Bo Obama has a new Little sister!

[TorchTheWitch]

42. you don't realize that panting is part of their cooling mechanism?

Haircuts are fine as long as the hair is not cut shorter than an inch in length. Shaving or too closely cutting a dog's hair makes them MORE vulnerable to heat from the sun. Dogs are blessed with an internal cooling mechanism that regulates their body temperature. Their sweat glands are only located in their noses and foot pads. That's why a dog in mild temperatures can get heat stroke if they are forced to stand or walk on hot pavement. Panting is necessary to cool a dog's body temperature down when in a warm environment or because of exertion - it's how their internal cooling mechanism functions. The most vulnerable dogs to heat related illness are those with short or non-existent snouts since their physical ability to pant or even breathe normally at any time is seriously compromised. A dog with dark colored fur isn't going to feel the heat more than a dog of any other color... what matters is the thickness and length of hair, ability to regulate their body temperature by not having their foot pads or noses overheated, plenty of available water, shade and rest, and by not having any physical issues such as illness or compromised breathing such as the short or non-existent snout breeds have.

A panting dog doesn't mean that it's overheated, it merely means they are normally cooling their bodies by the heat of the environment or by exertion so that they DON'T GET overheated. A dog lying in the sun in the summer that is NOT panting is far more of a worry.