Working range cattle is rarely a one-man—or woman—show. Even when it is, you’re rarely alone.
When working by yourself, well-trained dogs can be invaluable. They can bring up stragglers, keep the herd together, round up a herd-quitter, get cattle out of the brush or through terrain that may be difficult to ride through on a horse. But these four-pawed ranch hands need special attention.
On a hot day, it’s important to not accidentally overwork dogs because some will literally run themselves to death.
“A good dog likes to work and will keep going even when he’s tired,” explained Dr. Robert Cope, a veterinarian in Salmon, ID, with many rancher clients who use stock dogs.
“You must learn to understand what your dog is telling you. Some dogs will quit and try to find shade when they get tired and hot, but others keep going. Border collies and blue heelers, especially, are bred to work sheep and are constantly on the move,” Cope said.
“They can run themselves to death if you can’t make them stop.”
Heat stress in dogs
The signs of dehydration and heat exhaustion can be hard to see in dogs until it’s too late.
“There are no universal signs of heat stress; they vary from dog to dog,” said Cope. “They all have different energy levels, and the way they pant, or whether they lie down is an individual trait. I can’t give any rule of thumb about what a dog acts like when he’s working too hard.”
Dogs don’t sweat much except on the nose and cool themselves by panting—exchanging hot air from the lungs with cooler air. If the air is hot, it’s harder to cool the body. The only way the dog can cool off is to find shade or water and lie down in it. If the dog gets wet, there’s some continued cooling effect from evaporation until its hair dries again.
The body can only function within a narrow range of temperature. If it gets too high, the brain can be damaged.
“They start staggering and acting disoriented. If you see that, you’ve got a serious problem,” said Don Hatch, retired rancher near Tendoy, ID, who depended on good horses and good dogs throughout his career.
“You may not realize a dog is in trouble until it’s too late, but if you can get him cooled off, you can save him.”
Hatch said his best advice is to move cattle in the mornings when it’s cool and pack water along for the times you and your dog get caught in the heat or in an area without water where the dog can drink or submerge itself.
If a dog starts to suffer heat stress and becomes disoriented, staggering or having convulsions, it’s imperative to cool him quickly with cool water.
“When a dog is in trouble, you need to give him water to drink and get him cool,” said Michael Thomas, a rancher near Baker, ID who utilizes stock dogs in his ranching.
“It’s better to stop before he gets in trouble. Out in the open where there’s no shade you may not see subtle signs as readily. If you stop, however, that dog may crawl under your horse for a little shade. This is always a clue. A good dog may travel right behind your horse, but it’s unusual for a dog to try to get under your horse. If he does that, he’s desperate for shade.”
Another clue, according to Thomas, is if a usually energetic dog that stays close keeps lying down or lies down back down the trail.
“You’d better pay attention.”
Preventing problems
Aside from working cattle during cooler temperatures and keeping dogs rested and hydrated, there are some other ways to prevent overworking stock dogs. Lighter-colored dogs tend to overheat less, and in a hot climate you may need short-haired dogs and some people clip their dogs. Even though dogs don’t sweat, they radiate body heat (heat loss into the air, if it’s cooler than body temperature), and a thick coat holds in heat. Clipping can also reduce the amount of mud that a dog might pick up from laying in water. Mud on the coat can act as an insulator.
A working dog is less likely to suffer from heat and dehydration if it is in good physical shape, not carrying much fat by the time weather gets hot. A dog that’s physically fit can usually stay cool enough if it can keep drinking water.
“A good dog that’s doing his job will generally go 10 times farther than your horse does in the average day,” said Thomas. You may be riding only 5 to 10 miles, but if the dog is helping move cattle it’s going back and forth behind the stragglers or coming and going as you send him certain directions, traveling farther and faster than you are on your horse.
“If it’s a long day and you are committed to getting the cattle moved, the fat dog is often the one you may end up packing home on your horse,” says Thomas. — Heather Smith Thomas,WLJ correspondent
