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Friend insists 99% of dog cooling is via tongue. But dog likes fan!
We have all heard that dogs cool themselves, when hot,
by panting. Makes sense out in "nature" -- fur on body totally insulates him (yes, easier to say him than him or her!). However, in a home, with electricity and fans, you can turn up the fan enough that it drives the air right through the fur and onto the skin. (A/C maybe not so helpful in cooling dog, UNLESS there is a close-by fan pointed right at him, because of that insulation.) My dog, when we come in from a hot day's walk, is of course panting, but if I turn on a fan pretty high, he'll go plop down right in front of it, maybe 2 feet away. Anyway, friend still insists that dogs cool themselves (maybe 99%) via their TONGUE!, don't you GET it? --- Just wondering what you guys think, and what kind of arguments YOU'VE been in on this subject. Thanks! Waiting to see what you say. David |
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Friend insists 99% of dog cooling is via tongue. But dog likes fan!
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Friend insists 99% of dog cooling is via tongue. LONG
And in an air-conditioned environment, a fan just delivers cooler air at
an increased rate. Air-conditioning Does make a huge difference in canine comfort and safety.... for pets. Those of us who participate in canine sports avoid outdoor events in the summer here in the Deep South, and stick to air conditioned venues. If the environment isn't air-conditioned, a fan doesn't do much to actually cool the dog once the temperature gets to the upper 90s..... Too close to the dog's normal body temperature, which is between 100° and 102°*F. This applies to humans as well. The fans just blow hot air. It has been discovered that a Few dogs have sweat glands in locations other than their feet, but the coats still hold the heat in.... I have had one of these dogs with multiple sweat gland locations, and when I wove my fingers into his coat, I could feel the moisture. It certainly didn't seem to keep him cooler. After Desert Storm, Saudi Arabia wanted to start using sniffer dogs to evaluate baggage and commercial air shipments. It wasn't well known how well this would work for the dogs, as the primary location they'd be working was a huge metal building with very large fans stirring the hot air. Pre-trained dogs were brought in, some Labrador Retrievers and German Shepherd Dogs. In the test phase, half of the dogs were kenneled in air conditioned kennels, and half in shaded ambient temperature kennels. They expected that the dogs who were in air conditioning while off duty would work better and longer..... because this holds true for humans. However, they discovered that the dogs kenneled in ambient temperature kennels worked better and longer. Go Figure! They had some degree of heat aclimatization. One good thing to help a pet owner tell when heat is "too much" to continue exercise is the tongue itself. If the tip or sides curl upward while panting, it's time for a break and a cool-down. Most dogs doing some activity they love... chasing balls comes to mind.... will not realize that they Must stop because they are overheating, so it's up to us to stop it for them. Mine love to enjoy a good barking and fence-running frenzy.... so I sometimes have to confine them to our deck to control/reduce this. When you spray the dog with water from a spray bottle, spray it in the groin and lower abdomenal area and in the "arm pits" of the front legs, and even the chest. The large blood vessels and lungs can do a better job of cooling by evaporation, since these areas have less coat. Wetting the coat elsewhere on the body is helpful ONLY when the water is moving.... a hose or shower spray pushing coat aside. Wet coat holds water against the skin and the water simply gets warm and sits there..... not cooling at all. We sometimes need to apply Cold to the groin and "arm pits" to a slightly overheated dog.... and for this we use regular bottled water that is "iced" or that is frozen.... and get the dog into air conditioning. Ice water in the drinking bowl is unsafe for the overheated dog, but it can be cooled down with an ice cube or two for an entire bowl. Many dogs enjoy chewing up ice cubes, and by the time that small amount of water goes down, it's sufficiently cooled. Given the choice between a carpet or dog bed and a tile, linoleum or wood floor, dogs will select the uncovered floor, over on top of or in front of an airconditioning vent. Note that wet terrycloth on a dog or a human holds the heat in; when I competed in synchronized swimming in high school, we practiced in the late evening, when the pool's open-swimming was over.... while waiting between routines, we wrapped up in wet towels. When I experimented with wet towels on my Dane, in Texas, within a few minutes the side toward the dog was warm. Gel-filled cooling coats that we use down here cover the dog's underside only. Gel-filled crate mats can also be helpful.... IF the dog will lie down on them; some won't.... but they at least do help keep the feet cool. Many of us have battery operated fans that we hang on our crates in our vehicles or training areas, and use special reflective tarps for deep shade. Jo Wolf Martinez, Georgia, USA |
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Friend insists 99% of dog cooling is via tongue. LONG
In article ,
Jo Wolf wrote: Thanks to you two for the detailed answers! David |
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