Dogs taking a dip heats them up???

So, on the advice of this forum I haaave been trying to train our dogs where to swim to in case they should fall in the pool. One is getting it, the other, ehhh. But anyway, it was really hot here today, so I thought it would a good time to give them a lesson, and cool them off at the same time.

One did well, the other thinks she is so strong that she can pull herself over any edge she finds, so she is tough to teach. It seimed like they were very cooled and refreshed after they got out, but after a few minutes they seemed like they were hotter than before? Just wondering about the science here, I'd hate to be overheating my dogs by trying to do them a favor.

Thanks for your advice. They are both dark colored dogs, but mostly hang out in the shade when it's this warm.


Brian

Don't think you need to worry, the water will cool them off. If the humidity is low it will cool them off even more while they dry. Don't know if you have steps, but my Siberian Huskies just walk down the steps, swim around, and then walk back out the steps.

No, the water should have cooled them off. I've had dogs all my life and currently have an 11 year old black lab mix. He absolutely REFUSES to get in the pool under any circumstances...wierdest lab I've ever seen, probably has something to do with mental anguish due to us strapping a life jacket on him several years ago and taking him "tubing" with us in the lake:rolleyes: ...but anway...we have to squirt him down with the hose sometimes when we're outside. Dogs don't have sweat glands, so the evaporation of the water off their skin is what cools them down much like the evaporation of sweat off us humans.

One of my labs is a great swimmer, a bathing suit comes out and she is standing by the pool waiting. The other lab, doesn't care to even drink out of the pool, she is a pond girl. Dogs cools themselves thru their paws and tummy, they don't have to be completely submerged, just a wet place on the grass will help is they are hot.

Was watching Survivorman a couple months ago (shameless plug - Best show Ever - Fri 10pm on Science Channel) and the episode centered on being lost at sea... maybe it was 'I shouldn't Be Alive: Science of Survival' but I digress..
They discussed how even in 85-90 degree water you can get hypothermia if you stay in the H20 long enough. Cold water is much harsher than cold air in terms of keeping your core body temp up. So I don't think it heated the dogs up but perhaps it cooled them down a bunch so they were panting or something to heat back up... not a dog guy - we have a cat household. This barely relates but I find interesting info none the less.

I don't think your dogs are heated up, swimming will excercise almost every muscle in a dog's body, and while swimming is a good way to cool off, they will have had a great workout when they get out of the water, and therefore they pant.
If you would like to avoid that, give them a small kiddie pool (plastic shell) that they can sit or lie down in to cool off instead of having to swim around.