Why Does A Dog Stick Out Its Tongue In Extreme Heat - The Reasons For This Pet Behavior

2024 Author: Bailey Albertson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 12:53

Why does a dog stick out his tongue in extreme heat?

A dog with a protruding tongue is not a rare sight. But why these animals do this, not everyone knows. However, this is easy to explain in terms of dog physiology.

Why does a dog stick out his tongue in the heat?

Both man and dog sweat in the heat. Excreting and evaporating, sweat cools the surface of the skin, the living creature feels relief, the body does not overheat. The difference between a man and a dog is the location of these sweat glands: in dogs, they are found on the tongue and pads of the paws.

In hot weather, the dog opens its mouth and begins to breathe at an increased rate. This helps the liquid evaporate from the mucous membrane faster. As a result, the body temperature remains normal even in the heat, and the dog can run without harm to health.

Sticking out tongue in hot weather for a dog is a way of cooling

Other cooling methods

In extreme heat, the dog instinctively finds a place for itself in the shade and lies down (active movements contribute to an increase in body temperature). Also, if there is a reservoir nearby, the animal will not miss the opportunity to plunge into it. It also helps to cool.

If the dog sees a pond in the heat, he will definitely plunge into it to cool

Video: why dogs stick out their tongue

Pathological causes of protruding tongue

Sometimes the protruding tongue of the dog indicates its illness. If this condition is clearly not associated with heat or strenuous exercise, the animal should be shown to a veterinarian.

A protruding tongue can be a sign of:

• Runny nose. Dogs, like humans, have a stuffy nose, in which case the only way to breathe is through the mouth. With rhinitis in a dog, you can notice accompanying signs: discharge of mucus from the nose, loss of appetite, lack of smell.
• Neurological pathology when the muscles of the tongue lose control. This may be due to infectious lesions, trauma, pinching of nerve endings.
• Constant overheating. This is especially common in dogs that overgrow with a thick undercoat by winter, but live in apartments with central heating. The dog is forced to cool down constantly.

How to help your pet in the heat

To alleviate the condition of the pet in the heat, veterinarians advise:

• transfer walks to early morning or late evening, when there are no scorching rays of the sun and the air temperature is not too high;

• check that the dog always has access to fresh drinking water;

  

  Clean fresh water is a must for a dog in the heat

• exclude fatty and heavy foods from the diet, the digestion of which takes time and energy;
• if it is necessary to walk in a muzzle, choose such a model so that the dog can freely open its mouth and stick out its tongue.

Video: how to help a dog in the heat

Nature is very wise. The location of the sweat glands under the thick dog's hair does not make sense, so they found their place where the liquid will have direct contact with air - on the pads and on the mucous membrane of the oral cavity. In order not to overheat in the heat, it is enough for the dog to stick its tongue out of its mouth and start breathing faster.