Excessive panting

[hockey390]

I am going to discuss this with my vet in the near future, but I figured I would post it here seeing how there is so much knowledge here =)

My 6 mo. golden retriever seems to pant excessively. I live in Michigan, so it is cold here right now, and as soon as she starts to play she pants a LOT, and drinks quite a bit of water. When she is laying around she breathes fairly quickly as well. While she is laying here resting next to me it appears her lungs are filling about once every second, maybe a little faster. I will time it with a stop watch if need be.

I understand that dogs pant when they are warm, or exerting quite a bit of energy, but it seems to be a lot for a puppy that I would think would have quite a bit of energy. The 8 month old black lab she is playing with is not breathing heavily at all, nor is it panting..

Any comments?

 

[CollieMan]

How long has it been going on?

In the meantime, here are some links that might prove helpful:

http://www.petplace.com/dogs/panting-in-dogs-is-it-normal/page1.aspx
http://www.bigdogboutique.com/ProductCart/pc/panting_dogs.html

 

[hockey390]

Ever since I got her.. It happens most frequently when she plays with our other dog, which sometimes to my observations may stress her out a little.. The other dog is often over aggressive and slightly larger than my dog, thus causing a slight size/strength difference. Thank you for the info CollieMan, I didn't know that it could be caused by stress or excitement. I will mention it to the vet next time I am in, but until then I will keep my eye on her.

 

[splitz831]

I'm not a vet, but my vet told me that some dogs are just naturally heavier breathers. My guess is this is the case with your golden, since she always does it. My bernese mountain dog wheezes when he's excited but the vet says that's just how he breathes...it was the scariest thing the first few times he did it. Your dog might also be hot in the house, or even outside when running around. Again, my bernese (a naturally hairy warm dog) HATES being in the house even when it's -20 out...we don't let him out at that temperature...but he would much rather be out there because he's so hot! Hope everything works out!

 

[alix]

I think that perhaps you should visit the vet if it continues, since excessive panting can also mean that your pup is in pain. Best of luck with your pup :dogsmile:

 

[lurchergirl]

Excessive panting can also be stress related. Our pyrenees, who is a rescue dog, panted almost non-stop for the first year that we had him... simply out of stress. Herbs and Bach Flower remedies helped and so did a chiropractor. He now rarely pants, only when he gets hot or on walks.

Vera

 

[leema]

Heavy panting can also be more common if the dog is overweight. You might want to consider getting some weight off him if you think that this may be his problem.

Hope the vet can sort it out for you.

 

[hockey390]

She is far from overweight... Emma is a 7 month old Golden Retriever.. She only pants when she plays now.. I'm pretty sure it is just her being excited, because when she stops playing she usually stops panting.

 

[emmasmamma]

It could very well be excitement as puppies are very excitable over things that an older dog would just ignore, but still check with the vet as heavy panting with activity could also signal heart problems such as a murmur. Has she had a check up since you got her where the vet listened to her heart and lungs? If so, and no problems were detected it probably is just excitement, but still have her checked out!

 

[hockey390]

Yep, she has been to the vet many times and it has been brought to their attention for a little testing.. Everything is A-Okay