Who doesn’t love the feeling of a cold wet nose transferring all the love in the world to you?

Oscar is a cross Basset Hound and Bulldog-Yes a very cute mix 🙂 And Oscar definitely has the nose of a hound! It never stops working, even when he sleeps he lets me know that his nose is his most prized possession. He absolutely loves wondering through fields and sniffing new blades of grass, forgetting that he has ears. When I get home, his favourite thing to sniff for information is my handbag. His head goes right inside and he has a good old sniff, he will then decide if he needs to be annoyed with me for being with other animals or not. I often notice that Oscar’s nose will be wet one moment and dry the next. At some point during pet parenting we have all had that someone tell us “If your dogs nose is dry and warm then he is sick”. So I decided to do some sniffing of my own and find out exactly what Oscar’s schnoz goes through on a daily basis…

 A wet nose: Oscar’s nose is wet for a reason!

• It secretes a lubricating mucus that allows him to pick up and identify different scents.
• Oscar’s nose is everywhere, constantly sniffing away, eating and drinking which causes him to lick his nose too. This keeps it clean, cool and wet.

 A dry nose:

There are many reasons influencing Oscar’s dry nose.

• When he wakes up from a nap, his nose is often warm and dry-which is normal and ok.
• Oscar loves sun bathing. This will cause his nose to become dry too. I often spray some sun cream on his nose when he is in the sun to prevent his schnoz from becoming dry, burnt and cracked.
• Does your pup love sitting by a warm heater or fire during the winter months? Oscar does, and this will also influence his dry nose.
• During hot summer days I make sure Oscar has access to fresh cold water at all times, dehydration will result in your pups nose being dry too.

 Just some facts: 

• Us humans inhale and exhale through our nostrils, your pup however inhales through his nostrils but exhales through the slits on the side of his nose.
• Each dog on the planet has his own unique nose print, just like our finger prints.
• Your pooch can really smell your fear! Fear automatically raises your heart rate, which releases chemicals in your body that dogs can tune into. He can also smell your anxiety and sadness-so there is no fooling your best friend!
• Dogs sniff each others bums to gather important information, if they are a boy or a girl, if they are friendly or if they have met before. They also pass on messages via urine. The dog park is kind of like a newspaper for our pooches-I wonder what Oscar is telling the other dogs when he pee’s on every single tree he passes 🙂

So there you have it, it is safe to say that when your pup has a dry nose it doesn’t necessarily mean he is sick. Rather look out for other visible signs of illness such as lack of appetite, lethargy, vomiting etc…

Enjoy those cold wet nose kisses-I do!

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