Excessive Panting!?

[Chelsea and Bailey]

Alright DK friends, I've been wanting to post this for weeks but have been holding off because I didn't want to seem over-reactive but now I'm alittle worried! I would like advice on what kind of panting is normal for a dog? I have not owned a big dog before, so I thought that maybe they pant mor than little dogs? Bailey pants normally after all excercise and settles down within the 10 minute time frame, but then sometimes at rest she pants like a maniac! This morning is the perfect example, she came into bed with me after my DH left and stays on the bed but she literally woke me up with her hard panting, its so loud and so fast. I even tried to count her respiratory rate and couldn't. She will rest a bit and then pant, over and over. Right now she is laying down breathing throught her nose quick, seems like too quick, I'm used to people breathing 12-20 breaths per minute whereas she is probably close to 60 or higher at times. So anyways I googled heavy panting at rest and it brought me cushings disease, renal failure, heart failure, hypothyroidism. Scared me to death! I know panting is used to regulate body heat, so maybe she just gets hot randomly? She doesn't have any of the other symptoms those diseases state like wt gain, hair loss, or high temperature,plus she's only 6 months old, so I'm looking for advice as to what you guys think! Is this norma, do I need to just get used to the panting cycles?l?

[F, Calla & Luca]

Calla gets brief episodes where she pants very hard and rapidly. They come out of nowhere for no apparent reason, often at rest. She sounds like she's about to keel over. This has gone on forever and these episodes are rare. She is a noisy breather at best, I call her Darth Vader at times, and she occasionally snores.  I have asked the vet about these episodes and even brought her in one time when it was combined with some brief, awful cough-like intervals. I thought she had something in her pharynx then. The vet found nothing, thought it might be allergic and life goes on. Otherwise Calla is completely healthy, eats like a pig, runs and has no health problems. I have learned to ignore these breathing "spells"

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Is it possible Bailey is just too hot? Vern will pant like this up on our bed and seems to get very hot. He likes to sleep on the cold, hard floor even in the dead of winter. I stopped crating him when he was small at night, because he would start panting and seemed to be very hot and we have two fans going at all times in our bedroom. Just a thought. Hope you find the answer.

[DeeDee and Sheila]

Awwies.  She is so adorable in her picture, where I notice she is wrapped up in a blankie.  I switch my dogs to towels in their crates and where they lay.  Most times, if its hot or after walk, they want to lay prone on the floor.  Slurp up a bunch of water, I used to hose down my dogs in NC after walks and excercise w/ cold water.  You do check in w/ a vet sometimes, right?  When they are young, you need the vet to look at them once in awhile.  My little doodle had some hip problems that went on too long bc they were intermittent and I didn't go to vet for a couple months.  So it doesn't hurt to ask and may save $$$ in long run.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

i would guess shes too hot - Cooper will often pant alot when she sleeps on the bed with us, especially if she has been bouncing around a bit previously. Cooper rarely sleeps on the bed, she has learnt its cooler on the floor.

[Nicky, Riley & Boris]

I think perhaps have your vet check this out the next time you are in for a routine examination.  I don't wish to alarm you (and I think that Bailey probably does get hot and that's the cause)  but I did have two dogs in the past who exhibited panting and also a sort of occasional gasp cough thing which in both cases turned out to be heart failure.  The heart failure didn't become apparent until they were older.  One of them lived to age 12 and the other is now six  (and not medicated yet).   I have noticed in the past that some of my dogs even when they were hot and panting didn't necessarily go to drink their water even though I thought they should!

[Harper]

I don't have advice, but I will say that my doodle puppy pants a lot too.  And when I dog sat for a doodle puppy (9 months) he panted a lot as well!  My previous dog was a Dalmatian who essentially never panted unless it was very hot or she had just been for a run.  So it may be the fur on the doodles that makes them get hot easier or perhaps they are just dogs who like to pant.  :)

[Tina, Clover, Plus 5 More]

Simon does this a lot and drinks more.  Since he has a heart murmur it made me nervous.  I took him to the vet last November to get checked out.  The vet said it had nothing to do with his heart.  That more than likely Simon's just hot.  It can also be caused by dry air and dust escpecially if there's coughing too.  I have noticed with Simon after a while of doing this he goes somewhere cooler in the house and it stops.  Clover does it too her favorite stop is the tile floor.

[Jennifer Tramell]

Sometimes it seems like Webster is panting too much so I know what you are talking about.  With Webster, sometimes he is trying to tell me something: he may need to go outside or want a drink of water.  We have been known to say "Webster, stop breathing!"   Of course, we don't mean stop breathing completely :-) So join the ranks of we DKers who are slightly paranoid that there is something wrong with our doodles.  (Today it's panting, tomorrow it's hip dysplasia, etc, etc)

[Donna K & Quincy]

Quincy is a panter as well, I swear he'd be great at making those heavy breathing obscene phone calls. His respiratory rate is always kind of fast.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Donna, Are you the one who keeps calling my house :) ? Tell Quincy to stop.

[Michele, Biscuit & Mo]

Sorry, Laurie - that's Penny.  She keeps hitting the speed dial on the nightstand phone when she rolls over.  :)

 

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

LOL....very funny! Penny is probably trying to talk to Vern :)