A Dog's Panting Habit
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. This is not so with our furry friends. There is a misconception that dogs do not have the capability to produce sweat. It is commonly believed that because of the fur, dogs cannot sweat. It is highly possible that even people that have had dogs for years have not seen one sweating. Dogs have very few sweat glands and these sweat glands are mostly located at the pads on their feet. Contrary to the belief, dogs do sweat. During hot days the floor will be marked by the dog's paws dampened with sweat.
How do dogs manage the heat? Dogs bark and dogs pant. 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. Not much energy is needed by a dog to pant. A dog only has to hang out the tongue and its own cooling system will start to work. The tongue therefore plays a very important role on how a dog manages the heat.
The dog's few sweat glands are ineffective in cooling the body especially if the dog is walking or running on hot pavement. 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. The blood made colder by panting is now circulated throughout the dog's body the dissipating the heat and maintaining the normal body temperature.
Dogs pant for other reasons. Dogs commonly pant when the weather is hot. Dogs loll out their tongues when excited, when stressed or after a strenuous exercise. Short faced breeds are noticed to pant more. Medical concerns like seizures, lung and heart disease would cause a dog to pant.
Although panting is a normal behavior, an owner still needs to be observant. Panting is one of the symptoms of heatstroke. Dogs cannot cope well with high temperatures. Dogs must not be left in unventilated cars. A lot of dogs have died from heatstroke.
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