a play with the dogs next door. One afternoon back in our yard he was very lethargic and not himself. Eventually he had a big chunder of partially digested food and was instantly better! This incidentally happened when we lived in a warmer climate.

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Permalink Reply by Chell on June 10, 2008 at 11:30pm

Thanks for all the great tips! We kept him cool today and we have had no incidents. to Renae and Mark we don't really have next door neighbours, we live out in the middle of nowhere so there's no other food for him to eat. Thanks so much for your help everyone!!!
Me and Socs appreciate it!

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Permalink Reply by Chell on June 17, 2008 at 9:06pm

Update: Keeping him cool has done the trick, we've cut out any heavy treats until after the sun's going down and moved next to where he sleeps. We've also had to separate his food schedule a little more (spacing it out more over the day and giving him smaller amounts at once so he doesn't gorge himself). Thanks for all your advice and support!!!
Love
Chell and Socs

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