Why Do Dogs Pant?

Why do dogs pant? In normal conditions, there are two reasons why your pet pants. It is either he has to cool down because it is hot or he feels stressed out. A dog pants because unlike humans, they don’t have sweat glands for releasing built up of moisture in the body by way of the skin. Instead, their tongue serves as the cooling system for their whole body.

This is the reason why larger dog breeds find it more difficult to deal with extreme heat compared to smaller dogs. Their tongue needs to control the temperature of a bigger body.

The second reason why dogs pant is stress. When Fido pants and looks stressed out or worried, try to look for a source of his concern and eliminate it right away. In cases where anxiety is brought by outside sources like thunder, fireworks or things beyond your control, you have to be understanding and just wait for your pet’s trauma to fade on its own.

Why Do Dogs Pant? Are Your Pet Brachycephalic Panters?

Together with stress and heat, dogs that have pushed in faces called the Brachycephalic breeds, which include Pekinese, Pugs, Boston Terriers, Bulldogs and others have a much difficult time when it comes to dealing with heat. The short windpipes and nasal passages decrease their cooling system’s effectiveness, making the task of cooling down harder.

This video shows two minutes of a dog panting:

How to Help Decrease Excessive Panting

Large and heavy dogs or any dog can find it hard to deal with heat or recover from exercise during extremely hot weather spells. When your dog pants hard due to high temperatures or after exercise, you can cool him down by misting them with a spray bottle or giving him a bath.

Even though it seems pretty obvious to you every time you are thirsty and hot, it is usual to forget that your pet needs exactly the same consideration. You have to make sure that he gets lots of fresh and cool water available all the time.

You can also add some ice cubes to this water or better yet, you can give ice cubes for your dog to eat. During hot days, this will really help in bringing down their body temperature. If you will spend some time out under the sun with your dog, you can drape a wet and cool towel over them or you can also carry an ice pack that you can put across the back of their neck to help keep them cool.

There is another important tip that can never be stressed enough. Although everyone claims that they already know it, hundreds of dogs die every year after being negligently left inside cars. Even after several minutes, being locked up inside can overheat your pet and a few more could prove to be fatal.

Make sure that you don’t leave your pet in an enclosed car or any place where there is an absence of ventilation, particularly during extremely hot days.

Why do dogs pant? It is simply because they need to. Never try to stop your pet’s panting or make him wear a muzzle just so his mouth stays closed. You will only interfere with a crucial function and this could kill your beloved pet.