There is notable misinformation about language of dogs, surrounded by false myths such as that it is a disinfectant or that it is not able to distinguish flavors. Many details about this part of its anatomy are unknown, although experts have managed to discover interesting facts about it through studies carried out in recent years. We tell you some of them.
As we said, there is great misinformation regarding this issue, but it is known with certainty that the language of the dog fulfills vital functions for the welfare of this animal. Likewise, experts assure that it is composed of at least eight pairs of muscles (transversal, longitudinal and perpendicular), responsible for their movements. Among them, the styloglossus, hyoglossus and genioglossus, similar to those of the human being, stand out.
Some say that their saliva contains disinfectant properties. It is a false rumor that has some truth, since it has a percentage of ascorbic acid that reacts with the nitrates present in the skin, favoring disinfection and healing; this is why dogs lick each other when they have a wound. However, this can be counterproductive, since the tongue of dogs is very in contact with the outside and therefore accumulates a large number of bacterial agents.
On the other hand, one of the main functions of the canine tongue is to help the dog to regulate your body temperature. And is that unlike humans, this animal hardly has sweat glands in the skin, so it uses panting as a method of perspiration. This process helps cool the brain by circulating blood through the nose and tongue and being pumped at a lower temperature to the brain.
Finally, it is worth mentioning the capacity of this body to distinguish flavors, although to a lesser extent than humans. Dogs differentiate between sweet flavors through the edges and front of the tongue, salty flavors through the edges and back, and bitter through the top. However, their sense of taste is located mainly in the nose, since they perceive it mainly through smell.