30 Apr The Main Reason For The Dog Panting

Dogs are often panting. Especially after a long walk or playing with their toys. But this panting becomes dangerous when he has other symptoms. So it can be one of the symptoms of dog disease. Dog owners need to know when a dog is breathing normally and when it’s abnormal. In the following, we will explain the most important reasons for dog panting behaviour.

Normal dog panting

The main reason for the dog panting is to get rid of the heat. So in general, they breathe because they are hot. If we look at it scientifically, a dog’s rapid breathing cools the moist surfaces of his lungs, mouth, and tongue. So it makes perfect sense for your dog to pant on a hot day or after exercise.

Abnormal panting

Puppy panting is abnormal when it occurs for a reason other than ambient heat. It can be detected by looking at one or more of the following features:

• Excessive dog panting
• It happens when the weather isn’t hot
• The dog’s barking is louder than normal
• The dog tries to breathe faster than usual

Noticing any of these symptoms means you need to pay more attention to your dog and find out why. Here are the main reasons for a dog to breathe, which can help you take the right steps for your dog’s health.

 Anxiety, stress and fear

Activities such as fireworks, car rides, being alone at home, or sounds such as lightning, storms, or visiting strangers can cause dog panting. Symptoms of anxiety and stress include moaning or crying, hiding, falling asleep, licking the lips, yawning, hiding the tail under the body, loss of bladder control, salivation, tremors of the dog’s body and anorexia. In this case, you should identify and find the root causes and keep your dog away from it as much as possible. If stress and fear persist, the dog starts to fight and jump. This problem may also affect the dog’s quality of life (weakens the immune system, reduced blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract and the dog suffers from stomach ulcers, etc.) or it may cause emotional and behavioural disorders. So it can be said that stress and fear are very important causes of a dog’s panting and they must be controlled.

Excitement and joy

Dog panting doesn’t always mean that there’s a negative external cause, but it may be one of the signs of happiness for dogs. If they feel good about something like a ball or enjoy seeing their owner, they often show that feeling by panting. In the dog’s emotional state, as the excitement diminishes, the dog’s panting decreases until breathing returns to normal.

Feeling pain

Feeling pain in dogs causes them to pant. Because these animals are unable to express their pain and often hide it. This feeling may manifest with some of their behavioural symptoms to indicate that something is bothering them. One of these cases of pain is the dog panting. Other methods of causing pain in dogs include obsessive and permanent licking of their body or biting, especially in the legs. The sensation of pain may be accompanied by conditions such as nausea, vomiting, moaning, limping or rapid breathing, and so on.

Heart problem

When the heart isn’t working well, blood isn’t pumped. So the heart is deprived of oxygen. As the heart’s ability to pump decreases, blood pressure in the veins behind the heart increases. Lung congestion and fluid retention are common. When the lungs can no longer carry oxygen to the bloodstream, the lack of oxygen causes the dog to breathe faster and with more force, causing him to breathe faster. Other symptoms of cardiovascular disease include coughing, lethargy, and anorexia. If such symptoms occur, take your dog to a veterinarian and treat him.

Respiratory disease

Any type of respiratory illness in a dog eventually causes the lungs to malfunction, resulting in a lack of oxygen. Just like heart failure, a dog has no choice but to breathe faster. If your dog also breathes fast during sleep, you should know that the most important cause is a respiratory disease.

Existence of lungworm

There may be contaminated meat or food on the dog’s walkway, which can cause discomfort to him if eaten. In this case, the parasitic worm lays eggs in the lungs and trachea of his host, the dogs. When the larvae hatch, they attack the upper parts of the dog’s respiratory system, reducing its efficiency and crushing the dog.

Anemia

Anemia, or a decrease in the number of red blood cells, is a condition of the dog that can be caused by panting. Dogs become anemic due to a decrease in blood hemoglobin and as a result of reduced oxygen supply to tissues and organs. Symptoms of anemia include dog snoring, loss of appetite, weakness, fainting, dizziness, lethargy, and decreased activity. Because red blood cells are responsible for transporting oxygen to the body’s tissues, their deficiency causes a lack of oxygen in the dog’s body.

Laryngeal disorder

The larynx is located at the beginning of the trachea. If the muscles at the beginning of the larynx are paralyzed, the entry and exit of air to the lungs isn’t easy. As a result, we will see the dog panting and hearing an abnormal sound. When laryngeal dysfunction, in addition to difficulty breathing, your dog may make a louder sound when breathing. Note that this issue needs immediate medical attention from a veterinarian.

Cushing’s disease

Cushing’s disease in dogs is caused by a hormonal imbalance and is commonly seen in middle-aged and older dogs. One of the first and most common symptoms of this disease is dog panting. In this type of adrenal gland disease, more cortisol is secreted, which can cause many symptoms, including dog panting. Symptoms of this disease include thinning of the skin and its change from pink to gray or even black, hair loss, excessive thirst and urination, etc.

Cortisone (steroid) therapy

Many dogs treated with cortisone or injected with steroids breathe rapidly for several weeks. It usually goes away with stopping the medication.

Obesity

Obesity is one of the causes of dog panting. Due to the increase in their body temperature, the activity will be much more tedious for obese dogs and they will heat up quickly. Note that obesity can lead to problems such as cardiovascular disorders, pancreatitis, joint disease, liver and other diseases.

Fever

One of the most common causes of dog panting is fever, which is due to the dog’s immune system responding to pathogens in the form of fever. This condition can also be caused by heatstroke, so the symptoms of fever include dog snoring, bloating, and behavioural changes.

The cause of the dog panting at night

As we have said, panting is one of the signs of dog overheating. But what is the reason for your dog to breathe so fast at night when the weather isn’t hot? The most important reason for this problem is stress. Especially if your dog is in a new environment or away from you. It’s very rare to see this problem in adult dogs. Therefore, excessive breathing at night is one of the cases related to puppies. To solve this problem, you can use a gentle song at night to make your dog feel relaxed and you can sleep more comfortably. If you find that the issue is more complicated, it’s better to contact your veterinarian immediately.

To wrap up

It’s perfectly normal for a dog to pant. The dog pant to expel his heat. But if this rapid panting becomes abnormal, it’s a sign of a problem or illness in your dog. Causes of your dog panting can include stress, pain, heart failure, respiratory disease, and more. So in the first step, try to identify the cause. The dog panting at other times and situations, such as at night, during childbirth or in the car, has no other reason than what we have said. So if you see that the problem hasn’t been resolved, talk to your veterinarian as soon as possible for a better diagnosis. To have a healthy and lively dog, you need to pay attention to nutrition, activity, health, grooming and much more. You can prevent the disease and have a healthy dog in this case. In all these steps, you can count on the specialized team of MishkaGrooming. Our experienced and precise groomers have groomed your dogs carefully and accurately so that they count the moments for the next session.