Paws In Pursuit: The Pet Parade and Paws Up

Friday 27 June 2014

The Pet Parade and Paws Up - Tongues and Tootsies

Dogs pant - and do you know how vital that is in their life?

Just like we sweat and breath heavily to cool down, dogs have to pant to cool themselves down. They also sweat between their toes - now did you know that before?!

In the foot, dogs sweat between their toes to help cool them down. They have glands there called merocrine glands.

So why does my dog never leave wet paw prints on a hot day when it isn't wet outside, if he/seh sweats through his pads? The answer is, dogs don't sweat through their pads enough to leave marks. However, if you delve down into your dog's paw pads with your fingers (GENTLY), you may be able to feel moisture.

There are many things you can also do alongside these natural canine cooling processes to help your dog in the hot weather, including:

~ Buying your dog a cooling mat/cooling coat for him/her to use/wear
~ Making sure there is ALWAYS a fresh and filled supply of cold water your dog has access to (this should be there at all times, not just on hot days but every day).
~ Make sure there is a cool and shady area for your dog toe scape to when he gets to hot
~ Make cool treats for him to explore which will keep him cool, e.g. a treat filled ice block!
~ Feed him cold, healthy foods such as frozen peas and carrots.
~ Fill up a paddling pool for him to go in
~ Invest in getting him stripped/clipped for the summer months
~ Make sure you have your vet's number on hand if any problems arise
~ Don't be too strenuous on exercising your dog on hot days and never push him as this could lead to heat exhaustion and/or collapse
~ Lightly spread a small amount of cool water over his body
~ Switch a fan on around him

If you don't have some of these opportunities, e.g. no cooling mats/coats, no paddling pools, etc, you can always improvise! Like, wetting a towel and lying it down in the shade for him. If shade can't be found outside, open the windows in a room in the house, possibly with a fan, and place a wet towel etc here. Put his water in here. Close the curtains and any other light sources - the hot sun comes to mind.

Anyway, back to tongues and tootsies!

It is quite obvious that us humans can cool down more effectively, quicker. We have the whole surface area of our bodies to sweat away - but dogs can only open their mouths and sweat on the very feet they walk with. The rest of their body has no way of keeping cool naturally, without the assistance of humans. Panting and paw-pad-sweating does help the whole dog keep cool - but not as effectively as if the dog could sweat all over like us!

That is why it is SO important we assist our dogs in the heat especially. And NEVER leave your dog alone in the heat. If he/she overheats, you aren't there to get help or make help.

So now you are fully aware how and why dogs keep cool naturally! They may not have an as effective system as us humans, however they still manage a pretty effective natural way to keep cool as individuals, just like we do!