Many have seen a dog stick its tongue out of its mouth, but not everyone will explain why it does so. But it turns out that this behavior of the animal is caused by important processes in the body that help to adapt to the environment and maintain health.
The dog’s tongue is a multifunctional organ with the help of which dogs drink water, clean their hair and paws, lick their owner and even cool in the hot season. Therefore, protruding from the mouth of the tongue is due to various reasons.
Reasons why the dog sticks out its tongue:
- hard breath;
- hot weather;
- physical exercise;
- rest and sleep;
- elevated emotional state.
Interesting fact: The habit of protruding the tongue is common among Chihuahua dogs, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel along with other small breeds.
Hard breath
Dogs with a flat muzzle and flattened noses, the so-called. "Brachycephalic breeds" (pug, bulldog, Pekingese, etc.) protrude their tongue due to genetic characteristics. These breeds are prone to brachycephalic syndrome, which consists in obstruction of the upper respiratory tract. Due to heavy breathing, the animal keeps its mouth open with its tongue sticking out. In addition, tongue protrusion by dogs of brachycephalic breeds is sometimes caused by the fact that their tongues are too large for the oral cavity.
In some cases, tongue protrusion occurs in connection with the abnormal structure of the jaw of the animal, which does not support the tongue.
Hot weather
Dogs can hardly tolerate hot weather, even to the extent that this leads to an animal's disease.The bottom line is that in a dog, sweat glands are not located throughout the body, as, for example, in humans, but are only in two places: on the pads of the paws and on the nose. The dog’s tongue contains a blood vessel system. As the dog's body temperature rises from the heat, the blood vessels expand due to an increase in blood flow to the tongue.
To reduce body temperature, the dog needs heat transfer. To do this, open the mouth and protrudes tongue moist from saliva. The surface of the tongue sticks out in contact with air during evaporation of saliva, which cools the tongue and removes heat from the blood supply. Thus, the dog’s body temperature is normalized and the animal’s well-being improves.
In this respect protruding the tongue is a way of sweating the dog, A process that adapts an animal to hot weather.
Help the dog in the heat
To help the pet withstand the heat, make sure that the dog has fresh, clean water at all times. Overheating of the animal often leads to dehydration, which negatively affects the health of the animal. To avoid excessive heat exposure, pets are doused with water or bathed. However, such measures are taken carefully, because even on stuffy days the dog can catch a cold through a violation of the fat layer that is contained under the skin. It is recommended to select the muzzle for the dog so that it does not interfere with the animal sticking out its tongue.
Wool and thermoregulation
It was noted that short-haired dog breeds (Doberman, Dachshund, Labrador) protrude their tongue less often than those with long thick hair (Samoyeds, Chinese chin, retriever, collie). Hairless dogs (Chinese Crested, American Hairless Terrier) do not need this, because they are cooled by all skin.Shaggy dogs of black color, which absorbs the sun's rays, are most susceptible to thermal shock.
Physical exercise
After intense physical exertion (training, prolonged running, exciting games), the blood circulation in the dog increases, breathing quickens, body temperature rises, as a result of which there is a need for heat transfer. Opening the mouth and protruding the tongue, the dog normalizes body temperature and helps the body cool down. The animal uses the same method of getting rid of excess heat with severe overwork, agitation, and stress.
Interesting fact: Humidity of a dog’s tongue directly depends on well-being: if the dog is healthy, the tongue is wet from saliva; dry tongue indicates a deterioration in the health of the animal.
Rest and sleep
Dogs stick out the tip of the tongue or the entire tongue when they feel comfortable and calm. If the dog has just eaten, played with all his heart, or lies next to the owner, sticking his tongue out, this means that he is pleased and relaxed. Dogs stick out their mouths after eating because of excessive salivation. Dogs often show their tongue when they are sleeping, which confirms the assumption that the tongue sticking out in the dog is a sign of complete relaxation of the animal.
Elevated emotional state
And finally, probably, the most positive reason why the dog sticks out its mouth from the mouth is the good mood of the animal. When the dog is in high spirits, it touches the surface of the tongue, which he sniffs, or licks a person. In this way, the dog marks favorite things and people.This helps the animal in the future to recognize favorite objects and tells how to relate to them.
Thus, with the help of the tongue sticking out of the mouth, the dog expresses benevolent emotions.
The answer to such an interesting question Pwhy the dog sticks out its tongue, simple: this is how it works body thermoregulation in this animal. The evaporation of saliva from the surface of the tongue decreases the body temperature of the dog and it cools. Therefore, dogs stick out their tongue on hot days or after physical activity. It is possible to reduce the number of cases of tongue protrusion by a dog by limiting physical activity and reducing exposure to heat. The function of heat transfer in the dog's body, with the exception of the protruding tongue, is performed by a wet nose.
With the tongue sticking out, the dogs also express well-being, joy, pleasure, relaxation, a favorable attitude.
