• Question: why do dogs have long tonges

    Asked by mat to Carrie, Ellen, Rupert on 16 Mar 2017.
    • Photo: Carrie Ijichi

      Carrie Ijichi answered on 16 Mar 2017:

      If you think about it most dogs have long faces (like wolves) and the tongue fills that whole space. Letting a long tongue hang out from the mouth also helps them to pant effectively to lose heat because unlike us, they can’t sweat. It’s also how they drink because they can’t great suction with their mouths the way we drink. The longer the longue the more water it can pick up each lap I guess

    • Photo: Ellen Williams

      Ellen Williams answered on 16 Mar 2017:

      Dogs use their tongues to eat, drink and pant (in order to keep cool). You will see a dogs tongue getting longer and longer the hotter they are! If it was relatively small like ours then it wouldn’t be very efficient for all of those tasks! If it is anything like my dog it also has a long tongue to attack humans with!!

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