Have you ever wondered how it is possible that dogs can wade through snow or run on ice with their bare feet and the paws don’t get frostbites? We know why!
Dog paw pads are one of a few spots where dogs sweat and they aren’t covered by fur. When you think about it you could easily get the idea that they might be more prone to frostbites or even freeze to the icy surface because of their dampness. So how is it possible that dogs can walk and run in snow or on ice without consequences?
Japanese scientist Hiroyoshi Ninomiya and his team of experts brought an explanation in 2013. Together, they found out that dogs have a special arrangement of vessels in the paw skin and it can maintain them warm even at very low temperatures.
These vessel structures are so tiny that they aren’t visible with regular microscopes. They were discovered and photographed with the use of an electron microscope which can achieve much better efficient enlargement than a common light microscope.
The vessels in dog paws create a net around arteries. They are so close to them that the warmer arterial blood warms the blood in vessels and a significant amount of the warmth is saved. This system is called heat exchangers and penguins, whales or seals also have it.
But it’s not everything. To keep the paws warm, dogs use one more trick. The same one is used by arctic foxes and wolves. The vessels of these animals control the supply of blood into paws according to the ambient temperature. If the temperature drops, the blood flow in paws speeds up and it can’t get much colder.
As the character of individual breeds is more or less different from their wolf ancestors these days due to breeding, the same applies to their physical properties. Therefore, it is possible that the predispositions for dog paw resilience against freezing will be different in different breeds. It’s difficult to say how the miniature breed’s paws will handle snow for a long time. This research was done on beagles.
As you can see, dog paws can stand much more than you might think. However, nature definitely didn’t take into account salt, gravel and other grits. It’s paradoxical, but we have to pay more attention to dog paws in winter in cities even with very short walks than on a day-long trip to the countryside.
Although it might appear that the cat doesn’t give a tail about you and it is indifferent towards you, maybe you will still find some displays of affection in its behaviour. Do you know how cats show such affection towards a person?
Cats love grass. They nibble at it if it's to clean their belly from hairs or just for fun. In addition, if you get a cat its own flowerpot, you can hope that it will leave your other plants alone :).
Whether you remove a tick from a dog’s or cat’s fur the right way might affect whether the animal will become infected with Lyme disease or another malign disease transmitted by ticks. Have you got the right technique and tools?
Just like with people, also in dogs, Lyme disease is a very grave illness. There are an estimated 20% of ticks infected in the Czech Republic. And because despite the use of antiparasitic agents, your dog might get a tick from time to time, it’s good...
I’ve already written about cat mint, today, we’ll take a look at another, lesser known drugs. Since not all the cats respond to all of them and they don’t respond to everything the same way. Therefore, if you didn’t succeed with cat mint, maybe you’ll...
Every cat owner has certainly already heard of cat mint, catnip or catswort. Under all these names hides a herb that makes most of the cats “high”.
When your family grows by a new (human) member, it isn’t necessarily a happy event for everyone. For many dogs, it’s very difficult to come to terms with such situation, therefore, it’s better to start preparing them already before the baby is born....
I’ve already written about the fact that you’re not supposed to leave your dog closed in a car on summer days or on how to prevent hyperthermia in cats and dogs. So you have mastered the prevention already. But it is also necessary to know how to...
Without a question, chinchillas are beautiful and cute furry animals with large ears, a long tail and distinctive eyes. Do you know where they actually come from, what their name means and that we almost succeeded in nearly exterminating them before...
You have probably noticed that cat tongues are quite unique. They are rough and somehow scratchy. It seemed weird to American biologists and therefore they decided to look deeper into it.
What should I say, the cats are simply different. Since the time immemorial, they have been surrounded by mysteries and secrets. Most of them behave as if they were the master of the world and as if they don’t need the human at all. A couple of...
It can be quite a task to choose the right pet food precisely for your cat. To even understand the contents... That’s why we’re going to take a look today what to focus on, what to look for in the contents and what you should rather avoid.
