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Dumb Question - BC Tongues


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Okay, I have had at least 10 people comment to me about how long Allie's tongue is and ask me if all BC's have such long tongues (this is usually after we have been running with the ball or playing frisbee for a while, so her tongue is really out there). :rolleyes:

 

It does appear to be pretty long, but as I have never owned a BC before Allie, I don't really know. I've certainly never measured it (nor do I have an inclination to). Maybe there is a genetic predisposition for it?

 

Any opinions?

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Kristi, those are great pics! It is amazing how long and big their tongues are! I had a weinie dog(that's a dog that is 1/2 dog high, and 2 1/2 dogs long :rolleyes: ) that when she was sleeping her tongue would not fit in her mouth and would stick out about 1/2 inch! It would dry up and she would look so funny trying to rehydrate it! But, as long as Jackson's tongue is, it never sticks out when he is relaxed!

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We are worried that Fergie will finally grow into her tongue.

 

Love it when she sleeps in her chair and the tongue sort of slips out of her mouth.

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Basically a dogs tongue works as an evaporative cooler,their tongue is a primary method to dissipatate excessive body heat.

As they execise or work and heat builds up their tongue will engourge with blood to give a larger surface area so that by panting they are releasing excessive heat.

(Its how they sweat)

BCs being working dogs need an eficient method of loosing excessive body heat during long work sessions hence they have large tongues.

This was what was told to me anyway and makes perfect sense.

Perhaps some others would have a better explanation.

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Actually, it seems that being able to roll your tongue is a dominant characteristic. No, not that those of us who can do it are domineering. But one parent who can do is likely means all kids will be able to do so.

 

Of course, that doesn't explain why I seem to be the only one in my natal family who could do it. They thought I was totally strange. Of course, if they thought doing it was so odd, maybe they never tried hard enough.

 

My husband can't, but all three kids and my granddaughter can.

 

BTW, weere you told not to cross your eyes because they might get stuck that way? We all were. My friends and I did it anyhow. My husband believed his Mom and didn't ever cross his eyes. In his 40s, he had to do cute little-kid exercises to cross his eyes. One of his vision problems was lazy eye - identified because he couldn't cross his eyes. It's a great eye exercise! Made me so glad I had taught the kids how to be strange.

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When Bandit was left in his crate the last couple times, I filled his Kong with peanut butter. To my surprise, he was able to get all of it out. Kong openning is about the size of a quarter. Kong's about 5" long.

 

Speaking of crates, is there any type of bedding one can put in crate that a border collie won't tear into a million pieces?

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Dogs can also curl their tongues THIS way! :rolleyes:

34669%3C384%7Ffp64%3Dot%3E2348%3D325%3D69%3B%3DXROQDF%3E2323%3B364%3A5778ot1lsi

 

But sure enough - sometimes they can't keep the things in their mouths:

34669%3C384%7Ffp63%3Dot%3E2348%3D325%3D69%3B%3DXROQDF%3E2323%3B92%3C%3A4455ot1lsi

 

Of course Shih tzus (lap dogs) also seem to have REALLY long tongues compared to any other dog - and yet their snouts are less then an inch long, it might also depend on the dog in question.....

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Originally posted by lance:

When Bandit was left in his crate the last couple times, I filled his Kong with peanut butter. To my surprise, he was able to get all of it out.

Thats hilarious. Riven does the same thing!! She doesnt even understand to chew on it. She holds it in her paws and just licks, and she gets everything out. I thought she was just wierd. I guess not lol :rolleyes::D
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Deb and Allie,

Funny timming on this topic! Kit and Eddie were at obedience class and I guess they were tired out. ( a bc tired...yeah right) Anyways my kids started giggling about Kits long tounge. I did appear extra long, but I am also a first time owner of a BC. The pictures above are great!

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Dixie_girl wrote:

I understand cast iron works. However, stainless steel is easier to clean.

 

Lol. Guess I'll continue not putting any more bedding in plastic crate. Must be more comfortable than the concrete floor he was sleeping on for 10 days at animal shelter I got him at.

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Lance - I've gotten Violet crate-trained this week (this morning she went into it all on her own with no stuffing required :rolleyes: ). I'm putting a cushion with a really tough canvas cover on it in her crate, and she hasn't offered to shred it. The cover zips off for washing.

 

Do you think that would work for you, or is Violet just one of the goody-two-shoes of the BC clan?

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Originally posted by lance:

Speaking of crates, is there any type of bedding one can put in crate that a border collie won't tear into a million pieces?

We use pieces (cut to fit the crate) of trailer mats which are 1/2" thick rubber mats used in horse trailers. We haven't had a dog or puppy yet destroy one of these. We got ours from sheepman supply because they are local (although I can't find it in their catalog). Here is another place to get them, Northwest Rubber.

 

Mark

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Originally posted by lance:

Speaking of crates, is there any type of bedding one can put in crate that a border collie won't tear into a million pieces?

It is a popular misconception that Border Collies are born to herd stock. They're not. They're born to destroy things - it's what they do! Beds, cars, toys, furniture - all is fair game!

 

Dunno if my guys have particularly big tongues

 

Boys.jpg

 

but this was taken after an energetic dash about over the heather tussocks on a local walk, which tends to bear out the "central cooling" theory.

 

I tend to be more aware of the size of Snorri-dog's tongue (he's the one on the right) when he tries to stuff all of it into my ear every morning! :eek:

 

Snorri

:eek: :eek: :eek:

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Thanks, folks. I have done more researching on the I-net, but never found a definitive answer to the "BC extra-long tongue" question. I absolutely LOVE all of the long tongue pictures here, though! Thanks for sharing!

 

As you can see here, despite all of the comments we've gotten, Allie's tongue is not even in the money compared to the other pictures posted. (It is actually longer than this photo shows, but for some reason I haven't taken a picture of it.) :rolleyes:

 

TiredDogII.jpg

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Yes, all my kids can roll their tongues too. But so far I'm the only one who can sucessfully touch my tongue to my nose.

 

As for Sam's tongue not too terribly big/long. Now if you want a long long tongue, I know a Maltese with a very tiny body and head ( including small mouth) but that tongue of hers will attempt to clean both ears at once. If she is up near your face your nose gets cleaned and if you aren't careful your tonsils will get cleaned too. She will wait for you to take a breath( she holds out longer than you can hold your breath ~ Trust me.). If my scanner/printer was working, I'd post a picture of her ant eater tongue.

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