So, it might strike as something unnatural when you can’t feel this coldness anymore. Instead, your dog’s nose feels rather dry and hot. This might arouse suspicion and concern, especially if you’ve never taken care of a dog before.
In fact, one of the most common questions among dog owners is; why is my dog nose dry? So, if you’re struggling with the same question, keep reading to find out more.
Why Does My Dog Have Wet Nose?
Before discussing the reasons behind the lack of moistness of a dog’s nose, let’s find out why a dog’s nose remains cool and wet naturally.
Mucus Secretions Mean Wet Nose
One of the top reasons why dogs have a moist nose is because of the production of mucus within the nostril glands. This mucus is responsible for the moist feeling in the dog’s nose. A dog’s nose comprises a fine layer of mucus that adheres to the nostrils. It plays a role in escalating the ability of the dog to smell.
Licking Prevents Dry Nasal Passage
Another reason why dogs have wet and cool noses is that dogs constantly lick their noses. Dogs have strong sniffing abilities, which leads them to lick their noses every now and then.
By licking frequently, they make sure that the nostrils remain clean. This can happen after they eat their meals or when there is dust around them. It almost happens as a reflex action to their surroundings. They have quite long tongues that assist them in keeping their noses engulfed by saliva.
Healthy Activities Cause Wet Dog Nose
Dog muzzles can also get moist during their period of activity. Dogs are always involved in a lot of sniffing work, and it is one of their inborn traits. When dogs are involved in different activities, they accumulate moisture from their surroundings. This moisture from their surrounding environment keeps their noses wet and cool.
What Does Dry Nose Mean?
Since dogs are expected to possess a wet nose most of the time, owners can get panicked when they find their pets with dry nasal mucosa. However, there is absolutely no reason to panic. Most of the time, when your canine friend’s nose feels dry, it can be a completely normal affair.
When your pet’s nose starts to become dry, the cause may be due to the surrounding environment, weather changes, and less physical activity.
When there is less amount of moisture within the surrounding environment or when your pup is taking a nap, there is reduced mucus secretion. This is why a puppy’s nose may feel warm and dry. In such cases, there is absolutely no reason to panic.
Common Causes of Dog Dry Nose
If your pet canine has a dry nasal passage, it can refer to a completely harmless condition. Here are some of the factors that cause this issue in your pets:
Age
As dogs grow older, their noses produce less mucus. The decrease in mucus production keeps the inner cavity less moist than usual. This is why your old chap has a warmer and dryer nose than a puppy.
Dog Breeds
Many canine breeds like the chihuahua have dry and crusty muzzles because of their head structure. These are the ones with brachycephalic heritage. Due to their anatomical head shapes, you cannot feel a colder muzzle on them.
Sleeping
Since dogs lick their noses all the time, their noses can run dry when they’re taking a nap. When a dog is asleep, it is unable to lick its nose. As a result, there is no saliva covering the nostrils. Hence, the nose remains dry.
Cold and Warm Environment
Weather change can also make the nose less moist. Too much hot or cold weather can lead to dehydration. This dehydration leads to less mucus secretion from the nose.
Strong winds and foggy weather can also result in a decline in the moisture content in the atmosphere. As a result, the pup experiences a white flaky, and crusty nose.
Sun Exposure
Canine noses can experience extreme dryness upon prolonged exposure to the sun. Sun exposure can cause UV rays to penetrate the delicate skin of the surface of your pet’s nose. Ultimately, there is less moisture within the inner cavity. As a result, the nose would feel parched and experience issues like crust, flakiness, and so on.
Allergy
Yes, your dog breeds can have allergies as well! Just like us, our pets also suffer from different kinds of allergies, which can cause less secretion of mucus within the nose.
These allergies can be due to almost anything– food, dust, environmental changes, skin allergies, etc. If you think your pet’s nose is facing some allergies, it can be a great idea to visit your vet.
Does Dry and Cracked Nose Mean My Dog Is Sick?
Now that you know all about a cool and warm muzzle, you might be wondering whether a dry and cracked one refers to your canine friend being ill or not. In most cases, if your pet’s nose is not experiencing any crack, it points out that your pup is quite healthy. But if your pet develops a crack, it might indicate that the dog is sick.
When Should I Go to a Vet for Nasal Dehydration?
Of course, a dog’s muzzle turning dry can be a normal and healthy phenomenon. But it can also suggest an underlying health condition. So, how can you figure out whether your canine pet has this problem due to an illness or something normal? When does it imply that a dry and dehydrated muzzle is nothing?
When your dog has a muzzle turning dry due to normal reasons, there are no other symptoms involved. However, when there are one or more symptoms involved, that’s when you know something is wrong.
Here are some symptoms that suggest your dog’s nose is dry for an underlying condition, and you should visit a vet:
- Flakes around the muzzle
- Common cold
- Sneezing
- Struggling with taking breaths
- Headache
- Fever
- Lethargy
- Reverse sneezing
- Vomiting
- Loss of appetite
- Loss of weight
Look for these symptoms in your dog, and if your dog has any of these symptoms, it points that your dog is sick. In this case, we recommend you go to your nearby vet as soon as possible.
Abnormal Reasons Why Your Dog’s Nose Is Dry
Let’s have a look at some of the abnormal conditions where your dog can experience nostrils becoming chronically dry:
Nasal Hyperkeratosis
Nasal hyperkeratosis is one of the most common disease conditions within canines. This is also a common disease where the dog experiences a dehydrated muzzle. It occurs due to uncontrolled keratin production in the tissues within the nostrils.
Ultimately, the tissues become hard, rough, and exposed to frequent skin infections. In this disease condition, along with parched skin, the dog experiences a flaky and crusty nose.
Ticks and Fleas
Tick and flea infestation is a common condition that occurs in dogs. Since ticks and fleas usually take shelter in a dog’s hair coat, the hair starts to fall down fast. There are additional symptoms like loss of appetite, diarrhea, dehydration, along with a dry and flaky nose.
Malignant Growth
Most dogs suffer from nasal dehydration due to malignant tumors of the skin. And most tumors can get cured with proper medication, while some require surgery. Dogs with tumors experience weight loss, loss of appetite, along with a dry dog muzzle.
Tooth Abscess
This is a common health condition among dogs that can give rise to a lack of moisture in the nostrils. In this condition, the dog suffers from a painful tooth that can spread to the ear and jaw.
In extreme conditions, it can cause a headache, and your dog will experience intense pain and lethargic condition. There is a high rise in temperature along with inflammation in different areas of the skin. The drop in temperature and inflammation can result in the drying of the nose.
Prevention of Dry Dog Nose, Cracked Nose, and Crusty Nose
If your dog has a muzzle turning dry for shorter periods and there are no additional symptoms, there is nothing to worry about. However, if your dog has been experiencing this issue for a long time, some preventive measures can help.
Here are some of the measures you can adopt to take care of your canine:
- Avoid keeping your dogs in an environment with a huge amount of dust and debris.
- Keep your dogs in an environment with adequate temperature.
- Check the condition of the water that your dog is exposed to. Ensure a clean and safe water supply for your dog.
- Apply a thin layer of dog-friendly sunscreen to the muzzle for sunlight protection.
- Use emollients or nose balm for your dog that are enriched with ingredients for fighting dryness and dehydration.
- Keep the muzzle away from allergic conditions.
Final Words
Wrapping up the discussion, it can be said that the majority of dogs suffer from a dry and warm nose, and it’s completely harmless unless there are added symptoms.
So, if you’ve been worrying about this problem, you can calm down. Unless your dog is experiencing anything serious along with a dehydrated muzzle, it’s completely a harmless thing.
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