Where do the dogs sweat?

Sure, no matter how hot it is, you've never seen your dog sweat the huge drops that we humans give off in the face of high temperatures or physical activity. This is because dogs do not sweat as we do, but they release heat through different areas of the body, a curiosity that many pet owners do not know.

Do you wonder where the dogs sweat and how do they not be so affected by the high temperatures? Keep reading, because in this article of .com we explain it to you in detail.

First of all, what is sweat for?

The sweat is fundamental to help guarantee our health since its main mission is to favor the elimination of heat from the body by secreting liquid through the sweat glands that are found in our skin. This liquid, made up of water and various mineral salts, evaporates to help cool the body and thereby reduce our temperature .

This is the reason why in the days when it is very hot, when we do intense physical activity and even when we have a fever, we begin to sweat. By doing so our body is able to reduce its temperature and maintain it at the level that is considered normal, around 37 ºC.

We are not the only ones who need this useful function, dogs also require it but they, having so much hair, do not have the same system because their sweat would not be able to evaporate so easily. So how do they do it?

How do dogs sweat?

Unlike humans, dogs do not have sweat glands on their skin but have them in another area much less visible: the pads of their legs, the area by which they are able to eliminate heat and regulate their temperature .

Dogs sweat through their legs

Have you noticed that when it is very hot your dog leaves its marks marked on the tiles or parquet? This happens because the sweat glands of the animal are concentrated in their legs, therefore when the temperature is very high this area removes heat through water, which evaporates refreshes the dog.

The pads also help you cushion each of your steps and isolate the hot temperature of the floor so that it does not affect you at all. However only with the pads the dog would be unable to cool down, so it has one more system to turn to: its tongue.

Panting and sticking out your tongue, an effective option

Surely you've seen that when the temperatures rise your dog immediately sticks out his tongue and starts to pant and breathe faster. This useful resource allows the animal to lose heat through respiration, when the dog feels that the temperature is very high, his body sends warm blood to the tongue, which causes his salivary glands to open, eliminating the hot temperature through humidity.

What seems to us excess saliva is actually that moisture that is created in the form of water and that allows the dog to eliminate body heat. As if that were not enough, when the blood circulates through the muzzle and mouth of the animal, it reaches the brain cooler, keeping it at an ideal temperature to continue regulating this process effectively.

Beware of heat strokes!

The dog's sweating system is more complex than ours, however it is less effective so many animals, especially those with more breathing problems, may have difficulty in effectively removing heat in hot environments.

All this makes it basic to take care of the dog in summer to avoid the dreaded heat stroke, which can end the life of your pet in just minutes. Dogs large and small can be victims of this condition, so in our article how to prevent a heat stroke in dogs we give you keys so that your pet is always safe.