Excessive Panting

[Guest thedozer]

Just wondering, how much panting is normal? We adopted our first greyhound 6 weeks ago, he's 3 years old, retired from racing in April and already seems very out of shape. He loves his evening walk, so we have taken him every night after the sun goes down, but after getting back, he will pant for almost a hour. We also walk our 9 year old overweight dachshund who recovers very quickly and she's taking 10 times as many steps!

 

He will also have very short bursts of playful energy...no more than 2 or 3 minutes...during the day inside the house and will then lay down and pant for quite a while without even being outside in the heat. He also pants while walking around the house and just laying around.

 

Is it normal to be that out of shape within just a few months from racing? I would have thought that after 6 weeks he would be gaining some endurance, but he's not. Is this still normal because of the summer heat? Hopefully I'm worrying too much, but just need some reassurance.

 

He tested negative for heartworms the week before we adopted him.

 

Thanks for any advice!

[KF_in_Georgia]

Panting doesn't mean out of shape. Dogs cool down by panting. And remember that a dog's internal temperature is a couple of degrees higher than our own.

 

Dogs don't sweat. What he's doing is the doggie-equivalent of sweating. You wouldn't say a retired athlete is out of shape just because he works up a sweat--even if he generates the sweat without a lot of exertion. You'd just say the athlete is hot. And he is.

 

As for your doxie cooling down faster than your greyhound...your greyhound has a much larger body mass to cool down.

[Guest fandogs]

Some Greys also have a bit more trouble cooling down. As a matter of fact, some are often retired early because their cooling mechanism doesn't work very well.

Maybe talk to your vet.

Are you down south? Are you walking him on grass or on sidewalk or roadway that might heat up is foot pads?

Just a few thoughts.

[Guest Energy11]

If you are in the heat advisory areas, you need to be careful when you let your greyhound out. Please don't allow him to be out long.

 

NO long walks, NO walks during the heat of the day. Maybe that is what is going on?

 

Like everyone else said, these dogs take a lot longer to cool down, especially in this insane heat.

 

If you aren't in the heat areas, and this keeps up, I"d see your local vet.

 

Congrats on your new baby, and good Luck!

 

p.s. Please see the heat related post in Health and Medical.

[RobinM]

My Elsie is in fabulous shape at 11.5. Gets walked 2 times a day - 1 mile each walk. (we do not walk in the heat of the day. In H H H weather, we do walks at 7 AM and 11PM. She is a panter. She pants if we do not walk. She pants if walk. Sometimes her panting is so bad, I have to turn a fan on to drown out the sounds of her panting or I can't sleep!

 

I had her checked out when she was newly adopted and of course she has been seen several times since then. She is just a panter!

 

He will also have very short bursts of playful energy...no more than 2 or 3 minutes...during the day inside the house and will then lay down and pant for quite a while without even being outside in the heat. He also pants while walking around the house and just laying around.

 

 

 

Greyhounds are sprinters, not long distance marathon runners. This is very typical of the breed. 5 minutes of play, 6 hours of sleeping it off!

 

Sounds normal to me, just please be very careful about the heat. They are not capable of handling the heat or cold the way your other pup is.

[DevilDog]

I've got a panter here too. Sage is always panting. When coming in from a walk, be it 2 minutes or 45, she takes 4 times longer to stop panting than Roscoe. Whenever she gets excited she pants... she's just a loud mouth breather.

 

[Guest thedozer]

Yes, we're down south in Texas and yes, it's hot! We only walk in the evenings after dark and even then it's still hot. It sounds like this is normal greyhound behavior and I'm probably just a worrier.

 

Thanks for the advice!

[DesiRayMom]

Mine, too. I'm in Ohio & it's been hot. That was one thing that worried me when I adopted. He raced in Florida....I thought he'd be used to the heat.

But not. He'll go a couple of blocks eagerly, then it's down to a dead plod, & I have to coax him along to get back to the house. It takes him a lot longer

to cool down than my beagle/lab mix, too. I was even afraid of heart problem, thinking it was total exercise intolerance. But we've learned to deal.

After 5 months, I've figured out what he can take & when to get him the heck back in the a/c.

[Guest Paige12]

Congratulations on your new family member!!! You are joining the Worriers Club!! I probably am a member in good standing!! Beth in Ohio