Thursday, August 30, 2012

Why do dogs pant?

By Jerry Welsh


Dogs don't sweat like we do. Sweating is an important mechanism that allows humans to fight the heat. When we sweat, the moisture that is produced on the skin's surface evaporates causing excess heat to be dispersed from the body. 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. On a very hot day, the wet paw prints of the dog can be seen on the floor.

What methods does a dog have to combat the heat? Panting like barking is a trademark of dogs.. Dogs uses panting as a one of a kind cooling system that ensures the circulation of cooler blood to all parts of the body to regulate temperature. 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 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.

There are other reasons why dogs pant. Hot weather causes dogs to pant excessively. Excitement, stress or exhaustion from a strenuous activity will make a dog pant. Short faced breeds are noticed to pant more. Seizures, heart and lung diseases are other reasons why a dog would 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. Left inside a car, a dog would pant heavily further heating up the confined space. Heatstroke is one of the common causes of canine deaths.




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