OES Newcomer- Many Questions!!
Related question- I am an avid jogger (4-5 miles/day). What experience/knowledge do you guys have with jogging with an OES? I am again cautious about this as related to overheating. Final question- any breeder references for South Louisiana/Houston area/Mississippi&Alabama coastal area? Any input would be greatly appreciated. |
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| Welcome from St. Louis!!!
Sorry I can't help with your weather related questions except to say we got Heart in August and we did have a concern about her overheating --especially since she was only 8 weeks old when she arrived. I just made sure she went to potty and back inside during the day. After the sun went down, we let her go out for a longer period and always had fresh cold water available. I am sure you will get alot of great advice here...and we love to see pictures of your baby when he/she is home. Good luck!!!! |
Welcome to the forum! 
Good for you for doing your research first. 
We have several forum members in your general area and they keep their dogs mostly in puppy cuts year round. You can let their coats grow out, but you would have to limit their exposure to heat. My own two spend most of their time in the summer lying in front of an air-conditioning vent and we're a lot further north than you (NC). 
As for jogging with your OES, I'm afraid that may be an issue. OES are not built or bred for jogging. There is the occassional dog, like Valerie's Maggie, who could go the distance, but most of them are not going to be able to keep up with you for 4-5 miles a day. In fact, if you got one of mine to walk slowly beside you for a few miles, you'd have to carry them home. I'm sure others will chime in here with exceptions to the rule, but generally speaking, this is the case.
As for breeders, please contact Tarja. She's the Old English Sheepdog Club of America breeder referal person. Her contact information is located here: http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=7690 Good luck in your search for your new companion. OES are the wonderful, loving dogs and I cannot imagine life without them. |
| Hi and welcome from Central Florida. I have an OES Violet who I do leave in full coat all year 'round. We do have a doggie door that leads into our backyard that both she and my Aussie Shepherd China (who is also always in full coat(click on camera icon to see both dogs) can come and go as they please. During the hotter summer months, the two do have a tendancy of staying in the house during the middle of the day. Even though China loves to go out and lay in the sun. She will come in the house with her coat almost too hot to touch. I have a Chinese Palm, other palms, a few Banana Trees and Mexican Blue Bells that both the dogs and our cat like to lay under all year long. Most of the year, except during the summer, they spend most of their time outside...of their own choosing. They can come in and out of the house as they please.
I do take the girls for a minimum of a mile walk everyday. I just use common sense. In the summer, we go out early in the morning. I usually will not walk them on cement in the evening due to the heat. In the winter we usually walk a little later in the morning and may take evening walks also. Spring/Fall mosting in the morning. Ok, so I'm a morning person. lol Anyway, use common sense. Make sure they have enough water and shade....just as in the winter they would need a warm place to be if they where in a cooler climate. Good luck in your research! |
| Welcome
I think it would depend on the dog, and the build and condition. Our Oliver could easily have ran 5 miles - always fit and active, even at nearly 10 years old. Chewie is 20 months, and he too is light, fit and active. He does lots of stuff - obedience, rally, herding, showing, is a therapy dog, weight pulls, carting and mushing. His longest cart run is almost 6 miles, paired with his Samoyed buddy. They averaged 8-10 mph for the whole run. This was pulling a cart with an adult on it, so I know he could do a 4-5 mile run along side a person easily. Chewie is hardly tired at the end of the runs, but us humans are! I have pictures of Chewie doing most of this - click on my camera icon. Chewie is very well built structurally, and I am always watching him during the sports we do. He thrives on it all.
Please do your research when looking for a puppy or dog, and make sure you get one who is well bred and structurally sound enough to handle the activity you want to do. |
| I didn't have time to read all the posts, but here is my experience:
I used to jog with my dog. I am a light weight though - we'd go about a mile or two. I would watch your dog and see how he does - he will surely let you know when he/she has had enough (slowing down, panting a lot). Take it in steps - walks, longer walks, faster walks, then light jog for a mile and working your way up. I read a lot about jogging with a dog before I went. He did really well, although I'm not really fast, sometimes I think he wanted to go faster. But just like humans you have to do it in increments. Start slow, bring water. I do love the full grown coat of the OES, BUT I also feel very responsible for my pup's health and comfort. I find that once my OES gets more than 3 inches on him, he starts panting nonstop at 70 degrees in the house with light activity. That's a sign he's getting super hot. Once he's got a shave down - he's like a new dog - super active, not panting nonstop. We have humid weather - 40s-50s in winter, and 80s-90s very dry in summer. I find it's just easier to get him shaved down every 4 months. He grows like a chia pet, so within a week or two he's fluffing up. With this schedule, he never matts, I never need to brush him and he never sheds. I do bath him about every 10 days though as he sorta has a stinky body. Also you have to be careful with their pink skin getting exposed to sun - they can get burned, so I used to jog in the shade as much as possible. I'm sure you can put sunscreen on the nose too if necessary. I never had any issues with Jasper jogging. I did wait til he was older though, over 8 months to do this and worked up to it. He was pretty steady staying on his side and warned me with a head turn when someone was coming up from behind (I wore my ipod and headphones). He was really calm. Good luck & congrats on your new dog. |
| You don't have the dog yet...LOL sorry, but I got excited about seeing someone want to run with their OES. |
| Even a young oes in great shape is going to overheat most of the year in your area with moderate exercise outside. A puppycut won't help much because of the two layers of coat that they have. I also am not sure that you may know they are stressed in time to avoid heat stroke. Most young dogs will play till they are exhausted and could just drop over dead. I've seen it happen in Atlanta twice with my own eyes. Also, when I moved to Atlanta 15 years ago some folks down the road had 3 oes outside in a well shaded area. Their ages ranged from around 3 to 7. In 6 months all three were dead from heat stroke. It's not worth the risk in my eyes. I think another breed would better suite your life style.
Zach |
| YAHHHHH another potential south Louisiana sheepie owner! I live in Baton Rouge, LA and we have 3 sheepies. We clip at least two of them down every April and then again in June due to the heat and the fleas that are such a pain down here in the south. We try to keep at least one in full coat year round and don't have a problem. Our 3 are all indoor dogs and we try not to walk or exercise them until dusk or early in the morning due to the excessive heat down here.
Please feel fee to PM me with any questions. As for breeders, please contact Tarja. She's the Old English Sheepdog Club of America breeder referal person. Her contact information is located here: http://forum.oes.org/viewtopic.php?t=7690 She can guide you to an ethical and responsible breeder. |
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