Dogs don’t have the same cooling mechanisms as humans, which makes them more vulnerable to high temperatures. So, how do dogs manage to stay cool in the summer? Let’s explore their natural adaptations and what you can do to help.
Dogs’ Metabolism and Heat Regulation
As you probably know, dogs descend from wolves, which, with a few exceptions, are primarily found in temperate and cold climates.
In the evolutionary process leading to the emergence of dogs, they inherited from wolves the fact that they aren’t particularly well adapted to heat.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that thousands of years of selective breeding have given rise to a huge variety of dog breeds, each with its own unique characteristics.
Dogs, like us, are homeothermic animals. That is, they control their body temperature within a narrow range (in their case, around 100-101 degrees F).
This requires expending energy on physiological thermoregulatory mechanisms.
Another detail we must keep in mind is that all living beings, including bacteria and trees, generate internal heat as a product of our metabolism. In other words, the simple fact of being alive means that we are constant heat producers.
Dog panting is the equivalent of human sweating
When temperatures rise, our bodies have difficulty transferring the heat we produce to the environment around us, so it accumulates and we become increasingly hot.
If the ambient temperature is higher than body temperature, we even tend to absorb thermal energy from the outside, adding it to the energy we produce ourselves.
In these situations, the only effective way for a land animal to cool itself is through evaporation. The water on our skin absorbs some of our thermal energy to transform from a liquid to a gaseous state.
Humans have learned to effectively exploit this mechanism, developing thousands of sweat glands in our skin. These are triggered when our brain detects the possibility of the body overheating, cooling it at the expense of expelling water.
The vast majority of other mammals have not exploited this possibility.
Thus, dogs have a very limited ability to sweat, restricted almost exclusively to the pads of their paws and nose. Therefore, they must resort to an alternative strategy: panting.
For a dog, panting is its primary way of thermoregulating. Heat triggers a nervous reflex that dilates the blood vessels in its nose and tongue, while also inducing the production of large amounts of highly diluted saliva.
A succession of rapid inhalations through the nose and exhalations through the mouth help evaporate water from the upper respiratory tract, thus cooling the blood circulating in the area.
Since the process depends on a properly synchronized respiratory system, dog breeds with flattened muzzles, short nasal bones, and narrow nostrils, such as bulldogs, boxers, or Pekingese, have much greater difficulty reducing their body temperature and are at greater risk of hyperthermia.
Although sticking their tongue out of their mouths increases the moist surface area in contact with the air, the process is much less efficient than humidifying large areas of the body through sweating.
Furthermore, both strategies require an external supply of water to replace what has evaporated, so it is important to always provide them with an abundant source of fresh water when it’s hot.
Hair, yes, or no?
It’s common to think that we help our dogs stay cooler by trimming their hair in the summer. Keep in mind that the coat acts as a buffer for heat exchange between the body and the outside world.
While it’s true that shorter hair can promote heat loss to the air, it also increases heat gain through solar radiation.
Hair absorbs much of the sun’s energy and prevents it from reaching the skin.
Risk of Heat Shock
Dogs are quite sensitive to heat in general. Of course, just like humans, puppies and older individuals are at greater risk of life-threatening heat shock.
A major problem for dogs is that when humans want to spend time doing leisure activities with them, they become so excited that they have trouble controlling themselves.
Therefore, it’s up to the owners to monitor the situation: avoid excessive activity during the hottest hours, as well as prolonged direct exposure to the sun.
Always have fresh water within reach of your dog, although they also usually appreciate a good, timely shower or bath. And, of course, never, ever leave a dog locked in a car, even with the windows half open and for just a few minutes.
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