Elderly Greyhound Panting, What Does It Mean?

[Guest MinisMom]

Hello Houndie Lovers

 

Hope you can throw in your 2-cents and clam me down. My 13 year old greyhound Mini is panting more often these days. It's not hot out, we don't keep our house particularly warm, either. I'm wondering if that is something to be really worried about.

 

She's seen her fair share of vetrenarians lately. She had the laryngial tie back surgey last September. That seemed to give her lots more stamina and happiness. Though she can no longer whine like she used to. We called her "Mini Moo" before the surgery because she talked so much and her whine sounded like "moo moop mooo!"

 

Then about a month ago she scraped her foot (she drags the top of her foot from time to time) and had to get stitches between her toes. While recovering the vet gave her Gabapentin for pain (she can't tolerate Tramadol). When we stopped the Gabapentin when the sutures came out, I think that's when I first noticed the panting. So the vet has given us the go ahead to continue with the gaba (300 mg once a day) and he upped her Truprofin to twice a day for the mild arthritis he says she has. Even on these, she pants heavily a couple of times a day, then falls asleep like a normal grey.

 

She still begs for walks, does a few slower zips around the yard in a puppy like way, and eats well, but oh the panting!

I guess I'm just wondering what is normal for a 13 year old dog. Is she in pain? Are there tests I should have done for her? Or is she just an old girl and I've got to stop worrying?

 

I appreciate any sage advice. I've combed the boards and can't find any advice about panting in older dogs. Thanks!

 

 

[smurfette]

We have the same problem with Colin. He is 12 - appetite great - only a little spoiled, loves his walks, his zoomies but sometimes pants heavily. It has no pattern but seems to increase in the evening. I thought it could be dementia related unrest. He gets conium and it helps him with his stability but the panting. I have no clue.

Vet says he looks good for his age.

[JohnF]

As they get older they lose the ability to regulate their heat so efficiently and will pant more. Also we are moving into the warmer weather of spring and only 10 degrees warmer makes a huge difference. I wouldn't worry if your dog is back to normal agaiin after 10 minutes.

 

They'll pant out of character if they're obese, have a hormone imblance (cushings, hypotyroidism), have fever, have heatstroke, have a cardio vascular problem (panting along with coughing), then there's pain, stress and anxiety.

 

Ask you vet for their opinion as this may be a very helpful wake-up call.

[greysmom]

Gabapentin metabolizes in greyhounds much faster than in other breeds, and one 300mg dose will only last 6-8 hours. She needs to be dosed at least three times in 24 hours to gave full coverage. Our girl Toni is on 300mg three times a day, along with an nsaid (melodically for her), and an actual pain reliever. Your girl may be able to have a smaller dose if it's given more often.

 

Toni gets no relief from tramadol, and one of our others can't take it, but they both do OK on codeine sulfate. It is an opioid though so be careful if you try it.

 

With her tie back surgery I'm sure you know to keep her cool. You can purchase cooling mats for her to lay on, and other coats and wraps to help. Sometimes even just spritzing with a squirter bottle or wiping them down with a sopping wash cloth will help. Toni also likes to lay in front of her fan in the summer.

[Rustyroo]

Franny is also 13 and does the same thing. She's fine during the day, but at night while we are watching tv she lays on her bed and pants. She does have arthritis in her spine and is on pain meds, but the vet has never said the two are related.

[NeylasMom]

What times of day does she pant and when does she get her Gabapentin?

[Guest MinisMom]

Thanks for all, for the advice! Mini seems to randomly pant, not always after exercise. She'll just be laying there at my feet and she'll sit up and pant hard for about 10 minutes, and then settle down.

[Roo]

Terrier Daisy (13 years old) does this. It's 69 or 70 in the house and she'll just lay there and pant hard like she ran a marathon. It lasts a few minutes, then she goes back to sleep. Sometimes there are a few episodes a night, sometimes just one, sometimes none. I've cautiously experimented with the amount of exercise she can tolerate and I have noticed that when we take longer walks (over a mile), she pants or coughs more. If we don't really walk (less than half a mile), she doesn't usually pant, but will occasionally. Unfortunately, just not walking is not an option - she's a terrier If we miss more than two days of walks, she gets neurotic, starts flinging herself open-mouthed at my hands as I walk by, etc. Five minutes into our walks and she's panting, even when it's 55 degrees out, but she needs to walk (good for her heart, or at least that's what a couple vets have told me).

 

How is Mini otherwise? Is there any coughing while she's laying down? Does she pant or breathe harder after her zoomies? Daisy doesn't really play anymore - she gets excited and starts to pant, and then you can tell she wants to play but doesn't like the feeling of having to work harder for air.

[Roo]

I take it back - Daisy is panting tonight and we did absolutely no physical exercise today. And it's 64 in here, so she's not warm. Old dog thing, I guess.

[rsieg]

I want to thank the OP and everyone who has posted here for this timely thread! My Max is 12 years 8 months, and started panting this weekend as it has been getting warmer (only in the 60's, but still warmer than recently). My dog sitter mentioned he was panting in her note from around noon today, and Max was panting pretty heavy when I got home. But ... that is the *only* issue. He walked his usual 2.5 miles today (1 mi morning 1.5 mi this evening), was panting some on the evening walk but still led the way over me and Logan. I also notice he does not pant when he is sniffing things. When we got home his panting seemed to stop like throwing a switch off, and he ate his dinner with gusto. and is chewing on his stuffed bone.

 

My suspicion in Max' case is it may be the temperature of course, but possibly also in this instance psychological. I went to an event on Saturday night and got home around 12:15 a.m. That may not sound like much, but we skipped the evening walk, for the first time in months. Max is a two-time bounce who came to me at 10 years old, so it seems to me it may be possible he is upset about the change in schedule and (especially) missing one of his beloved walks.

 

Or, maybe it is just an old dog thing :-) Anyway I'm feeling better about him reading other folks having similar experiences.

[racindog]

As they get older they lose the ability to regulate their heat so efficiently and will pant more. Also we are moving into the warmer weather of spring and only 10 degrees warmer makes a huge difference. I wouldn't worry if your dog is back to normal agaiin after 10 minutes.

 

They'll pant out of character if they're obese, have a hormone imblance (cushings, hypotyroidism), have fever, have heatstroke, have a cardio vascular problem (panting along with coughing), then there's pain, stress and anxiety.

 

Ask you vet for their opinion as this may be a very helpful wake-up call.

This. I have noticed that a couple of my hounds began panting more as they aged. It never caused any issues.