Or any long haired dogs come to that.   How do you manage to keep them cool?

Keep them in the shade ... out before 8 in the mornings ... evenings after 7

yep similar to butler. Cool coats are worth trying too. One thing not to do is shave them even underneath they need their coats even in the hot weather it also helps keep them cool /
In the case of my gsd remind him frequently not too sunbathe silly boy ! 

A dogs coat actually insulates so protects them against the heat as well as cold.

With very big coats part of the issue is it's heavy, and often dogs are overweight in addition, and this si what makes many dogs uncomfortable in the heat, which no dog is designed for.

Notice all such predators are naturally active at dawn and dusk (which is when hunting occurs.

In humid weather especially it is vital to groom out dead coat, as this, if it traps moisture near the skin can be a contributory factor in the appearance of 'hot spots' nasty sticky skin nfections

Do not be tempted to get the coat clipped!!!!

http://www.squidoo.com/shaving-a-double-coated-dog

http://www.dogforum.com/dog-grooming/why-its-not-good-shave-double-106058/

One thing not to do is shave them even underneath they need their coats even in the hot weather it also helps keep them cool /

I have to totally endorse this statement.   So often people think shaving their dogs is the answer - it's not.   Having lived in the humid heat of a S.Ontario summer for years, the way to deal with this is to exercise in the early morning, and the late evening only (although in the late evening, after any breeze had died away, the heat built up in buildings and on pavements often made it feel hotter at first).   And have a cool place for the dogs (a/c if possible but if not, fans), a good supply of cold fresh water and so on.   From experience dogs are usually more sensible than we are and just find the coolest spot to lie out until it gets cool again.   Would that we could all do that!!     It was more the humidity over some days, that was a problem with mine - sometimes they'd have loose tummies if it went on long enough.   For this, I'd cut back on how much I fed them - lying around meant they didn't need what they did in mid-Winter in any case.   And also feed during the cooler hours.

And I'd have to make sure my dark-coated hounds didn't spend hours lying out in the sun - if they weren't sensible, they did!   The dark coat always attracts the heat far more than the lighter coated sort.

I'm not sure if I am completely confused here, but isn't one reason for why people are against longcoated GSDs that many or most are single coated and therefore do not have the correct weather protection? Or did I dream hearing that said sometime?

All the ones I have met have had double coats, (I checked with quite a few I know, afeer hearing this said, as it didn't make sense to me).

Some have excessively long undercoats, rather than the clear separation between top coat and undercoat, which I'd assume is inefficient, and the same problem you get if you clip/shave a dog. 

It also seems similar to what seems to happen to some types of coast after neutering???

Mine too have walks early mornings and later in the evening. I hate to see dogs shaved off in the summer. My other pet hate is the wet coats, surely it is better to provide shade and water and keep cool than put a heavy water logged coat on a dog to make it carry more in the heat ?? It then gives the owners the impression that the dog will be fine and so off they go walking in the sun !!! carrying extra weight around. I am yet to be convinced these things help.
I do on occasion if there is no alternative to being in the sun (ie walking to and from the car at a show) use a silver reflector sheet, its light and the dogs do seem to appreciate it. (Big black double coated dogs) But the best thing is to make sure there is shade and to stay home if it is scorching hot.
Aileen

I've had two heavy coated dogs, I used to put a large wet towel in the freezer, and give it to them to lie on.
I found this to be really effective.
Funnily enough, I found my white longhaired GSD, suffered more from the heat than my black TM, although the TM shed more of his coat in the summer , to the point where he barely had any undercoat at all.

My light coloured GR feels the heat, so we walk early or later in the day or somewhere cooler and shady like woodlands. I have a cool coat which I used a lot with the last dog as she had heart problems for the last four years of her life. It was very effective and kept her just right for several hours and meant we could take her out when it was hot. With the current dog I have a cool mat which she flops on to when she feels too warm at any time of year, or wet a towel and lie it on the kitchen floor. We are currently by the seaside, so a swim in the sea not only cools her down but gives her a good workout, doesn't do much for her coat though.

I have Briards, very long, thick, double coated dogs who cope remarkably well in heat and of course cold. As long as they are groomed regularly they don't appear to suffer, I take sensible precautions on hot days (not many here in sunny Scotland) - agree completely with the comment about wetting a dog to keep it cool. Their coats are designed to keep them cool and warm depending on weather and they manage very well in their Country of origin, France, when doing the herding job that they were bred to do without being sheared or shaved.

I used to keep long haired GSD's who were double coated for many years when I lived in the South by the coast and they were also fine as long as they were given access to a cool shady area, not allowed to lay in the sun and groomed regularly. They used to swim in the sea every day, come rain or shine but were always towelled off afterwards, particularly in the hot weather, they dried fairly quickly.

I can't comment on GSDs but I will say that I am one of those people who goes against the advice not to shave!  Last summer my long coated border collie was suffering immensely in the heat.  In the end I decided it had to be worth trying - she is never walked past 7am anyway due to phobias, so that wasn't a worry.  I can say without a shadow of a doubt that she is MUCH better shaved.  Much cooler, less panty, much happier.  I'm afraid I do not agree that all dogs are better with their coats left.  Some, yes - those designed to be all-round weather proof such as GSDs - but a great many are not better.  I think it has to be assessed on an individual basis - and I say that as a groomer.  My rott/GSD always coped very well in the heat so I would never have shaved her.

A friend of mine down south has a spitz, one breed that I think most people would say should be left full-coated for the insulation.  He was religiously brushed out, his fur was in great condition, so he should have coped fine.  Last summer, he passed out with heatstroke, indoors, under fans.  He really struggled with the heat, constantly.  She finally gave in and shaved him off and right from the get-go, he was a damn sight happier and cooler.

I think a lot of it may come down to breeding these days - dogs being bred with poorer or more profuse coats that don't do the job as well.

>Funnily enough, I found my white longhaired GSD, suffered more from the heat than my black TM

Traditionally it has been said that light coloured animals cope better with heat than dark but there has been a scientific study which shows that the reverse may be true as you have found.
http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2FBF00688930

A much better solution than shaving has to be scissoring.  By cutting the fur shorter you don't interfere with the texture of it in the same way and hence do not damage it to the same extent (I remember the nightmare coat my MIL's Cavalier ended up with after being shaved -he had to be done every 3 months for life as it became so incredibly thick, curly and impossible to manage, and Persian cats are exactly the same if shaved) but can still remove excess coat.

"I have a cool coat which I used a lot with the last dog as she had heart problems for the last four years of her life. It was very effective and kept her just right for several hours and meant we could take her out when it was hot."

Without wishing to sound rude, why would you want to take your dog out when it was hot?

Black radiates heat away from the body, hence dogs that run are often black

That's really interesting about the coat colours, and here was me thinking it was just Louie being sensitive lol.

I too have done the worst thing ever and cut a coat off a double coated dog, a leonberger.
I too can say the dog was so much cooler without her coat, there is no argument about it.
she did have hormonal/immune issues so would not shed her coat properly but neither do many dogs that are spayed/neutered..
the main reason for clipping her the first time was skin issues. She loved to swim but with her massive coat was very difficult to dry&ended up with hotspots pretty much every time.
she went from huffy puffy hot old dog to dancing around in the time it took to take the coat off&loved the sight of clippers.
she was clipped twice each summer&left to grow her coat over the winter and it did not change her coat texture. She was not shaven though, left with a few inch covering to keep mosquitoes off and give cover from the sun.
I have not clipped any of my current dogs but would not hesitate to do so with an oldie that was suffering with the heat as I have seen with my old eyes the "coat will keep them cool" is not necessarily true. I always wish we filmed her in her coat and once it was off as the difference was so clear how much happier she was without the coat, you would not believe it was the same dog!

My white mid coated shepherd pants more than my black short coat but then the short coat sheds the most! She also enjoys sun bathing the most.

I too freeze towels and the freeze 'pods' designed for small furries cages and hutches. I put this under the vet bed or sheet and they sleep on it, very good for the boot of the car. I also freeze chicken wings, belly pork and natural yoghurt which they get like an ice cream treat on really hot days.

But best of all, plenty of drinking water.  I use a 'trug' in the summer and after washing/filling am and pm, keep it topped up with chilled (not cold) water so that it is not disruptive to their insides and they do drink more than they eat in the hot months. I find that they are clever enough to stay indoors and on the cool floors during the hottest part of the day - even with back door wide open.

The annoying thing though, my boy then dips his fore paws in it and then goes to sleep on the living room carpet!

You could invest in a cool mat, there are ones that are pressure sensitive so no water needed and last up to 4 hours, I use them at shows in the van if its a warm day. Cool coats are also a god send you soak them in water, they stay cool but don't get the dog wet.

I have a cool coat and have to say its brilliant. I have a flat coated retriever who gets hot easily. He sometimes has to go out in the hotter parts of the day and I have found the coated very useful.  I was sceptical for a long time before I bought one that the coat would be that beneficial, but have to say I am very impressed. It's also useful in the car (have no air con) and even on cooler days when he's been exercising.

goldimali my understanding of the longcoat gsd argument is that the dog should be fit for purpose as in all breeds and that requires it to have a long coat. A double coated longcoat gsd would fit breed standard. Mine is double coated and does manage in hot weather I have no experience of how a single coated dog would differ

My longcoat GSDs use a paddling pool in the summer, I have fans going for all the dogs to lay near and if I had to travel would use frozen wet towels. I'm not convinced a about the cool coats working on black double coated dogs having seen a group of owners at a show last year on a very hot day. They put them on their dogs then stood there chatting for an hour, the dogs were still panting and the coats dried out very quickly. Maybe the idea lulls the owners into a false sense of security?

My guy is black and the coat works very well like I say. It lasts about 3/4hrs between soakings.  They do need to be used with common sense though same as anything else :-)

Really - from my EXPERIENCE feeling the coats of my dark tricolour hounds after lying out in the sun, vs. my occasional lemon/white hounds, shows clearly that the darker ones are far hotter to the touch.   Whether that's radiating heat away from the body, I'm not sure!!!

I meant black radiates heat created by muscles away from the body. So dogs that run can lose body heat more efficiently than a white dog.