By Anna Burke
Jun 02, 2020|akc.org
As a dog owner, you may be used to seeing your canine companion pant in warm weather, but do dogs sweat? Contrary to popular belief,
dogs do sweat
, but sweating is only a small part of the process they use to cool themselves down.
How Do Dogs Sweat?
There's a reason why you've never seen your dog sweat in the same way you do, and that's because dogs only produce sweat in certain parts of their bodies. Dogs have two types of sweat glands:
Merocrine glands
Apocrine glands
Merocrine sweat glands function similarly to human sweat glands. These glands are located in your dog's paw pads and activate when he is hot to cool him down. This is why you might notice damp paw prints on the ground during particularly hot days. Most dogs are covered in fur, so if sweat glands were located on their bodies, the sweat would fail to evaporate - and when sweat evaporates, that's when cooling takes place. That's why it is much more efficient for dogs to have sweat glands in their paw pads, where there is little fur.
Apocrine sweat glands are different from merocrine glands. While veterinarians consider aporcrine glands to be sweat glands, their main purpose is to release pheromones, not cool your dog off. These glands are located all over every dog's body, and they help a dog identify other dogs by scent.
What's the Point of Panting?
Sweat plays a very small role in cooling down your dog. Dogs rely on panting to control most of their temperature regulation. When dogs pant, they evaporate moisture from their tongues, nasal passages, and the lining of their lungs, cooling themselves as air passes over the moist tissue.
They also rely on vasodilation to help them cool off, which is the expansion of blood vessels, especially in their ears and face. When the blood vessels expand, they bring the hot blood closer to the surface of the skin, which allows it to cool down before returning to the heart and helps regulate an animal's internal body temperature.
Your dog's coat actually acts as an insulator. A dog's coat captures air to keep out the cold and hold heat in during winter, and to keep your dog cooler in hot weather," explains Dr. Jerry Klein, AKC chief veterinary officer.
"This is why you should not shave a double-coated breed. The inner coat, which is shed regularly, is also the dog's insulating coat. Shaving that coat to reduce shedding or supposedly to keep the dog cool, also eliminates that insulating layer of fur and makes the dog susceptible to heat stroke and can result in improper hair growth and the possibility of follicle damage."
|
GGLRR Masks:
The Ultimate Accessory for Your Next Dog Walk!
GGLRR masks have been a HUGE hit! We now have a NEW Black Lab Smile mask and a few more Paws.
Order yours now before we completely run out; they look great and make you smile!
You can mix and match with the other style so you always have a clean mask.
|
Rico
7-10-year-old neutered male Black Lab mix, 77 lbs.
Rico came to us from the Fresno area surrendered by the only family he's known since he was reportedly adopted from their local shelter when he was a puppy. It is hard to tell his age as he is significantly overweight and doesn't look like he was very well taken care of. He is an easy going boy and good on leash, though his walks are short until he loses more weight as he now he waddles instead of walks. Rico is friendly and good with people and children. He is quiet in the house but does bark when he sees new people (that is just his way of saying "hi").
Rico is located in San Jose. He is UTD on Rabies, DA2PP, and Leptospirosis vaccines and is heartworm negative. He is on a weight management kibble and a joint supplement. He is carrying a lot of extra weight and it is likely hard on his joints. He could stand to lose 25 pounds. Rico is located in San Jose.
_______________________________________
Dexter
2-year-old neutered male Black Lab-wanna-be, 70 lbs.
Dexter is a complete sweetheart wrapped in a bundle of pure energy. He is well behaved in the house, sleeps well through the night, and responsive to basic commands. He has a high prey drive and a competitive edge, so if you have a cat, another dog, or kids, Dexter is not for you. Crate trained and tie-down trained. Loves squeaky toys. Working on his counter surfing tendencies. Easily clears three foot hight baby gates in a single bound.
We initially thought he might be mostly Lab, but he is proving to be a total hound - tall, lean, and lanky; whip like tail; total focus on squirrels or cats or other dogs when they are in sight. Needs a home of adult humans without kids and any other animal. Not for the faint of heart. Needs lots of room to run and romp - probably not an apartment-dwelling or city dog.
Dexter is in superb health. Current on vaccinations; heartworm negative; microchipped; neutered.
_______________________________
Oso
16-month-old neutered male Black Lab, 85 lbs.
Oso (Spanish for "bear") was recently recovered from a San Jose backyard by a good Samaritan who saw a listing on Craigslist. While he passed our basic evaluation for joining the Lab Rescue program, we found that he is quite bull-headed and lacks discipline and manners. He is quick to jump on people and has been quite mouthy. A bit of a resource guarder too. He is a big dog; not for a home with children or anyone unsteady on their feet. Oso's adopter will be required to complete some work with the trainer to ensure they are onboard with the program to care for Oso. He will require a strong, firm adopter who is prepared for lots of exercise and structured playtime.
Oso is a bit aloof and its important that any potential adopters know he may not have a superb connection with them in the beginning. He seems like a dog that was tethered a lot and learned how to get himself out of it, so now he gets really mouthy whenever he feels constrained.
Oso is current on vaccinations, microchipped, heartworm negative, and recently neutered. He is located in San Pablo.
|
|
Help support GGLRR if you're shopping online!
|
We are now part of Amazon Smile's program online. Anything you buy on Amazon, you can also buy on Amazon Smile and a small portion of your purchase will be donated to GGLRR. Just go to Amazon Smile and designate "Golden Gate Labrador Retriever Rescue, Inc" as your selected charity. It's so easy to do and it would mean a lot to the Labs.
GGLRR also has an Amazon Wish List!
If you are on Amazon and want to buy something for the Labs, please check out our WishList!
|
|
HAPPY TAILS
Lilly Update
Lilly has found an amazing and dedicated forever dad who is committed to giving her the exercise she needs! He has trained her off leash and Lilly is so tired at the end of her day that she cannot get into trouble. She gets to play, swim, run, and hang with her sister. What a lucky and happy girl Lilly is!
_______________________________________________________________
Congrats Cooper!
8-month-old neutered male black Lab "
Cooper
" has joined the
Dogs 4 Diabetics
(D4D) program.
Dog trainer Hayley from D4D met and evaluated Cooper. Cooper passed the evaluation with flying bones. Hayley took custody of Cooper and he will stay with one of their fosters for two weeks of observation to ensure he is indeed a good candidate for their program.
Even though we had multiple prospective adopters for Cooper, I felt he would thrive as a service dog for a person in need. He will live a fabulous life. He will receive wonderful obedience training and gain special service skills during this journey. I am thrilled that we can provide Cooper this opportunity.
Dave
_________________________________________________________________
"
Tucker has the best life of all of us. He is doing great, so much more relaxed I am not really worried about him being around other dogs any more. Cats is a different story - I still have him on leash if I walk the neighborhood, I am pretty sure he would go after one if he sees one without listening once he is on the go. He is very very calm, not at all into running after balls, maybe once or twice he will trot to get one if I throw, never really running. That's it. He loves to swim and get sticks from the water, though....
He is super sweet with people, wants to talk to everyone - or maybe just check if they might have some food for him....A
nyway, we love him and feel lucky to have him."
|
|
Sniff Us Out on the Interwebs
Follow us on social media.
|
|
|
