7 Secrets of Dog Tongues

We can see it everyday. It is an essential part of a dog’s mouth. Yes, we are talking about a dog tongue.

Tongues are magical organs. Although a dog’s tongue is also composed of muscles, the muscles of it are different from muscles in other organs. The nerves on the tongue are directly controlled by the brain. Whether the tongue is of a human or a dog, it plays an quite important role in the brain.

Some Dogs Have Blue Tongues

Actually there are dogs with blue tongues, such as Chow Chow and Chinese Shar-Pei. No one knows why their tongues are blue, the only thing they have in common is that they all originated in China. If a dog’s tongue suddenly turns from pink to blue, there may be something wrong with the function of its heart and lungs.

Dog Tongues Can Heal Wounds? Don’t be Silly

For the ancestors of dogs, their tongues can heal wounds indeed. Obviously, modern dogs have not inherited this skill from their ancestors. Dogs licking their wounds do give people the illusion of “recovering quickly”. In fact, it has nothing to do with wounds recovering. Perhaps the only benefit is that dogs licking wounds can clean up the dust and objects on the wounds. Even some countries and regions believe that dog’s saliva can cure diseases. Just like human tongues, dog tongues have more than 6,000 kinds of bacteria living on them.

Dog Tongues Do Not Have Barbs

Both cats and dogs love liking their fur, which seems a good self-cleaning method. Unlike cats, dogs don’t have barbs on their tongues. That’s why cats can effectively clean their fur and dogs can only clean up dusk on their tongues by simple licking. If a dog lick their fur too frequently, it may increase the possibility of skin diseases.

Dog Tongues Help Cooling Down

Don’t dogs have sweat glands? Yes, they have. But theirs are on their noses and paws. Although their sweat glands are not in the positions as ours, dogs can evaporate the body heat with their tongues when panting. In this way, they can cool down. 

Too Few Taste Buds

The sense of smell of dogs is indeed better than that of humans. But when it comes to the taste buds on the tongue, dogs are obviously inferior to humans. The number of taste buds of dogs is about one-sixth that of humans. Although dogs have fewer taste buds than humans, they can also taste bitter, salty, sweet, and sour flavors. More importantly, dogs do not rely on their taste buds to determine whether the food is good or bad, they are more accustomed to use their sense of smell to determine that. 

Tongues Affect Barking

Although some dogs are small, they bark very loudly. This has a lot to do with the dog's tongue, which can determine the volume of the dog’s barking. Although there is no in-depth research on this aspect, researchers found that dogs with too long tongue do not like barking because it is too difficult for them to control such a long tongue. But don’t worry, this kind of “long tongue disease” can be treated with surgery. 

Dog Tongues Help Expressing Emotions

Dogs express their feelings through their tongues. When a dog is feeling happy, it will lick other dogs or the face of its owner. If you find your dog licking you more often these days, it must be very happy.