, the owner may begin to worry about whether this is a sign of some kind of disease? When the phenomenon is periodic, it is rarely paid attention to, since it is known that breathing through the mouth, with the tongue hanging out in dogs, occurs at a time when they are hot and need to cool down.
In the vast majority of cases, a protruding tongue is not an indicator of a life-threatening condition for the pet, but requires attention from the owner. Sometimes the phenomenon occurs due to structural features of the jaws, in which the lower one is longer than the upper one, and because of this, the tip of the tongue will always be in sight.
Brachycephalic dogs
These pets have such a structure of the head and jaws, due to which the protruding tip of their tongue is an acceptable natural phenomenon that does not cause them discomfort and does not require treatment. Most brachycephalic dogs belong to the following breeds:
- Bulldog.
- Boxer.
- Pekingese.
- Shar Pei.
- Pug.
All these dogs have common structural features:
- reduced muzzle length;
- significant head width;
- flattened muzzle;
- snub or depressed nose;
- protruding scoop-type lower jaw.
Sometimes dogs that are not brachycephalic develop a strange shortening of the upper jaw, which is congenital. In such a situation, they also end up with the tip of their tongue sticking out. If this does not interfere with them, and control of the organ is not impaired, then treatment is not required. In cases like this, when the tip of the dog’s tongue sticks out , there is no reason to panic.
Pathological causes
A protruding tongue is not always the norm, and it happens that a dog begins to breathe with its mouth slightly open due to overheating or a decreased sense of smell. This state does not last for a few minutes, as happens with natural cooling, but for a long time.
- Rhinitis. Just like humans, dogs can experience a runny nose, which can cause loss of smell and obstruction of the nasal passages. Mouth breathing in such a situation replaces nasal breathing until it is restored. Rhinitis can be caused by a cold, virus, allergy, or injury. The fact that rhinitis has occurred can be understood by the release of mucus from the nose and changes in breathing. If the animal is otherwise in good condition, then treatment is not required, and to speed up recovery, it is enough to give the dog drugs that strengthen the immune system. If a runny nose is caused by an injury, treatment may be difficult and may even require surgery. When the nasal passages are blocked, the dog’s tongue most often hangs to the side, since this is the most comfortable position for him when he is outside the mouth for a long time.
- Impaired control of the muscles that are responsible for holding the root of the tongue. In this condition, the dog's tongue appears to be constantly sticking out. This prevents her from closing her mouth, eating and drinking normally. The problem may arise due to pinched nerve endings, neurotic disorders, or damage to the muscles of the root of the tongue. Depending on the cause, treatment is carried out. Medications may be used to improve performance nervous system, or surgical interventions are performed.
- Constant overheating. This phenomenon occurs more often in long-haired dogs that live indoors and have a dense undercoat. They always need to cool the body, and therefore their mouth is usually slightly open, and their tongue sticks out of it, through which cooling occurs. Most often this phenomenon is observed during heating season, when the air in the room is not just hot, but also dry. In principle, this phenomenon does not pose a danger and may not be corrected. If you want to provide your dog with more comfortable conditions, then you need to lower the temperature in the room and increase the humidity, for which you can hang wet terry towels on the radiators.
In all these cases, it is necessary to treat or adjust the pet’s living conditions and try to restore its normal state.
Other reasons
The tongue may be constantly sticking out for two more reasons, which an attentive owner can easily eliminate, since they are uncomfortable for the animal.
- Too much hot food. If a dog is fed very hot porridge or soup, and she herself cannot wait for the food to cool down and grabs it right away, then a slight burn of the tongue occurs. By sticking it out of his mouth, the dog tries to cool the burned tissues and thereby speed up their recovery. The owner should strictly monitor the temperature of the food he gives to the pet;
- Not quality toys. If the material from which the toys are made causes irritation to the dog’s tongue, he will often begin to stick it out to cool the tissue and reduce discomfort. To prevent this problem, you need to choose only high-quality toys for your pet.
If your dog keeps sticking out his tongue , you should immediately find out the reason for this phenomenon.
Many people have seen dogs stick out their tongues. And not just, but they keep their mouths open for quite a long time. At the same time, many will find it difficult to explain this peculiarity of the behavior of our smaller brothers.
A little about thermoregulation
A dog, like any living creature, has its own thermoregulation mechanism in its body. When a person is cold, his skin becomes covered with pimples, the so-called “goose bumps” effect occurs; when he is hot, he sweats accordingly. But it’s hard to imagine a sweating dog, especially since it doesn’t even have sweat glands. But after any physical activity her blood circulation increases, therefore, there is a need for heat transfer.
So, the dog opens its mouth and sticks out its tongue. I must say, this is one of the reasons for his large sizes. It is wet and large, moisture from the warm surface evaporates and it cools. This way the animal returns to normal health and cools down. Have you ever thought about
It has been noticed that short-haired dogs stick out their tongues less than shaggy ones, like collies, Chinese chins and others. Hairless dog breeds do not need this at all; their body is already cooled by its entire surface area.
Positive emotions
Many have noticed that if a dog is in a positive mood and sniffs a person, its tongue will stick out. She licks the person or simply lightly touches the surface that she sniffs. This is how animals mark what they like, including people, as their own. In the future, this, in my opinion, will speed up the recognition process and immediately tell you how to treat the object. For a dog, the tongue is in many ways a universal organ. For example, she treats wounds with it, because her saliva contains an antiseptic. This is where the expression “licking your wounds” comes from. In her case it makes sense.
Disease
If the animal is lying down, not breathing heavily, but its tongue is sticking out, it is quite possible to assume a deterioration in health, or poisoning. It's better to take your dog to the vet. If the tongue is also dry, your pet is definitely sick, rather go to the veterinary clinic. At the veterinarian’s appointment, it would be a good idea to describe what the animal ate, how it behaved the day before, and what it did during the walk. All this will help make the correct diagnosis and prescribe appropriate treatment.
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All dog owners note features in their animal's habits that distinguish it from others. But all dogs, without exception, stick out their tongues. Why do they do this? This question may not be of interest to the owner, who believes that this is the norm for the animal. In this article we will tell you why it is so important to know why a dog breathes with its tongue hanging out. This could indicate a lot of things.
Key reasons
There are several moments at which four-legged animals begin to stick out their tongues:
- Extreme heat, heat, the dog’s body overheats. Why a dog sticks out its tongue in the heat - we will explain further.
- The stress suffered, overexcitement, emotional upsurge - both joy and sadness.
- Sometimes the cause of a constantly protruding tongue is various diseases.
To know the exact reason why you stick out your tongue, you need to observe it for some time and learn to distinguish the reasons. Most often, the dog sticks its tongue out of its mouth in hot weather. Why he does this remains unclear to many owners. Let's talk about this reason in more detail.
Why does a dog stick out its tongue when it's hot?
A person, when the ambient temperature is too high and the body overheats, begins to sweat. In dogs, thermoregulation occurs differently, because they have very few sweat glands. Why does a dog stick out its tongue when it's hot? Precisely for thermoregulation. While the mouth is open and the tongue, abundantly moistened with saliva, falls out of it, increased evaporation occurs precisely through the surface of the tongue, and not through the sweat glands.
In this way, the dog regulates its body temperature, getting rid of excess heat.
How to alleviate the condition of an animal in the heat?
Firstly, you need to give a lot of water. Many people are interested in why a dog sticks out its tongue even when it always has cool water in its bowl. You just have to compare yourself and your pet. People don't stop sweating in the heat when they consume a lot of fluid, do they? That's how it is with dogs!
Secondly, for walks, choose a comfortable muzzle that will not prevent your tongue from sticking out comfortably. If a dog is unable to regulate its body temperature in this way, it may suffer heatstroke, its blood pressure will increase, and the animal may simply faint.
Be sure to take a bottle of water for your dog with you on your walk so that he can drink and refresh himself at any time.
Find a corner of the house protected from the sun where your pet can rest and cool down.
Change your walking time
If you are very concerned about why your dog is breathing frequently with his tongue hanging out, then change the time for walking to the summer. In the morning, go out before ten o'clock before noon, at this time it is already warm, but not yet hot. In the evening you need to go out after ten, when the sun has completely set. The fact is that even at 8 and 9 pm the heat remains, although the sun is no longer so hot. This temperature may seem normal to us, but for a dog it will be hot.
Dogs that do not have fur do not need to change their walking time: Chinese, Peruvian and Mexican Crested. They don’t have a fur coat that interferes with heat transfer, and their body can evaporate moisture on its own!
Stress, overexcitement
Dogs stick out their tongues mechanically if they are very excited or stressed. This can be observed when the owners go on vacation and leave the pet in the care of friends. Even if it's not hot, the dog will still stick out his tongue. Severe fear or the consequences of stress are also common causes of a protruding tongue. At such moments, increased salivation may occur.
If the reason lies precisely in a stressful state and moral overstrain, then you need to calm your pet down as soon as possible. Pay attention to the dog, play, stroke its back and scratch its tummy, and treat it with a treat. If you experience frequent stress, you can add a weak decoction of motherwort to your dog’s water once a day, this will help stabilize the condition.
Causes of stress when a dog begins to breathe with his tongue hanging out:
- sharp noise;
- a change of scenery;
- poor treatment (even if you scolded your pet just once);
- another dog barked while walking;
- came to visit strangers;
- a new pet has appeared in the house;
- change of diet;
- vaccinations or just a visit to the vet.
Joy
Surely you have noticed that the dog sticks out its tongue and begins to breathe quickly, while wagging its tail, when you come home from work, start talking or playing with your pet, you yourself rejoice and laugh, and treat the four-legged dog with treats. At this time the dog does not have physical activity, she's not hot, but she still sticks out her tongue. Why is she doing this? It’s not known exactly, but the dog probably smiles, rejoices, tries to show its owner that it is happy.
What to do in this case? It’s okay, let the pet jump and be happy, you don’t need to calm him down, in this way you can simply ruin his mood.
Disease
We looked at the most common reasons why a dog breathes heavily with his tongue hanging out. But there are also isolated cases when the cause of a constantly protruding tongue is some kind of disease. If you are concerned about this behavior of the animal, then show it to the veterinarian, he will definitely be able to diagnose if the dog is sick, and will help take measures for a speedy recovery of your friend.
The most common disease that causes a dog to stick out its tongue is hypoxia. With this disease, the level of oxygen in the animal’s blood decreases, and it is simply forced to breathe frequently, and this is easier through the mouth. Observe the behavior and condition of the dog, if it does not change, then take it to the vet. If the diagnosis is confirmed, the owner will be given recommendations for treating the animal.
Also in case of rapid breathing with open mouth you need to monitor the condition of the animal. Keep a diary where you note everything that the veterinarian may need to make an accurate diagnosis:
- Record the period of time during which the dog breathes with its mouth open, note whether this happens during his sleep.
- Watch to see if the mucous membranes dry out. The nose should be consistently moist and the eyes should be shiny. If there is something wrong with the pet’s health, then the look becomes dull, cloudy, the nose becomes very dry, and scabs may even appear. If in this case the dog is also breathing frequently with his tongue hanging out, then you need to urgently show him to a doctor.
- Monitor your breathing quality. Listen for wheezing, whistling, grunting, coughing and other unusual breathing sounds.
- Pay attention to the reaction of the pupils. If they do not react when the light changes, then this is a bad signal. Also, the pupils should not be constantly dilated or constricted.
- When. when the mucous membranes become pale with a grayish or bluish tint, this is one hundred percent evidence of hypoxia.
Excess weight is also the reason why a dog often sticks out its tongue. If so, then put your pet on a diet!
Many people wonder why a dog sticks out its tongue while breathing quickens. Usually, the owners of their pets do not attach due importance to this phenomenon and do not think about what it might be connected with. Experts have conducted a lot of research on this topic and identified the reasons:
- Hot weather conditions;
- Stressful situation;
What are the reasons why a dog breathes with its tongue hanging out and why is it dangerous? You can find out the answers to these questions in the description below.
The reason why a dog sticks out its tongue is heat
Most breeders are not aware that dogs generally do not produce sweat. This feature is due to the fact that the animal has a specific structure skin, which are covered with a “fur coat”. Dogs have almost no sweat glands, but there are still a small number of them on the pads of their paws and on the tip of their nose. But due to their small number, these glands are not able to cool the dog’s body, since the liquid does not evaporate and the body does not receive sufficient cooling. What to do in this case and how can you help your pet?
If you notice that on hot summer days your dog is breathing heavily with his tongue hanging out, then quickly give him some water and find a quiet place where your four-legged friend can hide from the heat and sun. The body is filled with water useful substances and dehydration does not occur. In addition, drinking enough water will help your dog stay alert and cool at all times. Therefore, when you go for a walk with your four-legged friend, be sure to take a bottle of water with you so that you can always quench your dog’s thirst.
Changing dog walking hours
During the hot summer, try to walk your dog in the morning and evening, when the air temperature is not yet very high. However, there are dog breeds that do not have hair on their bodies, such as the Chinese, Mexican, Peruvian and Crested; their bodies produce moisture on their own because the fur does not interfere with evaporation.
By its nature, a dog’s body is built in such a way that even without the work of the sweat glands, the level of necessary moisture is produced. The larynx and tongue serve to evaporate moisture. This process produces the so-called cooling in the dog’s body. This is the answer to the question - this phenomenon allows her to avoid heat stroke from the heat.
For the attention of the owners of their pets, when choosing a muzzle, it is necessary to take into account the fact that after heavy physical exertion the dog breathes through its mouth, while sticking out its tongue. And if the shape of the muzzle interferes with this process, then this is fraught with serious consequences for the health of your pet. Therefore, the more often the pet breathes, the faster the cooling process occurs.
Transferring a stressful situation
And the second reason why a dog may have difficulty breathing is a stressful situation. By sticking out its tongue, the animal experiences natural reaction to the stress experienced. In addition, salivation in large quantities may still be observed. If you observe this behavior in a dog, you immediately need to calm the pet so that its condition stabilizes.
Serious illness
We have looked at the most common reasons why a dog may behave this way. Sometimes the cause of rapid breathing can be a serious illness, so it is best to consult a veterinarian for advice and examination of your tailed friend. Only a specialist can identify the reason for this behavior and take appropriate measures.
One of the reasons for heavy breathing can be hypoxia, which means that oxygen levels in the animal’s body are lower than normal. If certain time If you observe the dog’s behavior, you will notice that he breathes through his mouth quite often. In the case when such a phenomenon is confirmed, the owner needs to remember and carefully analyze the following features:
- To begin with, try to record the exact time during which the dog was breathing with its mouth open, this will make it possible to quickly determine the cause;
- Do the eyes, nose and mouth become covered with mucus, since these parts of the body must be constantly moisturized.
- Have there been cases of rapid breathing, wheezing, whistling, frequent cough reflex;
- If the pupils are too narrow or too wide open, or the pupil does not respond to light.
- If the mucous membrane has a grayish or pale color, and sometimes blue, then this indicates possible hypoxia.
What do you prefer to feed your pets?
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Porridge with various additives 46%, 8226 votes
Dry food only 26%, 4618 votes
A good dog deserves a good bone
/English proverb/
In humans and many animals, beads of sweat begin to appear on the body in hot weather or after physical activity. This is a special liquid consisting of water, salts and other substances. It is produced by sweat glands. Sweat is necessary to regulate body temperature. If the body overheats, it appears on the surface of the skin and, evaporating, cools it well. In humans and some animals, such as horses, sweat glands are located throughout the body, which prevents overheating. In extreme heat, a person can produce up to 12 liters of sweat per day!
As for dogs, they have very few sweat glands on their body. They are found only on the paw pads and nose. These animals have such a thermoregulation system that, for example, if a dog runs without stopping for several hours in a row in hot weather, even then it will not sweat.
It is difficult to imagine how these animals would suffer from the heat if they had not come up with their own way to cool themselves. When they get hot, dogs open their mouths wide and begin to breathe rapidly. This causes saliva to evaporate from the surface of their tongue and throat and cool their body. This process is called thermoregulatory polypnea.
By the way, if a dog is wearing a muzzle, it does not have the opportunity to “stick its tongue out to the ground.” In this case, in very hot weather, her body temperature rises. With prolonged overheating, if the muzzle is not removed and urgent measures are not taken to reduce the temperature, the animal may die. This is especially true for dogs with long, thick black hair, since it is the black color that absorbs heat rays more than others.
In addition to dogs, cats do not have sweat glands on their bodies; pigs, rabbits and many other animals, as well as birds, cannot sweat.
Now you know, why does a dog stick out its tongue- to regulate your body temperature.
