Dogs do not sweat the way we humans do. To deal with the heat, humans make use of a very important method – sweating. By sweating, excess heat is released from the body when the moisture on the surface of the skin evaporates. Our furry friends cannot manage excess body heat this way. There is a misconception that dogs do not have the capability to produce sweat. It is believed that it is impossible for dogs to sweat through their furs. Even people that have kept dogs for years may not have the opportunity to see the pet sweat. Dogs have very few sweat glands and these sweat glands are mostly located at the pads on their feet. This means that dogs can sweat. During hot days the floor will be marked by the dog’s paws dampened with sweat.
What do dogs do to cope with the heat? Panting like barking is a dog thing. Panting is the dog’s unique cooling system that prevents the brain from overheating and effecting the circulation of cooler blood to all parts of the body. A dog does not need to exert too much effort to pant. A dog only has to hang out the tongue and its own cooling system will start to work. This makes the tongue a very important part in the dog’s one of a kind cooling system.
The few sweat glands on the dogs paws will be incapable of cooling the body especially if the feet is planted on a hot surface. Cooling off is achieved through the tongue. The evaporation of moisture on the surface of the tongue is enhanced when the dog lolls the tongue. The tongue, the mouth and consequently the blood vessels on the head are cooled when the dogs pants. Once blood is cooled by the dog’s panting the normal level of body temperature will be attained.
Dog panting can have other causes. Dogs commonly pant when the weather is hot. Excitement, stress or exhaustion from a strenuous activity will make a dog pant. Short faced breeds are noticed to pant more. Dogs with medical concerns would pant.
Although panting is a normal behavior, an owner still needs to be observant. A panting dog may be suffering from heatstroke. Dogs are severely affected by high temperatures. Dogs must not be left in unventilated cars. Heatstroke is one of the common causes of canine deaths.
Dogs are interesting animals. Learn more about why do dogs pant and read more about heatstroke symptoms, prevention and treatment at Sarah’s Dogs.
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