When a dog pants, she’s turning on the air-conditioning. Painting sucks in and circulates air to cool her body. Unlike their human best friends, dogs don’t sweat through their skin. They do it through the pads of their paws, but not enough to cool off on a hot afternoon (you’d feel the same way if you played fetch in a fur coat).
Most of us pant from time to time as we run, climb stairs, or otherwise exert ourselves. While dogs may pant while they exercise, though, they do it for different reasons. What’s more, no matter how fast they may pant, dogs won’t experience the dizziness of hyperventilation.
Panting as a cooling mechanism is necessary because dogs do not have an effective system of sweat glands like people do. Instead, dogs cool their bodies using the evaporation of moisture from the mouth and tongue, and by exchanging the hot air of their lungs with cooler external air.
When the outside air temperature is the same or higher than the puppy’s normal body temperature of 102 degrees, panting won’t effectively cool off the puppy and can lead to heat stroke. Hot puppies may also resort to digging to scoop out cool places to rest.
Picture Credit : Google