Coughing And Wheezing After Running

[MattB]

My 7yo girl Daisy is going to the vets tomorrow - originally to talk about ongoing arthritis management however recently she's started coughing and wheezing quite badly after running. She's always coughed a little bit after running and I'd put this down to fitness but mentioned this to the vet on several occasions. She has a mild heart murmur, it was emphasised by one vet that they have a scale and it had the lowest score they have, this wasn't picked up by the next vet but I mentioned it and they said we would monitor it at 6 monthly visits.

 

I just wondered if anyone had any thoughts on this - I suppose the two could be unrelated. Would getting very out of breath be normal for a dog of this age? We do all our walks on the leash and, although we have two walks a day, Daisy runs around quite rarely and then it's usually laps of a relatively small back garden. After running she's always panted heavily for a long time.

 

 

[GeorgeofNE]

Heart murmers are very subjective. Often vets who are not familiar with the greyhound's larger than normal heart will think there is something abnormal about their heart. My mongrel dog, who was exceptionally fit and healthy--a vet told me one day that he had a heart murmur. A week later a different vet laughed at that suggestion saying the first vet had probably never met a dog who was in such good condition as Kramer was! So I wouldn't worry about it.

 

The murmur, that is.

 

If your vet is greyhound savvy, and he/she still believes their is an issue, it might warrant further exploration.

[JohnF]

If the dog is not at peak fitness then running hard and zoomies will make them pant, but I'd expect it to be back to normal inside of 2-3 minutes and the heart slowed to near normal by 5..

Quite possibly Daisy could have Trachaeitis (Kennel Cough). If you gently pinch along the windpipe she will probably give the gag sign. Peggy got wheezey with foam when she has that a few years back. No antibiotics needed at that time, but there is a risk of secondary pneumonia so keep a close eye on it.

[macoduck]

Google Laryngeal Paralysis.

Percy is 12 and just a few months ago seemed to get more winded and wheezing after running in from the back of the yard. He was not that way last summer when he had his dental, so my vet diagnosed it as LP. A scope under sedation is recommended to confirm it but Percy was no long er a candidate for anesthesia.

 

One of the vets here on GT suggested trying Doxepin 50mg twice a day (Percy weighs 66 lbs.) and my vet was willing to give it a try. Within days his breathing was back to normal. The medication is inexpensive.

 

Scroll down for comments about heart murmurs:

http://www.greythealth.com/myths.html

[cometdust1]

Could it be laryngeal paralysis? there are videos on you tube that you can listen to see if Daisy sounds similar.

[MattB]

Thanks all I watched a video and I didn't think it sounded like the dog I saw with laryngeal paralysis I don't think but I should have videoed Daisy to compare. The vet reckons possibly asthma, there was no gag reflex and as it is a fairly recent development has suggested keeping an eye on it for a while and trying an inhaler if it continues.