Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not sweat by salivating. Dogs actually do have sweat glands and not only on their tongues. They sweat, mainly through the footpads. However, dogs do primarily regulate their body temperature through panting

Dogs only produce sweat on areas not covered with fur, such as the nose and paw pads, unlike humans who sweat almost everywhere. However, they do have sweat glands, called apocrine glands, associated with every hair follicle on their body. The exact function of these glands is not known, but they may produce pheromones or chemical signals for communication with other dogs. It is believed that these sweat secretions produce an individual odor signal that is recognizable by other dogs.

Dogs also have sweat glands on their noses. These are eccrine glands. When these glands are active, they leave the nose and paw pads slightly moist and help these specialized skin features maintain their functional properties.[3] The odor associated with dog paw pads is much more noticeable on dogs with moist paw pads than on those with dry pads.

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.