Why does the top of my dogs head feel hot? We provide straightforward answers to help ease your concerns about your dogs health.

So, I noticed the other day, the top of my dog Max’s head felt pretty warm. Like, warmer than usual when I gave him a pat.

My first thought, you know, was panic. Is he sick? Does he have a fever? I started checking other stuff. Felt his ears, they were kinda warm too. Checked his nose – it was wet and cool, so that was good I guess. He wasn't acting weird, just lounging around like he normally does after his morning walk.

It got me thinking back to this one time last summer. We have this little ritual, Max and I. After his evening walk, if it’s been a hot day, he likes to lie right in front of the floor fan I have in the living room. He just sprawls out there, tongue lolling, soaking up the breeze.

My Process That Day

Anyway, this particular day was a scorcher. We’d been out, maybe a bit longer than usual. Nothing crazy, just our normal route.

• We got back inside.
• He drank a ton of water, like usual.
• Then he went straight for his spot by the fan.
• I let him chill there for a good 20 minutes.
• Later, I went over to give him some fuss.

And when I put my hand on his head, it felt super warm. Way warmer than the rest of him, especially since he'd been cooling off. It felt really weird. I did the whole check again – nose, behavior. He seemed perfectly fine, happy even, just tired from the heat and the walk.

Here’s what I figured out, just from watching him:

Dogs regulate their temperature differently than we do. They pant, sure, and they sweat a bit through their paws. But they also radiate heat from their bodies, especially their heads and ears because there's lots of blood flow there. Max had been out in the sun, got his heart rate up walking, and his body was just plain working harder to cool down.

Even lying by the fan, his core temperature was probably still settling, and that heat was escaping through his head. Plus, sometimes he just likes to nap in a patch of sun coming through the window. When he wakes up from that? Yeah, his head, especially the dark fur on top, feels like a little radiator.

So, now? When I feel his head is warm, I don't immediately jump to conclusions. I think about what he’s been doing. Running around? Sleeping in a warm spot? Usually, there’s a simple reason. If he was acting sick and felt hot, that’s vet time, no question. But just a warm head on its own? Often, for Max at least, it's just him being a dog.