A dog breathes often with his mouth open: possible causes and characteristics of treatment

Many dog owners sometimes notice that the dog breathes often. It can be considered as quite normal phenomenon, but can also testify about serious diseases. To determine what is involved, it is necessary to take into account some features. The normal breathing rate in dogs is 10-30 breaths per minute. To determine the number of sighs, you need to put your hand to the pet's breast and detect one minute.

Throughout the day, the dog's breathing can often change. If the pet does not bother, then he breathes his nose and calmly. But if the dog does it with his mouth, then this action is not always a cause for concern.

Causes that are not related to disease

Consider first non-serious reasons. Frequent breathing is possible after an active walk. Also, this symptom may appear after training or playing with other pets. Dogs do not have sweat glands, therefore, to cool, the dog often breathes with an open mouth. It can also be fright, stress or joy.

Diseases

Another thing is when the dog breathes often for no apparent reason (described above). The most common problems can be those associated with the respiratory apparatus: pulmonary edema, bronchitis, pleurisy or pneumonia. In the case when the dog is heavy and often breathing, it is possible that it has asthma or heart failure.

Features of the breed

Some breeds, such as pugs, are by nature doomed to problems associated with respiratory organs. They have narrowed nostrils and a breathing passage of the throat. They are also much more likely to undergo overheating, which also contributes to increased respiration. Therefore, if the dog often breathes, sticking out his tongue, this can be considered the norm. A similar phenomenon can be observed with an increase in body temperature or neck tightness of the collar.

Other reasons

If the pet did not experience any physical exertion, and breathing became more frequent, this could mean the following:

• shock;
• Infarction:
• poisoning;
• Severe pain.

In this case, you need to immediately contact the doctor to inspect the animal and find out the exact cause.

Pregnant and lactating dog

A pregnant dog breathes often, if the birth is already finally approaching. In this case, her health is not threatened. If, after giving birth, breathing does not decrease, and the puppies are born dead, it is necessary to urgently call a veterinarian, since the animal needs surgery.

If the nursing dog often breathes and makes clumsy movements, this indicates that the level of calcium and glucose decreases in her blood. In this case, the doctor's help is also necessary, since otherwise the animal may die.

What to do?

Why does the dog often breathe? There can be many reasons. If, in addition to breathing, the dog has lethargy or anxiety, it whines, then specialist intervention is necessary. If there is no possibility to invite a veterinarian to the house, then it should be very carefully delivered to the hospital.

If the nursing dog often breathes, the veterinarian's help is also needed. The consequences can be very different.

In the absence of extraneous symptoms, rapid breathing of the dog in unnatural situations requires examination. It will help to identify violations related to the work of the heart.

If the dog often breathes with his mouth open, the owner needs to do the following.

The first step is to measure the temperature of the pet's body. With hyperthermia, frequent respiration is considered a sign of respiratory diseases. Next, you need to invite a veterinarian for an examination, which should assign the delivery of tests to establish an accurate diagnosis.

If the outdoors is a hot period, then the cause may be a heat stroke. To do this, the owner must water the dog with cool water and take it to a cold place. You can also wipe the body with water and put a towel on your head. Then call the doctor.

At normal body temperature, frequent breathing can be a sign of asthma. In this case, only medication will help. So immediately you need to go to the hospital.

If, with rapid breathing, fainting and blueness of the tongue are possible, this means heart failure. After calling the doctor, the owner must put warmers or bottles with warm water to the paws of the dog and provide a calm to the pet.

Heart failure

The above list all the main possible causes when the dog breathes frequently. But the most common disease is heart failure. About it we will tell in more detail. All diseases of the heart can be divided into three groups:

• Congenital;
• Acquired;
• Age.

Congenital malformations are more common in young pets. Very often in this case, animals die, because the body is still quite weak. Acquired defects, as a rule, in animals of middle age, well, age - in animals older than eight years. In addition to rapid breathing in heart disease, pets may experience other symptoms.

Small dogs stop playing, sleep longer, do not gain weight at all because they eat poorly.

In adults, even at rest, shortness of breath may appear. The dog is very limp, during a quiet walk it can faint. There is the possibility of rapid weight gain due to the large consumption of water.

All these symptoms are the causes of problems with the heart of the pet. Also here you can include unstable gait, weakness, refusal of food.

In the case when rapid breathing is a sign of heart disease, it is necessary to transfer the pet for feeding in small portions, and also to reduce the number of physical exertions and walks. The doctor should prescribe special medications. They should be taken exactly as instructed.

Conclusion

So, from all of the above, we can identify the most common causes of rapid breathing in a dog:

1. Overheating or heat stroke.
2. Nerve agitation. This can be if the pet is transported for the first time in transport or it is in an unfamiliar place for him.
3. There are some damages that you do not notice. Various bruises or abrasions, the consequences of fighting with other dogs and more.
4. Heart attacks. This usually occurs in adult dogs in case of overheating.
5. Pregnancy.
6. Feeding newborn puppies.
7. Cold.
8. Heart failure.
9. Different tumors.

Thus, to avoid negative cases, it is better not to self-medicate your pet, but to seek help from a professional who will conduct the examination, put an accurate diagnosis and prescribe a treatment. The only thing you can do is to provide peace to the animal.