Usually, when the temperature of a human body increases by being at a hot place, exercising or doing some energy consuming work, it starts to exude. It is very common for humans to sweat. Unlike humans, a dog does sweat but quite differently. Humans can sweat all over the body. It’s the natural mechanism in our body to normalize its temperature. When the temperature of our body rises to a level that is not good for our health, our body starts to sweat. The sweat then evaporates into the air by absorbing the heat from our body, hence cooling it down.
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Do dogs have sweat glands?
As a dog owner, you must have thought that if your dog sweat. You must have wondered that why the fur of your dog isn’t wet due to sweating just like you do. When the summer is at the peak, you must have seen your dog huffing and puffing or lying down on a cold floor or dirt. Entirely different from us Huh… (You would not have seen a dog with sweaty underarms) the dogs actually using painting as their primary mean of cooling down the body.
The dog does not have an equal distribution of sweat glands all over their body. Dogs have their sweat glands located around paws. Sometimes, when it is hot in the environment, you would have noticed some wet footprint on the floor trailing behind your walking dog. These damp foot marks are a sign of sweating. Dogs also have sweat glands in the body areas where there are less or no hair.
Beware, excessive sweating or no sweating can be due to some disease (particularly tumor of sweat glands) Be sure to visit the veterinarian with your dog if those signs are present.
Panting
Panting is the primary method for a dog to cool down his body. When a dog puff, the moisture is evaporated from their tongue. This heavy breathing also allows the air in the lungs to absorbs the moisture and then take it out of the body. This method is beneficial because it allows the heat from the thorax inner body (which is hotter than the skin surface) to be transferred into the environment.
The moisturized air is exhaled into the environment to keep the body fresh. If you have a dangerous dog who needs a muzzle from time to time, be sure to give him a basket type muzzle which allows him to puff with ease. Larger dogs find it difficult to cool their body than smaller dogs, but they are more tolerant of natural heat.
One of a Mexican dog breed does not have a body fur. They are found to have more sweat glands than furry dogs. Apart from that, most of the dogs do not have a uniform distribution of sweat glands on their entire skin. The second most effective method for the dogs to cool their body is vasodilation. In this process, dogs dilate and expand their blood vessels around the face and ear.
It allows for cooling down the blood by making it flow near the surface of the skin. In mammals, most of the blood flow toward the brain. With this process, they can cool down most of their blood. This method is mostly triggered when overheating is through running and exercise. It is not very effective against hot temperature.
What is the function of Dog’s Fur in this cooling process?
Dog’s fur is usually thought to make the body’s temperature go high which is true to some extent (Their fur could be on the reason that they do not have sweat glands all over their body). Fur acts as an insulator for a dog. It blocks the effect of the environment’s temperature on body temperature (Just like a coat). But this effect is both ways around. Fur not only effects the outside temperature but it also makes it harder for the inner body temperature to be absorbed by the environment. This can cause heat problems for dogs during hotter summer days.
Overheating in Dogs
Dogs are most likely to suffer from overheating and hypothermia on a sweltering summer day. Signs of overheating are excessive and noisy breathing and disorienting. Overheating can cause the dog to collapse, vomit or even have a mental disorder. Also, your dog can overheat quickly in a hot and humid environment.
The Signs Include
Red Eyes Faltering or staggering Unnecessary Thirst Excessive Salivating How to prevent your dog from overheating? There are some precautions that you should take to prevent your dog from overheating. One mistake that we make is to go on Shopping and leaving the dog in the car. It is observed that a car can heat up from inside in less than 10 minutes up to the point that is very dangerous for your dog. So, do not leave the dog inside a car for too long on a hot summer day.
Another mistake that we make is to leave the dog in the house while we go outside and close all windows, doors, and rooftops. This blocks the fresh air from coming inside and the ventilation process. The air blocked inside of the house can get very hot and make the environment dangerous for your pet. Always make sure to leave some way open for the fresh air to come in when you go outside without your dog. Thirdly, you need to give a bath to your dog regularly. It helps them cool down their body. Also, always make sure to have cold water available for your dog to drink. This will help them a lot in a hot environment.
You can also avoid your dog from overheating by exercising in the morning or at the end of the day. Your dog has already overheated himself by playing with the tennis ball for those thirty minutes. Now, if you make him carry the ball in his mouth all the way back home, he’ll not be able to cool down his body. So, you have to take the ball back home yourself.
Conclusion
Finally, the answer to the question that “do dogs sweat?” is “yes they do!” but not in the way we do. Sweating is a natural function of their body which helps them in keeping their body cool. It should not be considered as a symptom of some dangerous disease, but appropriate measure should be taken to help them cool their body.
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