While toddlers and young children can often communicate if they're feeling any pain or indicate suffering ill health, for pet owners, this isn't usually the case.
Dog and cat lovers might claim they know their animals' behaviour inside and out, and can tell if they're acting out of the ordinary - but there are some ailments that these pets simply can't demonstrate without words.
With this in mind, one TikTok-using dog owner is advising her followers about one key indicator that your furry friend is feeling under the weather.
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In fact, the woman in question - known as @suttonloves on the video-sharing app - claimed she learned this handy hack 'the hard way' last week when her pet dog went into a cardiac arrest.
"If you have a dog, this info could save their life," the social media star claimed.
"One small thing that you can easily check that I had never known after owning my dog for years and owning dogs all growing up.
"But if your dogs have always been healthy, there would be no reason to learn this."
Sutton went on: "After telling two other people who are dog owners and them not knowing about it, I knew I had to make a video about this."
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The New York local went on to explain that she'd noticed her dog had been acting 'grumpier' than usual, but put it down to age, being that her pet was an older animal.
"I have a very sassy little dog who was acting more irritated," she explained. "I gave her understanding that, as she was aging, she was gonna get grumpier."
Sutton then went on the reveal that, whilst she first assumed her dog was out of sorts because of age or simply due to tiredness, the pup wasn't receiving any oxygen.
Pointing out that, when human beings are deprived of air - due to choking or lung damage - their facial features tend to turn blue, she opened up on a means of being able to tell if your dog is enduring the same suffering.
"A dog has no exposed skin," she went on. "Which means that they could be suffocating due to an invisible medical condition right next to you and you can have no idea."
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That being the case, however, Sutton said she discovered that, if a dog is deprived of oxygen, it is the tongue that will change from it's usual pink colour to a worrisome shade of bluey/purple.
"This will appear very dark on the underside of the tongue, kind of like, branching out from the middle. Top side of the tongue will turn dark as well."
The online star explained that, when her own pet was suffering with heart problems, their tongue turned 'almost black'.
"Any discolouration darker than their normal tongue colour is cause to investigate, to be sure they're getting the oxygen that they need.
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"Or they're getting medication that can open their airways."
Adding that she now checks her animal's tongue several times a day, Sutton is now calling for fellow pet owners to take note of this nifty tip which, in serious medical situations, can save your dog's life.
Featured Image Credit: TikTok/@suttonlovesTopics: Dog, Animals, Hacks, Health, TikTok