Cavaliers in the Sun and Heat (Moving to L.A. from NY HELP!)

Hi,

We are moving from NY to LA with our 10 month old ruby cavalier. One question I have is: what is a cavalier's ability to enjoy the sun and beach when its hot? In LA its not humid, but it can get hot walking around, or being on the beach with hot sand.

Any advice from people with experience? Can a cavalier go out in the weather as long as you have water? Can they hang out for a couple hours at a beach with water? Or are they really susceptible to getting ultra hot (more than other breeds like labs) and thus you shouldn't?

Thanks!

I have heard (or read) that Cavaliers don't handle the heat as well as a lot of other breeds. BUT, with that said, maybe those with more experience with Cavaliers can help. Always, lots of water, and maybe a nice beach umbrella.......We don't have only but maybe 2 beaches where I live that will even allow dogs

Cindy and Claire

I have also read that Cavaliers don't do well in hot weather. We got Bentley in January and he enjoyed going potty in the snow and he doesn't mind the cold and windy spring we've had, but I do! On the 2 or 3 80-degree days so far his little tongue just hangs out if he's running around outside. I always keep water out for him. I guess we'll have to chill out in the air conditioned house in the hot, humid days of summer.

Mine hates the heat, so I got him a cooling vest. It really works well. It was from In the Company of Dogs and has a lining so he doesn't get wet. He never had problems in the heat, but I'm always careful with him.

Here in Brisbane it can get quite hot and humid too especially in Summer. My two go for a walk first thing before it gets too hot and the dog park in the evening when it's cooler. I would never walk them during the day when it's stinking hot. Other than that they are in the cool air-conditioned house. Even when we go down the coast on holidays which is at the beach. Same thing early morning and late afternoon otherwise it's too hot it would easily burn our feet let alone theirs. We always carry water too. To be honest after a early morning play on the beach they just want to crash anyway. Winter is different as it's not as hot but still beautiful.

I think my cavalier think he's a cat. He loves to find the sun spots in the house and lie in them. He hates the rain and although he likes catching snow flakes he doesn't last long in the cold.

Helio was born in September, so he had only known snow until we took a trip to Florida in February and I wondered how he would do in the heat -- he loved it! We stayed with my grandparents and they have a big screened in porch, he absolutely LOVED being able to be inside and outside at the same time! He would lay out in the sun all day, and he did pant some, but not nearly as much as I expected him to. He loved walking on the beach, going on nighttime walks, walking everywhere! The only thing he seemed a little unsure of was where to do his "business" .... he kept looking up at me like, "Mommy, this grass doesn't have snow on it! Where do I go?" He got the hang of it though, obviously! He seemed almost disappointed to come back home, and now searches out patches of sun in the house. Which is nice to know he loves it so much since I plan on moving to Florida at some point!

Snfeldman said:

Hi,

We are moving from NY to LA with our 10 month old ruby cavalier. One question I have is: what is a cavalier's ability to enjoy the sun and beach when its hot? In LA its not humid, but it can get hot walking around, or being on the beach with hot sand.

Any advice from people with experience? Can a cavalier go out in the weather as long as you have water? Can they hang out for a couple hours at a beach with water? Or are they really susceptible to getting ultra hot (more than other breeds like labs) and thus you shouldn't?

Thanks!

Click to expand...

We try to bring Skippy with us everywhere and anywhere where possible here in LA, and have never shied away from taking him out because it was too hot. In fact, I would imagine the NY summers would be more unbearable!

Just make sure you monitor your dog -- once Skippy starts panting and has his tongue out I usually give him some water (with ice if I can find it!) shortly after. He's a funny little dog though...for instance when we're driving and he's sitting in the passenger seat, he'll move to the backseat if he finds himself exposed to the direct sunlight.

Another consideration will be your dog's coat. A 10-month old puppy with a short coat will definitely be more comfortable than a 2-year old with a full coat.

I don't know about that last comment as I believe the dogs coat is like a natural air conditioner that keeps them cool. The only bit I clip is under the belly, that's where they keep cool. It's common sense really, you would surely know if your dog was uncomfortable.

I think how much Cavaliers feel the heat varies a bit with their coat colour. My B/T felt the heat much more than my Blenheims, because black absorbs heat rather than reflects it (though this didn't stop him loving to lie in full sun in the garden, but I didn't let him do it for too long - dogs don't always know what's good for them!). Same probably true for my ruby. Some Blenheims and Tris have a little pink patch on their faces, just above the nose, where the fur is short, and it's worth putting a little bit of sunblock on it in very strong sunlight, otherwise it can get sore.

Like Dandelos, I've never trimmed my Cavaliers in the summer - yes, some (especially spayed bitches) experience discomfort, but is this due to a heavy coat, or that underneath the coat they could lose a bit of weight (also a problem with spayed bitches)?

Special care needs to be taken with Cavaliers with a heart murmur - not just in obviously sunny weather, but also on days with poor air quality and high pressure.

And heatstroke is always a danger - and what to do to deal with it is not always the obvious thing (damp towels over the back actually attract more heat, for example)! There is a an excellent article on treating heatstroke at
http://www.dogchannel.com/dog-health/dog-heatstroke-survival-guide.aspx

Kate, Oliver and Aled
(who were out of doors in bright sun all day yesterday at an obedience show, but their pop-up fabric crate kept beautifully cool and Oliver's sun hat was a great success!)

I'd say too that NYC summers are far worse heatwise than California! BUT I would never take a dog to the beach unless outside of the hottest hours for a walk, or if you have a large area of cool shade (eg large umbrella) and plenty of fresh water and regularly wet down the dog.

It is not safe to allow a dog to lie for long periods in the heat by their own choice generally, either -- they are not good judges of when they have had to much and can easily get heatstroke. Heatstroke can swiftly be fatal.

Agree with Kate that clipping the coat can actually remove insulation and expose them to more heat and UV rays that can burn skin. I've never shaved dogs for summer.

They are a flatter-faced breed and can easily have breathing problems in hot weather so something else to keep in mind -- they cannot cool themselves very efficiently by panting in the way longer nosed breeds can.

I keep a baby pool at the house $10-20 at walmart depending on size, I fill it up and throw some tennis balls in. Thistle loves the water, Guinness hated it at first, but now he plays in it.

I intend on getting one of those baby pools you just mentioned for this Summer. I'll keep it on our deck, and I know Claire will love it. She loves the shower, and doesn't mind a bath.

Karlin explained it very well about the short nose thing. Claire has a longer than standard snout. And she will lay near a heater my husband has in his office, but warms very well laying on the deck and pants rather quickly. We watch her closely.

Soushiruiuma wrote: I fill [the pool] up and throw some tennis balls in

While not wanting to give the impression that nowhere is safe for our dogs(!), you need to keep an eye on tennis balls or toys in shallow water - a couple of years ago, a Cavalier belonging to someone on this forum drowned in just those circumstances - put her nose into shallow water in a paddling pool to get a toy and breathed in by mistake (yes, balls float, but a dog often has to push them to the bottom to get a grip on them). As with so many things, no need to stop their fun, but just be around while it's happening (as you would with small children). I'm sure everyone is careful, but it's no bad thing to be reminded from time to time! (And I include myself here - Oliver is far too adventurous for his own good!)

Kate, Oliver and Aled

Living in the hot humid south, my dogs hate the heat. They seem to wilt right before my eyes, but then again, so do I, lol. If they are outside, be sure they have ample cool fresh water and available shade and keep length of time to short sessions. My dogs love to come out early morning or late evening, but avoid going out thru the mid-day heat. If they have to, they run out and do their business and come straight back in. Also the solid colors seem to suffer more. We do trim the non-show dogs during the spring, but that's more of a cleanliness issuenthan for heat relief, and the full coated dogs don't seem to get any hotter than the trimmed ones. The trimmed ones also sun burn very easily.

Noticed you are in Alabama, hope you didn't get touched by any of those horrible tornado's?

(I don't think Geneva was in the tornado paths, at least I hope not. We're still waiting for power here in our neighborhood Central Alabama.)

We do the same thing with our dogs- out in the mornings and evenings, short trips out during the heat of the day. So far, so good .

Kate H said:

Soushiruiuma wrote: I fill [the pool] up and throw some tennis balls in

While not wanting to give the impression that nowhere is safe for our dogs(!), you need to keep an eye on tennis balls or toys in shallow water - a couple of years ago, a Cavalier belonging to someone on this forum drowned in just those circumstances - put her nose into shallow water in a paddling pool to get a toy and breathed in by mistake (yes, balls float, but a dog often has to push them to the bottom to get a grip on them). As with so many things, no need to stop their fun, but just be around while it's happening (as you would with small children). I'm sure everyone is careful, but it's no bad thing to be reminded from time to time! (And I include myself here - Oliver is far too adventurous for his own good!)

Kate, Oliver and Aled

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I don't have a fenced yard, so if they're outside I'm never farther away than a 6 foot leash allows. Plus, even with a wading pool it's just too obscenely hot here to even consider leaving a dog outside alone. We've already had days over 90 degrees (Fahrenheit) and it's only April.

It's a good reminder though, it's amazing the danger dogs and children can get into in the blink of an eye.

No damage, thank you for asking mommytoClaire. We had a good bit of rain and some wind, but nothing to mention campared to the devastation that happened 4-5hrs north of us. I've been looking at photos and websites this morning of the damage. There is a Facebook page that posts pictures and papers people have found, in hopes of getting these irreplaceable items back to the families. It's amazing how far away some of these things have been found. These people have a really long road to recovery waiting ahead of them.

Eight students were killed in our hometown high school a few years back by a tornado. One of boys I knew. I also lived in Mobile, AL when Katrina came thru. I travelled to Biloxi, MS and New Orleans, LA shortly afterwards so I have great compassion and some slight understanding for the hopelessness these people are feeling following this type of catastrophe and trying to cope and rebuild their lives.

My apologies to Snfeldman for briefly hijacking your post. Back to hot cavaliers, lol.

My 3 hate the warm weather. I take them out in the am & pm before & after the really hot sun. I like to lay by the pool but after 5 mins they are crawling all over me to go back inside, however once inside & I go back outside they want back out with me, lol

I always have plenty of cool water with ice in it for them.....