Why Do Dogs Pant?

WHY DO DOGS PANT

QUESTION: My healthy dog has started to pant excessively in our bedroom at night, but not the rest of the time? She seems totally normal during the day. It is pretty warm in our room right now with the weather warming up. Why do dogs pant anyway?

ANSWER: I think she is just panting because she is to warm at night, in a closed room. Panting is the normal process by which dogs lower their body temperature. This is accomplished by evaporation of water from the mouth, tongue and lungs, and by the exchange of cooler air for warm air in the lungs.

In hot weather or other extreme heat, panting which is rapid and labored and accompanied by an anxious look, the possibility of "Heat Stroke" should be considered. Not applicable in your dogs case.

Rapid Breathing can be caused by pain, emotional stress, fever and over heating (for example, overexertion or overheated surroundings). Other conditions to consider are Shock (reduced circulation, haemorrhage), lung and heart disease (not enough oxygen in the blood) and Acid Build-up (diabetes, kidney disease).

Dehydration caused by prolonged diarrhoea and various toxic states will cause a dog to breathe rapidly. An increased rate of breathing while at rest suggests a diseased state or other complications and the dog should be examined by a Veterinarian immediately.

With the information supplied, you will have to decide if only because the weather has warmed up and she is finding the bedroom to warm or if something else is happening with her. I am quite sure if anything else was going on (see above), you would have noticed the more Rapid Breathing and other signs of distress during other periods of the day.