Dog Gone Knit: Grr. Not brr.

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. It is widely believed that dogs don’t sweat. It is commonly believed that because of the fur, dogs cannot sweat. 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. The notion that dogs cannot sweat is simply untrue. During hot days the floor will be marked by the dog’s paws dampened with sweat.

What methods does a dog have to combat the heat? Panting like barking is a dog thing. Panting is a dog’s effective technique of coping with the heat and ensuring that cooler blood will be circulated to all parts of the body and to prevent the brain, the most heat sensitive part from being affected by excessive heat. Not much energy is needed by a dog to pant. When the dog lolls the tongue, the cooling system switch will be turned on and excess body heat will be gone. The tongue therefore plays a very important role on how a dog manages the heat.

Because of the location of the very few sweat glands, a dog cannot cool the body if it is running on hot pavement. Cooling off is achieved through the tongue. By hanging out the tongue, the dog boosts the evaporation of moisture from the tongue’s surface. Air that cools the mouth and the blood vessels on the head is created when the dog pants. The blood made cooler by the dog’s panting will now be circulated to the parts of the body achieving a normal level of body temperature.

Dog panting can have other causes. Dogs commonly pant when the weather is hot. Stress, excitement and strenuous activities would make a dog pant. Short faced breeds are noticed to pant more. Dogs with medical concerns would pant.

As mentioned, panting is normal in dogs but a pet parent has to be vigilant. Heavy panting can be a manifestation of heatstroke. Dogs are severely affected by high temperatures. Left inside a car, a dog would pant heavily further heating up the confined space. Heatstroke is a common killer of dogs.