It is important for people to know that not all cases of heavy breathing in dogs need to be panicked as it can be caused by factors such as breathing patterns, breathing rate, and panting in healthy/pain-free dogs. Shortness of breath can be caused by physical exertion, stress, and anxiety, or changes in the surrounding environment. But, at the same time, it can also be associated with some other diseases or health disorders. In this guide, you will learn why your dog is panting, what normal panting looks like, and when you should visit the vet.
Types of Heavy Breathing in Dogs
There are various patterns that dogs may show with heavy breathing and all of them may indicate different issues. Knowledge of these types will let you know when your dog requires attention or not.
1. Panting
Panting is the most frequent kind of rending of the jaws in dogs. It happens for various reasons; the dogs must be hot, stressed, or just get overly stimulated. Panting assists the dogs to cool since they do not perspire like humans do. On the other hand, icing or over-grooming, especially in cold temperatures can be a sign of underlying diseases such as heart disease or respiratory disease.
2. Rapid Breathing
Wheezing is characterized by a high-pitched whistling sound that is during breathing or when exhaling and fast breathing is taking deep breaths; it may appear haphazard. If your dog’s breathing rate is higher than normal and they’re not panting, this can point towards anxiety or pain or even conditions like pneumonia or a chronic heart condition.
3. Laboured Breathing
This is evident when a dog has a hard time breathing or struggling to breathe. Perhaps, you would find that their abdomen and chest expand and contract every time they attempt to breathe in and breathe out. Difficulty in breathing is usually spotted in more chronic forms of diseases such as lung diseases or heart diseases.
Heavy Breathing vs. Normal Breathing in Dogs
The role of heavy breathing has to be differentiated from the normal breaths. Dogs range in breathing rates according to their activity and the type of breed they belong to. For example, a dog could pant after an activity or game.) While some dogs naturally breathe rather fast, however, if your dog frequently breathes faster than this while lying down, there may be a problem.
Normal Breathing
A restful dog should therefore breathe between ten and thirty breaths per minute. Breathing must seem inconspicuous and as flowing as possible. Whenever there is an indication of something wrong or of one’s inability to overcome a certain situation then such a person should seek help.
Heavy Breathing
Panting on the other hand is the situation whereby your dog’s breathing rate rises beyond the normal rates. It is usually caused by exercise, stress, or other conditions that affect the body’s immune system. You should be most worried if your dog looks uncomfortable and can exhibit symptoms including drooling, a blue-tinted tongue, or pacing.
What causes my dog to pant with its tongue sticking out?
Some dogs may breathe rapidly with their tongues out and most of the time it is nothing serious, especially if the dog is exercising. While this may happen when your dog is resting or in a cold environment, it can be a sign of a problem.
Some of the common reasons why a dog may breathe rapidly with their tongues out include:
Heatstroke: Dogs may have their tongues hanging out when they try to cool themselves down. Heatstroke is serious, and therefore, any patient showing such symptoms should seek our services immediately.
Respiratory problems: Diseases such as brachycephalic airway syndrome, which is a characteristic of flat-nosed dogs, and respiratory infections affect the breathing rate and tongue position.
Pain or anxiety: Dogs, who are in pain or anxiety, may breathe with their tongues out, taking rapid shallow breaths.
Heart disease: Certain diseases; Congestive heart failure, for example, can cause the animal to breathe rapidly and irregularly with its tongue out.
If your dog is drooling and panting excessively and will not do any exercise or activity, it’s time to visit the vet.
The Dog Breathing Fast But Not Panting: What Does It Mean?
However, if your dog is often breathing with his jaws clenched but rarely panting, this is another symptom and may indicate a problem with his health. It is important to note that other than panting, there may be other symptoms of rapid breathing in dogs caused by heart or lung disease. Other possible causes include:
Pain: Panting is not present or is reduced: Dogs in pain may breathe at a fast and shallow rate and are not panting.
Stress or anxiety: Dogs are able to increase their breathing rate in stress behaviors.
Anemia: Some of the effects of low RBCs include; Dogs breathe rapidly due to the body’s attempt to compensate for the low amount of oxygen in the blood.
Heart or lung disease: This is not panting but is used by dogs when there is a problem affecting the heart or lungs and yet the dog is at rest.
It’s particularly worrying if your dog is breathing rapidly but not panting and this should be a signal to pay close attention to their actions and contact a vet.
Home Remedies for Dog Difficulty Breathing
However, if you want to consult with a professional about your pet’s issue, here are several home remedies you can use in case your dog has occasional breathing problems.
1. Keep Them Cool
If your dog is panting because of heat you should take them to a cooler area with some ventilation. Throw some water perhaps clean water and let them stay in an area full of shade.
2. Reduce Anxiety
Pep prevents is advice that works for anxious dogs and includes switching off all other stimuli, petting the dog in a slow, and soft manner, and playing calm and soft music.
3. Maintain a Healthy Weight
Breathing becomes difficult in dogs affected by the condition, particularly those with other respiratory illnesses complicated by obesity. Maintaining the healthy size of your dogs will help ease the stress on the hearts and lungs.
4. Humidify the Air
Having respiratory troubles, your dog will benefit from having the airways cleared and this is achieved by the use of a humidifier.
When to Go to the Vet
Knowing when to consult a professional in matters concerning your dog is essential to the dog’s well-being. If you notice the following symptoms, you should visit the vet immediately:
1. Weak and continuous breathing or breathing that is hard and deep except at rest
2. Coughing or wheezing
3. True cyanosis (cyanosis of the tongue, gums, or lips).
4. Lack of appetite or lethargy
5. Breathing problems that result in difficulty walking or standing
Hopefully, the problem is simply Lyme disease, but if there is something else going on, the sooner Daisy gets treatment from a vet the better.
How Vets Diagnose Heavy Breathing in Dogs
If your pet dog is also having trouble breathing and you take him to the vet, the vet will examine him to find out the cause. This may include:
Physical examination: The vet will listen to the dog’s chest and evaluate his physical condition.
Blood tests: Laboratory tests also reveal what is going on, although general health can be judged from the list above: Blood tests provide information about anemia or infection.
X-rays: Chest X-rays may show signs of a problem in the lungs or heart.
Ultrasound: In some cases when the vet has observed physical signs of heart disease, ultrasound may be used to evaluate the heart’s function.
ECG: An electrocardiogram can observe the electrical functioning of the heart and detect if there is a problem.
From the results of the above tests, the vet will advise what action is best to take.
Q&A
A1: Not always. Sweating profusely or sweating while exercising is relatively normal. However, if your dog is panting in a normal manner and there is no reasonable cause like activity I would recommend speaking to a veterinarian.
A2: Some alarm signs include rapid and difficult breathing, coughing, bluish discoloration of the tongue or muzzle, or collapse. If you notice any of these, you should not hesitate to take your pet to the veterinarian.