Panting at 6 Months

[Discussing Labradoodles & Goldendoodles]

Tucker started to pant a lot about 4 weeks ago. He has been to the vet and they say that his heart and lungs are normal, they took x-rays to ensure he didn't eat anything. Before I push for a blood test to test for hyperthyroidism,etc... does anyone else have a doodle that just started panting one day?

He pants even when he is in a rested state - we live outside of Toronto so the heat is not a factor right now. He doesn't pant 24/7 it is random throughout the day and evening.

Thanks for listening.

M

[Lindsey, Lee, Whopper and Simba]

This probably isn't connected but may provide some insight. Whopper was spayed on Friday and beginning Friday night we noticed she was breathing heavily while at rest and then at times it would escalate to extremely deep rapid respirations almost as if she was hyperventilating. We didn't sleep much the past few nights as it was alarming and we tried to help settle her with petting and giving her ice cubes because all the panting dried her out. It came and went and therefore we didn't rush her to the E-vet because she seemed to be okay aside from these episodes. My husband took her to the vet today and they did x-rays of the lungs and checked out her incision, etc. They gave us additional pain medicine saying that she was probably experiencing excessive pain and that combined with the stress of the surgery was having the respiratory issues. Ours was much more substantial than the panting/noises associated with her puppy dreams. Is it possible that something is going through your puppies head stressing him out and producing anxiety panting?

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

Hi Marissa~ I can't say that Gaston-Cramer just started panting one day but he does in fact pant occassionally when he's in a rested/resting state. His mouth is never open with his tongue hanging out-as you'd expect with a classic pant- so I'm not sure if Gaston-Cramer does the same thing as you're speaking of with Tucker but it was alarming to us at first. He only does it when he's resting. Out of the blue he starts to breathe fast (as if in a dream). Frankly, it doesn't alarm us anymore (though maybe it should! LOL) because he doesn't seem to be in any distress whatsoever. We just chalk it up to a quirk of his! LOL
Is it possible that Tucker is hot? Could his coat me getting thicker and with the weather change (we live in the south) he might be just showing you signs that he's trying to cool down? GC's coat is super thick and curly so at times we think that might be just what's he's trying to tell us!
I'd certainly watch it like you're doing and if your vet expresses concern with following up with more tests then I'd do that. Follow your instincts Marissa :) and I hope it turns out to be just a quirky habit like Gaston-Cramer has! LOL

[Carole (*Koda*Monty*Bindi)]

LOL In our house it's the toilet bowl in the middle of the night! LOL

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Hi Marissa and Tucker,
I think the reason why dogs pant is to cool themselves, maybe Tucker was getting to much exercise, or even to much exercise after eating. Try and rest him for about an hour after meals and see if that helps, other than letting him potty. Is there something that might be making him anxious, like worried something may happen or expects something to happen at a certain time so he gets anxious, this can also cause dogs to pant. Other than this I really don't know why he would be panting, I got Honey at 6 months and noticed her panting alot at night, she has finally calmed down with it, so I think hers was part the Scabieis from the kennel she came from, and also anxiety adjusting to a new home. Hope you can find out what is up with Tucker, please keep us posted. Thanks Denise HannahNHoney

[HANNAH 8/2/07 & HONEY 7/2/08]

Now that I read other comments on here, you mentioned you had him to puppy classes. Maybe he is anxiously awating to go back and get to see all his friends again, I had a Rottie, you couldn't tell her she was going anywhere, you couldnt say do you wanna go see gram and pop pop tomorrow, she would actually bring her leash and sit and beg till you took her somewhere, she was relentless. He might just be waiting and expecting to go to dog school, my dogs love to go away and get all happy and jumpy when they know they are going...maybe some trips to a safe doggy park. I would just try and reassure him things are okay by getting him to lye down by you and relax. Please let us know what happens. Thanks Denise HannahNHoney

[GBK]

LOL all I have to say to Buddy is "what do you want to do today?" and he is all up in my face! I figure he is saying "anything mom, anything, let's just goooooo"

[LeAnn, Lucy & Rusty!!]

I'm curious if Tucker's heart rate increases or stays the same with his panting.. I would also think this information would be good for your vet to know... so take Tucker's pulse while in the "non-panting" state.. then compare it to the "panting" state and let us know... (It's actually a good idea for everyone to know the resting heart rate of their pet.. ) The other question is has Tucker lost or gained weight during this time? Here's a link on how to check a dog's pulse.

One final thing, it's very simple to see if Tucker is getting enough oxygen (which would be a primary concern IF the panting is respiratory related)... simply pull back his lip and examine his gums (mucous membranes).. they should be nice and pink (or you should know what his baseline is because some dogs gum color does vary).. IF when he's panting the gums turn a purplish color then I would get concerned.. very concerned.. I was looking for a picture and found this article on cyanosis (blue gums) in dogs.. I'm not trying to freak you out - rather help by knowing life threatening signs to look for...

Let me end this by saying I am NOT an expert.. I'm just a critical care nurse.. and some things we look for in humans I would think would be similar in dogs..

[LeAnn, Lucy & Rusty!!]

Yeah!! Glad to hear it! He sure is a cutie pie!