Excessive Panting

[Rustyroo]

For the last few weeks or so Franny has been panting very hard. It's mostly in the evening and throughout the night. I took her to the vet last week to check to see if it's her heart or lungs. The vet said those were fine and pretty much chalked it up to joint pain. She gave me pain meds and I need to get her started on supplements. I'm just not sure it's only joint pain. It seems like it is something else, but I have no idea what. She is 13 years old so i'm sure she's got some aches and pains. She still eats and drinks fine. She still likes to try and run to me when she comes in from outside, even though she is not real graceful anymore. My poor old lady. Anyone else's grey go through something like this?

[JohnF]

It's summer and so the panting may not be abnormal. If the air is moist it takes longer for them to cool down too.

If it's pain, what about teeth... but your vet would have checked obvious things like that. Perhaps she is simply worried and it's part of ageing?

[DonnaBehr]

My 10 year old boy pants a lot also. I KNOW I can't walk him in the heat but he does it frequently when nothing else is going on. He is on pain meds for arthritis and all tests come back fine, including his heart, chest, lungs, etc. I just chalk it up to old age at this point.

[LaFlaca]

My old lady (11 years old) has always been a "panter" even at 2 years old when we adopted her. I've always said that she "runs hot', panting even with the A/C blasting. She has never been able tolerate heat. Lately, she has become extra "panty" at night for no reason that I can ascertain but does not seem to be in distress. She does have arthritis which is very well controlled with medication.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Did your vet do any lab work? My old girl seemed okay--just old and panting a bit--until we did lab work and got awful numbers. We did an ultrasound after that and discovered a growth on her heart--something that wasn't revealed by a stethascope.

 

I hate to be scary. But after all the time you've had with her, you're probably used to how well your girl handles heat, and if you think she's not handling it well this year, it might really be that something else is going on.

[Rustyroo]

Did your vet do any lab work? My old girl seemed okay--just old and panting a bit--until we did lab work and got awful numbers. We did an ultrasound after that and discovered a growth on her heart--something that wasn't revealed by a stethascope.

 

I hate to be scary. But after all the time you've had with her, you're probably used to how well your girl handles heat, and if you think she's not handling it well this year, it might really be that something else is going on.

That is what I'm afraid of. She never panted like this in the summer until now.

[KF_in_Georgia]

Silver still ate fairly well. She had grown a lump on her side, and we were investigating that. (We had done needle biopsies and couldn't get a useful sample.) We decided to remove the lump, and we did pre-surgical lab work. Silver's liver numbers were awful, and the vet thought she might have a growth on her liver.

 

We called in an ultrasound expert. He didn't see anything scary on her liver, but there was a growth on her heart that hadn't been there in x-rays three weeks earlier. And for the first time ever, Silver was too tired to try to jump up in the car, and I had to boost her. The ultrasound vet thought she might have a couple of days before the growth ruptured, and she faced the risk of bleeding out.

 

There was no reason to put her through that, so she and I shared a cheeseburger, and her vet put her to sleep. I still miss my wonderful girl.

I'd see if your vet is willing to do labwork to see if any of her results are off.

[Walliered]

To rule out heat, try putting a box fan (pointed at her) in the room. I always had to do that for DaVid in the summer because it is HOT in Savannah, Ga.

[Dawnnziggy]

Ziggy does this all the time when we go outside. Occasionally he does it in the house. He is 14 years old and the vet told me she thinks it is just old age. He has done this for 2 years now. He also does it when it is cooler too.

[3greytjoys]

Agree with others. Another consideration is laryngeal paralysis, which can begin (but is often missed) in dogs' earlier years, or as noted below, GOLPP is geriatriac onset laryngeal paralysis polyneuropathy.

 

Quote:

What are the Signs of GOLPP?

• Increased noisy breathing from throat (stridor), sometimes called “roaring”, most noticeable when panting.
• Distressed breathing, especially in hot weather, humidity, and when excited or stressed.
• Unable to exercise as much, may sit down or even collapse.
• Bark change / hoarse bark (in about half the cases).
• When severe, the gums may become pale or blue colored (not the normal pink color).
• Throat-clearing, or hacking, or coughing.
• Gagging with or without regurgitation (may or may not be associated with drinking/eating).
• Hind-end weakness and an unsteady gait.
• Loss of muscle mass.

Close quote.

 

If your hound shows any of the symptoms above, please read this source link: https://cvm.msu.edu/scs/research-initiatives/golpp/living-with-golpp

 

We've had two Greyhounds with LP; neither were candidates for surgery, but both lived many years with careful management.

[smurfette]

I can also be a kind of doggie dementia. Colin starts panting when it is getting darker outside - in the evening, during heavy rain.... He is fine the whole day but gets restless in the evening. He will be 13 in July.

He is in some homeopathic remedy and it helps well.

Edited June 13, 2017 by smurfette

[Rustyroo]

I'm now wondering if she has the start of doggy dementia, but she does show a couple of the signs for the GOLPP also. Franny is fine during the day mostly because she is sleeping all the time. At night though, the panting seems to start even before it gets dark out. She does get up a few times at night and paces around while panting. She also needs to go out at least once a night too. She was always good about sleeping through the night. I was teasing that she has old lady bladder now, but maybe it's something else. Other signs are slight tripping or stumbling when she walks, sometimes bumping into things, not always realizing I'm calling her to come back in, hesitant to walk up the two steps back into the house, she's had loss of muscle mass for a few years and hind-end weakness. Her legs shake too when she goes to the bathroom. I don't think she has anxiety. She is a calm laid back dog even during thunderstorms and fireworks.

 

Smurfette - what are the homeopathic remedies that you are using for Colin?

[macoduck]

Percy had LP. We treated him successfully with Doxepin as suggested by GTer JJNg. If you are leaning toward this diagnosis perhaps your vet will prescribe a week or two of Doxepin. Percy showed improvement within 2 days, but if we missed a pill he started to revert to heavy/difficult breathing. The sooner an LP dog starts on Doxepin, the better. We did not do the sedated exam of his throat due to other issues. Simply taking a few pills confirmed what he needed. He was 11 or 12 when this happened.

[NeylasMom]

I would get into the vet. The hind end weakness and loss of muscle could be LS and there's a theory that LS and LP go together. Could also just be old age or a bit of CCD, but always better to rule out medical issues first.

 

Zuri started running hot and panting more after he got osteo. I don't believe it was pain related because this was earlier on and cranking the AC solved the issue. He also got a personally fan after walks. Our electric bills were outrageous last summer, but worth it of course to keep him comfortable.