My Beagle Has Been Fine, But Tonight Her Tongue Is Hanging Out, Really Long, Is She Sick?

The dog's tongue, besides being used to eat and drink, also regulates it's body heat. So when a dog gets really hot, like from running around, it will pant and take it's tongue out to cool off fast. When the dog is excited, the tongue's size will actually increase as a result of the extra blood flow. This helps in evaporating more moisture from it's surface, and as the blood in the area cools down, it flows to other parts of the body and cools them down too.

If your dog's only symptom is the tongue hanging out, then I would not worry too much as the dog is probably just over excited. Let her calm down and see if she is still panting. If she is still panting then you should check her temperature to make sure she is not running a fever, as that can cause her body to overheat as well.