Do dogs sweat?

[ButtonsPalace]

I have a sweet little Rat terrier that has been sweating or somehow getting very moist any time she is laying on any fabric, she sleeps in a fully open metal dog crate on a pillow at night, it takes her 3-4 days and the pillow is soaked and stinks, she stinks as well. When I had her on a raw diet she wasn't as bad but it was still a problem. I do plan to take her to the vet asap as it's not causing her any issues outside of itching, stinking, and being damp.

 

[shazza]

no, they can't. that's why they pant. they also dissipate heat through the bottom of their feet too (so standing in water helps to cool them,) and marginally i think through their ears as well? you sure she isn't licking herself/the blanket? my dogs sometimes like to lick at their blankets or the sheets of my bed leaving wet spots if i don't catch them and make them stop. i think the texture feels neat on their tongue.

 

[akane]

Only their feet release anything like sweat and it's not a noticeable amount. All liquid from a dog is either saliva or urine.

Most animals rely mainly on cooling methods around the head like the blood vessels running through the ears or panting. Only some large animals that can't cram themselves into cooler areas out of the heat will sweat. Another reason for carnivores with their generally smaller ears to tend to be most active in the morning, evening, or fully nocturnal.

 

[ButtonsPalace]

She does lick a lot, like enough that she's removing patches of fur if I don't wash her exactly 4 days apart. Its possible she's licking the pillow too. What could cause her to want to lick so much? A lot of people have said chicken allergy but I'm not sure as I haven't been able to get her on a chicken free diet

 

[shazza]

allergies (food, environmental, fleas,) boredom, she has a bug bite and it itches; literally anything. if she's licking the fabric it might just feel neat on her tongue. there's hundreds of reasons why dogs lick at themselves. if it's bad enough that she's licking the hair off herself, i would make a vet appointment. bathing that often can actually make skin issues worse since it dries out the fur, unfortunately.

 

[akane]

Occasionally it's a behavioral condition but usually excessively licking or chewing is allergies. Chicken is not the only thing by any means. I have one allergic to lamb and it turns out they use lamb broth as an alternative to chicken in nearly all the taste of the wild formulas and a few other cost effective brands. Combined with my one potentially allergic to chicken, who also vomits if given benadryl, it can be hard to find kibble they can all eat and don't get bored of. Then the husky I got as a tiny runt has environmental allergies. She's always reverse sneezing and coughing. Especially prior to the humans' having their allergies react. At least she's not the one who vomits if given benadryl. My mom's previous dog had a flea allergy and would lick or chew bald patches from a single flea so had to be treated every 3 weeks with a topical flea preventative to make sure any fleas always died immediately.

Cooked green beans or boiled single protein sources with rice are used to test for food allergies. You can check one protein at time to see if symptoms flare up or go away and then add food items back in. It can take awhile though and may not be conclusive or some dogs will not eat anything but the protein part so you can only test allergies with raw when a raw meat diet might not show the same allergies. Sometimes just getting higher quality kibble can reduce allergies. Even when you can't quite figure out what the allergen is. Some find their dogs can eat farm raised chicken when they have reactions to all chicken kibble. Kibble uses 3D or 4D meat, which are the animals they are unable to butcher for human consumption for various reasons, as well as the various parts not useful or suitable for human consumption and numerous other additives. While that's often not a major problem and some even use 3D meat for feeding raw diets at a lower cost it can trigger those animals with an already sensitive immune system or digestive issue.

 

[LunarFantom]

Maybe its condensation? Like when your toilet gets moist around the bottom because its a different temp. than the surrounding air? Only its blankets?

Hm...oh wait, its probably just licking. Mine licks the blankets when he's bored too.

 

[ButtonsPalace]

She is definitely a licker, we've swapped her to a wet food diet, which has really helped her skin, and put a cone on her and a single knee high tight over her head. The tight is because she was shaking her head and hitting her ears on her cone and causing them to bleed. It's been about 2 weeks since we've swapped her over and there's a noticeable difference, fur growing back and less red skin. We also add salmon oil, chia seeds, PB fit, coconut oil, and flax seeds.

 

[MaggieJ]

Hi Buttons!

Glad she's doing better.

Even though this is an old topic, your update is useful to others who may have dogs with this problem. Thanks for posting it.

 

[ButtonsPalace]

I've been gone forever, so I figured this is a hey I'm alive and the dogs doing better all in one XD