What is normal for dogs temp?

[Debbie C]

Just wondering what the normal temp is for labs at rest. I had the dogs out in the back yard for a few minutes tossing the frisbee around..the weather is nice,but we were in the dappled shade and like I said it was only for a few minutes. The dogs were taking turns and on the way back,Pyper got a little wobbly. She has done this to me before, but never actually fallen. As soon as I seen her wobble, I picked her up and brought her right into the house, got some water for her and cooled the arm and groin area down and placed her in front of the fan. I took her temp right away and it was 40.49. I took it about 5 minutes later and it was down a few degrees. 40.23.Right now, her temp is 39.26. I have previously talked to the vet and was told to watch her and not overwork her. We were only out for a few minutes and she only picked up a few retrieves because the other dog was there as well. The temp in the articles I have read are listed as 41.5. I'll call the emergency vet tomorrow and talk to them again. NOt sure if there is one particular test that can be done to rule EIC out. She has always been a heavy panter, lots of drool that flies when she turns her head and a big drinker as well. Don't count on staying dry when you are working this one.

Any thoughts besides going to the vet. I have stopped cooling her by the way. I only did that for a couple of minutes. She is laying down with Riley right now, but she is ready to go back outside.....crazy girl.

I absolutely don't like this one little bit!!!

[3 black dogs]

Deb the average temp is around 39.6-39.7 is she bloated at all? the rear end giving out sounds like EIC but if she remains with the heavy panting and her tummy is tight get her checked out for gastric torsion right away. is she vomiting at all? this is another sign

Chris

[Drew Good]

Hey Debbie,

There is a good article on working-retriever.com about EIC and the relation to body temps.

http://working-retriever.com/library/taylor.html

Drew

[luvmylabs]

Sorry, can't give you Celcius temps but 101-103 is normal for most dogs. Know what you are going through. I had one that would go down with not a lot of work. Things I found, a) watch her on high humidity days, that is far worse than just hot. b) keep her lean, heavier she is, harder it will be to keep her from going down c) mine would tell me when she was close to her limit if you watched her, With mine, you watched her one hind leg. She always sat nice & straight. If one leg started to be bent outwards when she sat I would stop her immediately. She had a high temp rate even at rest. She usually sat at 102.5 at rest. Before she would get out of the truck to work, she would get so excited her temp would be up to 105 and she would start to wobble at 107. Vet told me that at 109 she could die with heat stroke or have permanent brain damage. Today had a very high humidity rate and that is what would have caused her to go down. Good luck with her. It is tough training a dog like that. Thankfully, mine picked things up really fast so her drills went pretty smooth even though I couldn't give her as many as she should have had each time.

Anne

[Debbie C]

HI Chris.
She was walking around fine a few minutes after she did this to me, but I asked her to lie down and cool off. No bloated tummy, no vomiting and the heavy panting stopped not long after as well. when she did this the last time, she recovered quickly as well. Ever since she was a pup, it didnt matter how light the excersize, she always panted alot and lord only knows how its possible for her to generate as much drool as she does when she is working. Riley doesn't do that at all. That boy never stops. Pyper is always on the go. Her only speed is flat out fast. I know I easily get light headed if I am over heated and working hard, sometimes to the point I feel I am going to black out. so It always made me wonder about her. She pants so much, I wondered if it would make her dizzy or light headed. Thats what it looks like.

[Debbie C]

Thanks for the link Drew. I actually printed one out by her from the labrador Retriever Club, Inc. site. I am curious enough to contact her and find out how to participate..providing it doesn't cause any stress to my dog. She is spayed, so no worries about passing it along, but would like to know if she can figure out where it comes from by the pedigree's and blood work. That would definetely help rule out some dogs for possible future owners.

[waterfowler65]

also Gastric Torsion , includes excessive drooling, and the dog will try to vomit but cant, looks very similar to heat stress. If they are vomiting it's not Bloat or Gastric Torsion...

Marc....

[Drew Good]

Riley sounds just like my female, her only speed is wide open!! She is either sleeping or bouncing off the walls.She also pants continuously and drools like crazy but I have yet to see anything from her to worry me.

Drew

[Tollergirl]

Another condition that's similar to EIC is CSS, also more common in Labs.

http://www.labbies.com/css.htm