You may have noticed your dog in hot weather panting heavily. Many think panting is the only way a dog cools himself.
Contrary to popular belief your dog DOES sweat. Sweat pouring off their forehead is something you may not see because dogs sweat mainly from the glands in their paw pads.
How Do Dogs Sweat?
Dogs do not sweat the same way as we do. We sweat from any place on our body, but dogs only sweat from certain parts of their body. Dogs have two types of sweat glands. The Merocrine glands and the Apocrine glands.
Your dog’s Merocrine glands are like our human sweat glands. These glands are located on your dog’s paws. If you have ever noticed damp paw prints from your dog’s paws on a hot day that is the result of your dog sweating from their Merocrine glands.
Your dog’s Apocrine glands are unique to dog’s and they are different from their Merocrine glands. The technical purpose of the Apocrine glands is to release your dog’s pheromones not necessarily to cool your dog of in the sense of sweating. The Apocrine glands are located all over your dog’s body and it is a calling card for others dog’s as far as identification and identity. That is why dog’s are always sniffing each other.
So Why Do Dogs Pant?
Your dog’s cooling system has several moving parts. Sweating from the Merocrine glands plays a small role and panting helps to regulate their temperature. When dog’s pant they evaporate moisture from their tongues, nose, and lungs and the fresh air cools them down
The final piece of your dogs cooling system is vasodilation. This is the expansion of your dog’s blood vessels in his ears and face. His vessels enlarge causing warm blood to rise the surface of his skin to be cooled by the air.
Should I Cut My Dog’s Hair Off?
Simple answer is NO. Your dog’s hair insulates him capturing cold and warm air depending on the season.
How Do I Know If My Dog Is Overheated?
Your dog can experience life threatening heat stroke if he is unable to cool down. Always be away of the following symptoms of heat stroke.
Dehydration
Drooling
Vomiting
Lack of coordination (ataxia)
Bright Red Gums
Irregular heartbeat
Seizures
Unconsciousness
Tremors
If you suspect that your dog is suffering from heat stroke or heat stress, remove him from the heat and call your veterinarian immediately. You will need to take him to an animal hospital, but in the meantime, you can run cool water on him from a hose, in the bathtub, or put a soaked towel on his body. Always keep his head elevated and out of the water. Also, give him some cool water to drink.
