This may help you a bit more, as there are other things to look out for when checking the gums aswell,
like capillary refill time and what colour the gums are, for eg if there brick red or realy dark red, then it could indercate
heat stroke, yellow is jaundice, also if the gum feels tacky or dry, then it could inderacte the dogs dehydrated.
http://petcare.suite101.com/article.cfm/how_to_check_your_dogs_gums
chook, any advice is always appreciated good to know what each symptom indicates thanks.