Temperature Regulation
It is a common misconception that dogs do not sweat. They do sweat, mainly through the footpads, but only a small fraction of a dog's excess heat is lost this way. Primarily, dogs regulate their body temperature through panting. Panting moves cooling air over the moist surfaces of the tongue and lungs, transferring heat to the atmosphere.
Dogs possess a rete mirabile, a complex system of intermingled small arteries and veins, in the carotid sinus at the base of their neck. This acts to thermally isolate the head, which contains the brain, the most temperature-sensitive organ, from the body, which contains the muscles, where most of the heat is generated. The result is that dogs can sustain intense physical exertion over a prolonged time in a hot environment, compared to animals which lack this apparatus; thus, a dog chasing a jackrabbit through the desert may not be able to outrun the rabbit, but it can continue the chase until the rabbit slows due to overheating.
Read more about this topic: Dog Anatomy
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