Once in a while, your dog may start breathing heavily after a long run in the park. Also, taking good Instagram photos may sacrifice your dog’s normal breathing. So, is it really worth it? Is this an alarm to take your dog to the vet?
Heavy breathing can be a normal phenomenon and a sign of a more serious illness. Treatment depends on how it occurs, frequency, duration, and other factors.
Read the following article and find out everything about compromised dog’s breathing.
What Is Normal Breathing?
Adult dogs
We must comprehend a dog’s healthy ventilation (breathing) rate to recognize fast breathing.
Healthy dogs breathe between 15 and 35 times per minute. Of course, your dog will breathe more quickly while exercising.
On the other side, when your dog is breathing heavier with rates over 40 per minute it is regarded as abnormal and might require further investigation.
However, pet owners must remember that not all panting is harmful and unwanted.
Your dog can lower its body temperature by panting, which also allows heat and moisture to escape from the tongue, lips, and nasal passages.
Puppies
Compared to adult dogs, pups typically have faster heart and breathing rates. A puppy’s natural breathing rate ranges from 15 to 40 breaths per minute.
When sleeping, puppies often breathe more quickly, which is probably a reaction to their dreams.
It typically occurs during the REM (rapid eye movement) phase of sleep and may be accompanied by yelps or leg movements, which are entirely normal.
When Should You Be Concerned?
In most dogs, heavy breathing happens as a normal physiological process. We have listed some possible situations that should alarm a possible abnormality:
Breathing Heavy At Rest
This should concern you if you notice heavier breathing in dogs that rest or wake up from sleeping. If this happens only once, you can put it behind you, and it’s probably nothing.
When dogs sleep, their body is resting, and all of the body’s activities are getting slower including heartbeat, blood pressure, and breathing.
Blue Gums When Breathing Heavy
Blood vessels are red due to the high level of hemoglobin which contains iron connected to oxygen.
If the oxygen levels are low, the blood changes its color to darker red, and the skin that covers the vessels tends to get darker and blue.
Blue gums mean that there is a process that stops the blood from getting enough oxygen as it should, so addressing this situation is the right thing to do.
Panting With a Closed Mouth
Usually, when it’s tired, your dog tends to endorse rapid breathing with an open mouth. Its tongue is coming out since it’s the only way dogs can “sweat”.
However, if hard breathing is happening when its mouth is closed or partially opened, it could lead to a more serious scenario.
Unusual Behavior
Respiratory distress can lead to agitation, disorientation, lack of appetite, or other unusual behavior.
If the dog is tucking its tail between its legs and its ears are moved to the back of its head, it might be a sign that its respiratory system is not functioning well.
Other Sounds When Breathing Fast
If your pet makes weird noises while breathing, like wheezing and snorting, this means that it has problems with inhaling or exhaling oxygen through the respiratory system.
Chronic diseases, like asthma or chronic bronchitis, usually have this type of symptom.
When Is Heavy Breathing In Dogs Expected?
In case you are one of those pet owners that sometimes worry too much, here are the situations when breathing fast is OK:
Warm Weather
Your dog’s rapid breathing could likely be due to heat. Since dogs don’t sweat, heavy panting keeps them cool.
Because of the rapid inhalation, they can humidify and afterward exhale the air, causing water to evaporate from one dog’s nose and lungs.
Water evaporation then starts to cool their bodies from within. Don’t panic if you notice your dog panting exceedingly on a hot summer day – it’s a normal physiological reaction.
Your job is to give your dog plenty of fresh water to quench their thirst and replenish the depleted water.
Dogs feel most comfortable when provided with shade and protection where they could get some relief from the heat.
Exercising
Like humans, dogs exhale heavily after exercise. They’re simply trying to take a breath. This type of labored breathing is usually not a cause for concern.
If your dog is rolling around in a park, make sure to give it plenty of rest and water. You’ll want to ensure your dog gets a chance to cool down.
Consider the following to help your dog relax:
- Use a moist, cool towel and pat your dog down
- Place your dog in a shady area
- Take slower walks to lower their body temperature and heart rate
- Give water in small increments, as large gulps may cause bloating or vomiting
- A muscle massage.
Diseases That Increase Respiratory Effort
If your puppy has one of the following diseases, heavy breathing is expected and might be one of the main symptoms:
Heatstroke
Heatstroke is a serious condition that develops when dogs overheat and are unable to cool down. A dog’s average body temperature is about 38.6°C (101.5°F).
Heatstroke can lead to seizures, organ failure, and even death if left untreated. Some common causes of heat stroke include:
- Overheating during exercise – 74% of cases
- Being outside in the hot sun
- Getting stuck in a hot car.
Any dog can get heatstroke, but overweight, young, older, flat-faced, giant-breed and thick-coated dogs are especially at risk. Even if they’re just sitting in the sun when the weather is hot, they face difficulties while breathing.
Other signs of heatstroke in dogs include:
- Drooling and foaming at the mouth
- Dog’s gums are colored blue or dark red
- Weakness and depression
- Agitation
- Vomiting and diarrhea (sometimes bloody)
- Convulsions.
Asthma
Asthma is a chronic disease with an allergic basis. Like humans, pets can also get affected by this disease, even if dogs are less predisposed than cats.
The respiratory tract gets swollen and red when the dog is allergic to certain types of irritants. Irritants found in the air obstruct the dog’s airway and make the dog breathe fast, but not efficiently.
The airways become inflamed, narrowing the small airways in the lungs, which causes causing spasms and noisy breathing as one of the major constituents of asthma attacks.
If this occurs, you need to take the dog to the vet immediately for a physical examination, to receive oxygen therapy and other medication for its respiratory problems.
Asthma is usually observed in middle-aged dogs and rarely young dogs. Small breed dogs are more often diagnosed with this condition than large dogs, and males suffer more than females.
Other symptoms may include:
- Persistent cough
- Energy loss
- Sudden dyspnea
- Rapid breathing
- Intense pant with the mouth wide open
- Gasping
- Bluish gums (due to lack of oxygen)
- Decreased appetite.
Congestive Heart Failure
This type of heart disease in puppies is diagnosed when the heart is not able to pump a good enough quantity of blood to the peripheral parts of the body.
This is why inflicting an increase in stress and fluid that leaks into the dog’s chest. Be aware that different predominant organs could be damaged.
When fluid accumulates in or around the dog’s lungs, it prohibits the lungs from increasing their volume and stops oxygen from getting into the bloodstream properly.
This can cause plenty of signs and symptoms as time goes on, since CHF may be a slow-onset heart problem that develops over time.
The left side of the coronary heart collects oxygenized blood and pumps it out to the organs. If it cannot pump well enough, the blood gets left behind in the chamber and goes back into the lungs.
These are the most common signs and symptoms of blood going back to the lungs: coughing, fast breathing, and workout intolerance. They are indicative of a backup of stress inside the vessels turning in blood to the left atrium (top chamber) and ventricle (decrease chamber).
Occasionally, puppies with left-sided CHF faint due to oxygen and blood flow loss to the brain. They regularly breathe quicker than healthy puppies.
Medications
Sometimes if the puppy has other health conditions, they might get treatment for them on a daily basis.
Some of the medications they get for the diseases can cause the pet to breathe abnormally fast and stop acting normal due to its components.
For such case, the remedy should be excluded or changed with another similar medication.
An excellent example of this side effect is prednisone, which dogs can get as a treatment for arthritis and other inflammatory or autoimmune diseases.
Cushing’s Syndrome
Cushing’s syndrome occurs when your dog’s adrenal glands produce too much cortisol.
This chemical helps in responding to stress, managing weight, combating bacterial or viral infection, and maintaining normal blood sugar ranges.
Sufficient or insufficient adrenal gland production may lead to many health issues in dogs.
Cushing’s, also known as hypercortisolism and hyperadrenocorticism, may be difficult for a vet to diagnose as it has the same signs as many hormonal disorders.
The key is to allow your vet to recognize approximately something that’s one-of-a-kind about your pet. In a few cases, a surgical procedure can therapist puppies of the problem.
If your doggy can’t have an operation, they could take a medicinal drug to control their cortisol ranges and remove having trouble breathing.
Your dog might show the following signs:
- Thirstiness
- Hunger
- Frequent peeing
- Losing hair
- Thinning pores and skin
- Inactive
- Frequent skin infections
- Difficulty breathing.
Diagnosis Of The Cause Of Heavy Breathing
When your dog is breathing heavily you must consider it an emergency as soon as you realize there’s unprovoked and abnormal breathing.
You need to provide your vet with any recent incidents that can be related to dogs breathing fast.
Then, the veterinarian will start with a physical examination that will mostly focus on distinctive observation of your dog’s respiration and listening to its chest and lungs.
The veterinarian will press on your canine’s windpipe to provoke coughing, showing him what the cough sounds like and whether it produces sputum.
This technique helps the specialist determine the quality of breathing – whether it’s heavy and dysfunctional (dyspnea) or fast (tachypnea).
Urinary lab analysis, whole blood count, and chemical blood profile can be endorsed, allowing the vet to become aware of some possible reasons for the fast breathing. This includes anemia, infection, presence of heartworm or toxin and other differential diagnosis.
Further checking out will rely on the region of concern. For example, x-rays and ultrasounds that allow you to look more closely at the condition and characteristics of the heart, lungs, and abdomen.
Another helpful diagnosing technique is the extraction of fluids built up within the chest, lungs, or stomach, as well as an electrocardiogram to measure the heart’s electric activity.
On the other side, the endoscope is used to visually look at your canine’s nostril and upper respiratory tract.
Specific Tests
Other diagnostic tests vary based on the condition the veterinarian is concentrating on.
For example, if your vet tries to exclude Cushing’s syndrome, he might do the following tests:
- ACTH stimulation test
ACTH is a hormone that stimulates the production of cortisol. Blood samples are taken from your dog before and after it takes a shot of ACTH to measure the levels.
- Low dose dexamethasone suppression (LDDS) test
This test measures how your pet’s body works when dexamethasone is applied. The blood samples are taken before taking a shot of dexamethasone and afterward.
If heart failures are suspected, the dog may undergo:
- Electrocardiogram (ECG)
An electrocardiogram (ECG) measures the electric activity of the heart and the heart rate, it can detect some of the most common heart problems fast.
Any unusual rhythms (arrhythmias or dysrhythmias) may be detected and evaluated in the veterinary clinic via an ECG.
- Echocardiogram
It uses the power of ultrasounds to determine the shape of the hearth on a screen. It can also determine the thickness of the wall, position of the heart, and the effectivity of the heart pump.
Treatment Options For Your Dog’s Breathing Problems
Dog’s heavy breathing problems can be cured depending on the cause of this symptom.
Since this type of breathing is not a disease itself but more of a medical sign.
A severe asthma attack should always be treated as an emergency. In such cases, your veterinarian may admit your dog to the hospital and place him in an oxygen barn to help him breathe better.
In addition, your veterinarian may insert an IV catheter into your dog to administer drugs or intravenous fluids parenterally.
Fluids may be given if the pet is dehydrated or not eating or drinking. Bronchodilators and steroids may be administered via IV. If an infection is present, IV antibiotics might even be prescribed.
Bellow, we have listed three main ways of treatment:
- Bronchodilators are used to open up air passages (respiratory pet medication to loosen up bronchial musculature)
- Antihistamines are used to reduce the allergic response (allergy relief for dogs).
- Steroids are used to reduce inflammation of the airways.
Heat stroke also is a life-threatening medical emergency. A priority is the safe and controlled decrease of body temperature, which can be achieved by:
- Pouring mild (not cold) water over the head, stomach, armpits, and feet, or applying cool cloths to these areas.
- The clothes that are used for the cooling, must be constantly changed since they receive the heath from the body and will get hot if not changed continuously.
- Maintaining a constant flow of air across the dog to aid evaporative heat loss until care is obtained at your veterinarian’s office.
- Although its effectiveness is debatable, rubbing alcohol can be applied to the footpads to dilate pores and boost perspiration.
- Intravenous fluids, mild sedation, and low-concentration oxygen therapy.
If your dog has some heart issue, your veterinarian may recommend one or more of the following:
- Medications that aid the heart’s function and correct abnormal heart rhythms.
- Medications that slow the accumulation of fluid in the lungs.
- Surgery to repair a torn valve or to implant a pacemaker to regulate the heartbeat.
- A commercial or prescription low-salt eating plan to aid in the reduction of fluid buildup in your dog’s body.
- Managing weight without putting too much stress on your dog’s heart, and engaging in limited activity or exercise.
Many other conditions, such as lung tumors (lung cancer) and elongated soft palate, might cause a dog’s fast breathing and increased respiratory effort.
Their treatment also differs depending on the cause.
The most important thing you have to do is take your fluffy friend to the veterinary clinic if you notice the symptoms mentioned before and leave the rest to the professionals.
They will provide the care and information for the special treatment after the initial complications are gone.
FAQ:
Summary
In veterinary medicine, having difficulty breathing can be normal and expected, but sometimes it is a sign of a specific condition. This depends on many factors and is diagnosed by doing tests that may confirm the suspected cause.
If your dog stops acting normally and shows the symptoms mentioned above, you should visit your vet immediately. He will constitute medical advice, stop the initial complications and do further investigation.
Related topic: Rectal prolapse in dogs
*photo by onodiaz – depositphotos