Extremes of Temperatures

Greyhounds are particularly susceptible to extreme temperatures, as they only carry a small portion of fat on their bodies.

This may be more obvious in the cold weather, but not so obvious in the heat. In the colder weather pop a coat on them to keep them warm. They could develop pneumonia should they become too cold. Coats should be big enough to cover from the neck to over the tail.

Like all dogs, greyhounds get very hot on warm days. They will pant, possibly be grumpy (like us really) and try to find cool places to lie. In hot weather, leave your greyhound in peace as much as you can. Remind children to cuddle a lot less, if at all. Help to keep them cool with damp flannels on their bodies and protect them from the sun with cream or shade if they decide to lie outside. This might sound crazy but if there is a breeze in the garden it might seem to be the coolest place, however dogs don’t know about UV rays and can get badly burnt.

Please remember to take care to only walk your greyhound before it heats up in the morning or at night when it has cooled down. If they are reluctant to go for a walk, then just give them the opportunity to toilet in the garden and let them lie.

It is best to feed earlier/later, if they don’t eat much – don’t worry unless there are other symptoms of illness.

Never leave a dog in a hot room or car – they can die within ten minutes.

Symptoms of heat stroke are distress, severe panting and collapse. If you think your greyhound is showing signs of this, cool your dog as fast as possible with cold water or ice applied to the head and back. If there isn’t an immediate improvement get veterinary help immediately.