Panting After Exertion - How Long?

[Guest iclarkz]

We have had our almost 4-year old grey for about three weeks, and today was the first time she really got going in the yard playing with our other dog.

She zoomed back and forth (outside w/out a coat) and had a blast for about 5-8 minutes.

 

But, it has been about 20 minutes since she came in, and she is still panting a bit. Her mouth is closed, but she is blowing puffs of air out the side of her mouth while she lays on her side, and her belly is still moving as if she is panting. How long does it generally take them to simmer down after a good romp? She seems to be trying to sleep, eyes are starting to shut, but still, the puffing.

 

She is a bit of a panter anyway. . not sure if it is the new environment, or what. (Or the fact that we kept her belly warmer on her too much at first, ha ha.)

[a_daerr]

I fostered a dog who would run like the dickens at full speed, then would just collapse and pant for a real long time. People at the dog park would ask me, "Are you sure he's okay??" And he was, just probably a little bit out of shape. It's a good idea to warm up and cool down after heavy exercise (for dogs and people alike). Maybe next time, try a short walk beforehand and see if it makes a difference. Otherwise, I wouldn't worry too much.

[Guest iclarkz]

P.S. I just got her more water, and she still seems warm to the touch, I guess. It was cold outside, and 70 in here, so maybe she is just having problems cooling down? It is just different than my other dog (mixed breed). She doesn't seem in distress (i.e. bloat).

Thanks, a_daerr! It is all new to me. I went from being thrilled that she was having such a good romp, to worrying about her! She, like many of us who are aging, may not have a good handle on her abilities!

[OwnedBySummer]

Don't let her guzzle her water. A little drink or two is fine.

Can't help you with the panting particularly. But 3 weeks (or more) of no real exertion will make her a bit out of shape, like Alicia said. Now that she's started exercising properly, you should notice improvements in her recovery time over the next few weeks.

[a_daerr]

No problem! Just keep in mind that greys are not high endurance dogs. A race is somewhere around 30 seconds (a quarter mile), so 8 minutes to her probably seems like a marathon! They differ from the working dogs who can run and run for hours.

[TheFullHouse]

What you can do is let her walk around a bit outside where it is cooler after she's done running. Sometimes it takes longer for them to cool off if you bring them right into a warm house. I usually let mine wander around a bit after they've had a good bout of exercise in the yard before bringing them into a warm house. Kind of the same thing as a human runner, they walk to cool down after a jog.

[cleptogrey]

felix has always panted like mad after running. no track training but he's in good excllent shape. the walk out as jillysfullhouse mentioned works really well. when the weather is really warm- warm enough for the garden hose, i hose felix down, starting from the paws up(get the entire undercarriage) and then back and head and head out for a walk out. felix retrieves tennis balls- for more than a marathon- 10+ minutes...that was as a younger dog. now that he's 6 i'm sure his duration is reduced. i'll know in a couple of months exactly how much. as mentioned these are sprinters,built differently and their energy is far more intense for short periods of time. no way can they run like a saluki- they have endurance and then some! that's one of the reasons- amongst many others - that dog parks really don't work for greys.when felix gets to do a good beach run(at our friend's place in r.i. both he an annie are zonked for the day- it's a straight run to the breechway and back a good couple of miles of hot rodding.

Edited February 23, 2013 by cleptogrey