6 Dog Tongue Facts You May Not Know
The canine tongue is one of the busiest muscles of a dog’s body!
From eating to swallowing, regulating a dog’s body temperature and more, your dog’s tongue is vital to his survival in some surprising ways!
Learn about some fascinating dog tongue facts below!
- Dog Tongue Fact: The Perfect Tool for Eating and Swallowing
The dog’s smooth tongue efficiently supports your dog’s eating and drinking! The K9 tongue guides both food and water into the mouth for chewing and swallowing into the throat.
When drinking, the dog’s tongue creates the perfect “ladle” for lapping water and other liquids. Unlike cats that pull in liquids with the tip of their tongue and the rough barbs on their tongue, dogs shape their tongue into a ladle for scooping liquids. It also explains why dogs are sloppier drinkers!
Video: Slow motion drinking, cat vs dog!
- Dog Tongue Fact: Keeping Cool
Since dogs are covered in fur, they cannot effectively regulate their body temperature through their skin as humans can. So instead, your hot dog sticks out his tongue to act like a radiator for the evaporation of water to cool down his temperature.
Dog Tongue Fact: Body/Wound Care
Dog Tongue Fact: Body/Wound CareDogs regularly groom themselves to remove dirt or shedding fur. If your dog is excessively grooming himself, he may need your help with additional brushing and grooming. Dogs also use their tongue to clean out wounds. Scientific evidence suggests a dog’s saliva may have some antibacterial and antimicrobial healing properties. But any excessive licking should be examined by your regular vet.
- Dog Tongue Fact: Influencing the Bark Sound
Much like our own tongues influence the way we speak, the dog’s tongue also has a major influence on creating his unique sounding bark! Research has shown that the size of the K9 tongue modifies the sound of their bark!
“If your dog hangs his tongue out a lot, it might indicate a dental infection.” (Richmond Valley Veterinary Practice)
- Dog Tongue Fact: Taste Buds
While your dog identifies and chooses his food based on his nose, the tongue carries most taste buds for:
- Bitter
- Salty
- Sweet
- Sour
Did you know that Mother Nature gave your dog the ability to taste bitterness to protect him from potentially unhealthy or poisonous items in the wild? (It’s probably the reason most K9s refused to willingly swallow pills too!)
Fun fact: A dog’s tongue has more taste buds than a cat (but much fewer than a human; it’s estimated that dogs have just 1/6th the number of human taste buds).
- Dog Tongue Fact: Driven Directly by the Brain
Like all muscles, your dog’s tongue is controlled by nerves. “And in the case of the tongue, the nerves come straight off the brain to control the tongue,” explains Dr. Ann Hohenhaus at NY’s Animal Medical Center. According to Dr. TJ Dunn of PetMD, dogs have 5 separate pairs of Cranial Nerves coming directly from their brain to perform the intricate functions of the K9 tongue.
Learn about the anatomy of the canine tongue at PetMD.com!
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