The dog's tongue is a muscular organ that performs various functions. One of the most important is thermoregulation. Dogs, lacking sweat glands, use the panting mechanism to reduce their body temperature. Therefore, your dog sticking out his tongue or panting is completely normal behavior. However, if you are wondering why my dog sticks his tongue out a lot like a snake or why my dog sticks his tongue out a lot as if he is thirsty, there may be some pathological cause that is triggering this excessive panting.
In this article on our site we answer the question of why my dog sticks his tongue out a lot or why my dog sticks out a lot tongue and licking, the causes and what to do in each case. Keep reading!
Why do dogs stick out their tongues?
First of all, we must define the concept of anatomical dead space of the airways. The dead space corresponds to the section of the respiratory tract in which gas exchange does not take place, that is, the space that is occupied by a volume of air that does not reach the alveoli. This dead space is especially important in the canine species. Dogs lack sweat glands in their dermis, except at the level of the plantar pads. Having such poorly developed sweat glands, they barely lose heat through the evaporation of sweat. Therefore, they need alternative mechanisms to sweating in order to reduce their body temperature when necessary.
Physiological cause: thermoregulation
The alternative mechanism par excellence is panting,which consists of accelerated and shallow breathing, with the mouth open and the tongue outside, which favors evaporation at the level of the upper respiratory tract. During panting, ventilation (entrance and exit of air) of the dead space takes place, which allows an increase in evaporation at this level and, consequently, the elimination of heat. To favor the elimination of heat by evaporation, vasodilation occurs at the level of the oral and respiratory mucosa, and an increase in salivation. Despite the fact that during panting it may seem that your dog's respiratory rate is greatly increased, you should know that panting does not actually cause hyperventilation, since the air that is mobilized with this mechanism only circulates through the dead space, without reach the alveoli.
Ultimately, panting is a physiological response that can be triggered by increased environmental temperature, physical exertion, or intense emotions.
Pathological causes
When panting does not have an obvious physiological cause such as those discussed above, there may be an underlying disease that is causing it.
- Heatstroke: Severe body temperature rise due to excessive ambient temperature or high humidity. With a humidity of 80%, the panting mechanism loses effectiveness, since evaporation at the level of the respiratory tract is difficult. In these cases, we will observe excessive and persistent panting (it sticks out its tongue a lot, as if it were thirsty), louder than normal and which implies a greater effort for the dog.
- Fever: when the fever enters the decline phase (lowering), mechanisms aimed at lowering body temperature are set in motion, among them, panting.
- Pain: Any process that is causing your dog pain or discomfort may cause panting.
- Obesity: being overweight can cause abnormal panting in your dog for several reasons. On the one hand, excessive weight implies greater physical effort and can cause joint pain. On the other hand, excess adipose tissue favors an increase in body temperature.
- Laryngeal paralysis (congenital or acquired): is a neurogenic disorder of the dorsal cricoarytenoid muscle that prevents the cartilage of the larynx from opening adequately during inspiration to allow air to pass. One of the first signs that will appear in this pathology will be excessive panting.
- Racial Predisposition: Brachycephalic breeds such as English and French Bulldogs, Pugs, Pekingese, Boston Terriers or Shih-Tzus, which are predisposed suffer from brachycephalic syndrome. The conformation of the airways of the breeds with an excessively short snout prevents correct ventilation through the nostrils, forcing these animals to breathe through the mouth. The Labrador and Golden Retriever have a racial predisposition to acquired laryngeal paralysis.
- Cushing's syndrome or hyperadrenocorticism: It is characteristic to observe panting even at rest. Although the specific cause is unknown, it appears that it may be related to weight gain, muscle weakness, diaphragmatic pressure caused by hepatomegaly, and the direct effect of glucocorticoids.
- Anemia: Red blood cells are responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood. In anemic animals, there is a lack of oxygen in the tissues (tissue hypoxia), which stimulates panting and an increase in the respiratory rate to try to compensate for the oxygen deficit.
Why is my puppy sticking his tongue out a lot?
If your puppy sticks out his tongue a lot and you don't know why, in this section we show you possible causes:
- Anxiety, stress, fear and phobias: Puppies tend to be particularly nervous and impulsive. It is common that when they are faced with new situations that cause them fear or stress (such as the first visits to the vet) signs such as panting appear.
- Congenital laryngeal paralysis: fundamentally in breeds such as Bouvier de Flanders, Siberian Husky, Bull Terrier or Dalmatian.
In addition, any of the causes mentioned in the previous section may cause panting in a puppy. It will be especially important to prevent heat stroke in puppies, since their thermoregulation system is less efficient than in adult dogs.
What to do if my dog sticks his tongue out a lot?
First of all, we must discern if there is any physiological cause for which our dog is panting or sticking out his tongue a lot (environmental heat, physical exercise or intense emotions). If so, we should not worry, since as we have mentioned, panting is a physiological mechanism of thermoregulation. On the contrary, if we do not find any normal cause for our dog to be panting or if we consider that the panting is excessive or very prolonged, we must think that there is one of the pathological causespreviously described. To correct excessive or abnormal panting in our dog we will have to act on the cause that is causing it:
- Heat stroke: The most important thing is to prevent it from happening by avoiding direct exposure to the sun in the hottest hours, providing water cool and shaded areas. Under no circumstances should you leave your pet inside a car in summer, as it is one of the main causes of heat stroke in dogs. If it occurs, you should know that it is an urgent condition that requires immediate veterinary care to prevent the development of disseminated intravascular coagulation, circulatory shock, multiple organ failure and patient death.
- Fever or pain: In both cases it will be necessary to determine the cause that is producing them in order to correct them.
- Obesity: provide a diet appropriate to the age, breed and physiological state of our dog, as well as ensure a pattern of regular exercise, will be the keys to avoid being overweight.
- Laryngeal paralysis: Whether the pathology is congenital or acquired, the treatment is surgical.
- Racial predisposition: the maintenance of racial standards that respect animal welfare above any canon of beauty must be the basis of responsible animal husbandry. Therefore, animals with anatomical defects that have a direct impact on the he alth and welfare of the animal should not be selected as breeders.
- Cushing's syndrome: It will be treated with trilostane (if it is a pituitary Cushing) or by adrenalectomy (if it is an adrenal Cushing).
- Anemia: the treatment will vary depending on the type of anemia that the animal presents.
