We wwalked one block and...

 Yeah, 80 is hot for a dog but my dogs still work in it. It is not until 90 that I really start to worry. Then again, there is usually water around for my dogs to jump in to cool off no matter where we go - even if it is a muddy disgusting smelly swamp

 As mentioned, the fact that the tongue is out and the dog is panting is fine, the dog is doing what it does to keep cool.  Dogs only sweat on the nose and paw pads, not enough to cool them down.  So they pant. 

Once the tongue enlarges into a spoon shape, then the dog needs water.

I watch body posture - where is the tail, up or down?  Is the dog interested in sniffing at poles, posts, trees etc?  Is the head held normally or low?

Heat is one thing, humidity also factors in, quite a bit for dogs.  I won't walk as far, as fast, or as long in 80 degrees and 78% as in 80 degrees and 44%.   

 No interest in sniffing and she has no tail so thats out. 80 degrees is hot for Washington and the humidity is 80%.

 Luke struggles with the heat too. Last Monday, we went on a walk at a local park with a big group of friends. Luke made it 2-3 laps around before we called it quits (my mom was walking with us too, and she also struggles with extreme temps). That was maybe 15-20 minutes, and we stopped each lap to let the dogs have a drink. That was in 90+ heat. Usually, 75ish or below, he could walk for an hour or more and maybe stop once for a drink. The past few weeks during his weight pulling class, even at 7 PM, it has been 90+. The room we're in doesn't have air. It's a garage. There are fans going, and the doors are kept open, but it's still hot in there. It was 82 tonight when we were at class. That's still hot for him, but he did so much better.  I could tell in how much less he drank tonight compared to the last few weeks. He's only pulling 2-3lbs tops right now. I don't think we'd have him pulling anything that might be difficult for him when it's really hot. I've been taking him to a park to swim and get him a little bit wet so he's a bit cooler before he goes to his weight pulling class. I also will often put a cooling coat on him in between his runs in Flyball class. That area is air conditioned, but the window units just aren't cutting it for him. I keep his coat in a ziploc with water in my cooler, which has ice packs in it. He's still active, but I go to extra lengths to keep him cool, and we call it early for him. I try to give him a break before he decides to quit. Especially since I am working him, I don't ever want to work him to the point of failure. I want him to trust me not to work him beyond his limits. Sometimes though, he would keep going until he completely dropped. If it involves a ball, this is true for him, and I really do have to force him to stop.

tiffy

 and she has no tail so thats out.

A thousand pardons, Tootsie, I forget if you are Pembroke or Cardigan, can't get it in my head, and da siggy pic doesn't show that part of you, lol!

Nothing is too hot for Pan.  He broke the breed record and his own personal best (he's already re-set the breed record multiple times) at flyball last weekend and it was 111, no AC (outdoor fair tournament) and that was during his second set of heats for the day (most dogs run faster early on).  He also has an insanely long tongue.  This is about 2/3 hanging

We had a long streak (for MI) of 95+ heat and humidity and it hasn't rained here in forever.  Our AC doesn't really work either so my dogs are pretty well acclimated by now.  It was 80s for a few days which felt like HEAVEN, I was in long pants and a fleece jacket LOL.  Now it's back in the 90s approaching 100 again but the humidity is not as bad so it feels sooooo much different than the past few weeks. I have a photo showing my thermostat at 92 degrees at midnight inside my house.

With Pan and Nikon I have to be their advocate because they are high drive dogs that will not shut down in 100+ degree heat.  Coke...now he's another story!  He thinks anything over 60 is hot.  He runs outside, pees, runs back to the door and yelps until I let him in and he darts into the basement to sleep on the concrete.

Liesje

Nothing is too hot for Pan.  He broke the breed record and his own personal best (he's already re-set the breed record multiple times) at flyball last weekend and it was 111, no AC (outdoor fair tournament) and that was during his second set of heats for the day (most dogs run faster early on).

Seriously Pan! That's crazy hot. Luke would probably try to run it, but I think I'd have to pull him in that heat. We did some demos back in May, and it was in the 80s. He did his runs, then he flopped down under a tree. I took him to swim on the way home. 

We did pull a Corgi and one of the eleven year old BCs.  We had two teams intentionally false starting us, trying to burn our dogs out.  Nikon is one lead-off and a ten year old BC was our other lead off.  They thought they could tire Nikon out with false starts but like Pan he ran faster than he ever has! Then the whole tournament was halted in the late afternoon (too hot, some guy went around with an infrared thermometer and it was 140 on the pavement where people were parking).  Our team ended up pulling for the rest of the weekend because of a health emergency not related to the heat (team mates husband has a long term illness and was not looking good).  We have a small team so when we lose one person with three dogs and have already lost our two veteran backup dogs because of the heat, we can't compete.  The nice thing was we already paid for the hotel, so instead we went back, took cold showers, and went out to dinner in the AC.  I insisted all the dogs stay in the hotel since our hotel lot had just been repaved with that super black asphalt.  My friends and I shared a room but luckily our dogs all get along and we could fit crates in the room (and our dogs are quiet if we're not there).  We slept in and then went to Schutzhund training on Sunday instead, where it was high 80s and felt like a cool breeze compared to Sandusky!

When Luke ran singles a few weeks ago, the building was so hot on Friday night I was dripping sweat. They didn't get the air turned on until Saturday. When I went back on Sunday, I debating getting my sweatshirt. 

 That's just crazy that anyone would intentionally false start a dog in the extreme heat, even if they had practiced running extra (we do know a dog on another team who will practice 10-12 runs in a row by himself, to be prepared in the event of multiple false starts. I think he also speeds up a bit as the day goes on, so he will false start because of that) that's just cruel to your own dog to make it do that extra work.

kpwlee

I think a dog in Tootsie's climate is going to feel heat faster than a dog in JackieG's climate. So yes a dog that is used to 60-70* is going to find 80* very warm. Bugsy isn't good in upper 70's if it's sunny, but we still walk miles not blocks. In the recent heat wave we were walking before 6 and it was often 80+ at that point. I hosed him off pre and post walk but we still did our 4-5 miles. He was happy when we went in to AC though :). I do try to keep our jaunts at dawn or before in the summer.

 

There was a chat on a gsp forum I am on and it is clear that dogs acclimatize, certainly more than I thought.

I guess that was my point, I'm sure if Tootsie was living in Arizona or Texas she would certainly adapt, but here in Washington with its mild temps. 80 degrees is hot.