9 Reasons Your Dog May Be Breathing Fast
Key takeaways:
Fast breathing in dogs is often a sign of difficulty breathing and can indicate a serious underlying health condition.
Common reasons dogs might be breathing fast include vigorous exercise, heatstroke, pain, and heart failure.
You can monitor your dog’s breathing rate and effort at home by counting how many breaths they take per minute. Dogs usually breathe 15 to 30 times a minute while calm.
Table of contents
Pet owners grow used to their dog’s behavior. Some dogs pant and drool when overheated, some are noisy snorters, and some are nervous car riders.
But when is a dog’s fast breathing, panting, or snorting a sign of something more? Here are some possible reasons your dog might be breathing faster than usual or panting excessively, plus advice on when getting your pup to a veterinarian may save their life.
Why is my dog breathing fast all of a sudden?
There are several reasons your dog might be breathing faster than usual. Here are nine potential causes.
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1. Vigorous exercise
Dogs commonly pant following vigorous exercise. And it may take awhile for their breathing to return to normal after strenuous activity. This is because they don’t cool down by sweating, which is what humans do. So when their body temperature rises, dogs depend on panting to cool them off.
2. Heatstroke
After a good play session, your dog may be hot from the exercise. If your dog pants for a while but soon returns to normal, their cooling system is working properly. But if it’s too hot outside and your dog overheats, rapid breathing and panting may indicate heatstroke.
Heatstroke is a life-threatening condition that can also cause:
Faster heart rate
Red gums or tongue
Dry nose
Difficulty getting up
3. Congestive heart failure
Dogs with heart disease or heart failure sometimes breathe faster than average or have difficulty breathing. When a dog has congestive heart failure, their heart cannot adequately pump blood to their body. As their heart struggles to keep up, fluid builds up in their lungs, which causes coughing and trouble breathing.
Additional signs of congestive heart failure include:
Exercise intolerance
Sudden collapse following activity or excitement
Bluish discoloration of the tongue
Coughing, especially at night
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4. Pain
Rapid breathing and increased heart rate can signal that your dog is in pain. Although dogs tend to mask their pain, you may notice changes in their daily behavior, activity level, and body language.
A dog in pain may show one or more of the following signs:
Vocalizing more or less than usual
Licking, biting, or scratching at a part of their body
Trembling, restlessness, or reluctance to move
Protecting a part of their body
Having enlarged pupils
Flattening their ears
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5. Brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome
Some dogs are bred to have a shortened facial structure (brachycephaly), including:
Bulldogs
French bulldogs
Boxers
Boston terriers
Pugs
Their shorter muzzles cause soft tissue to block their airways, often causing chronic respiratory issues. This is called brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome (BOAS).
Owners of flat-faced breeds with BOAS may notice their dogs:
Snoring
Snorting
Breathing loudly
Gagging
Vomiting
BOAS can lead to severe complications beyond breathing problems, such as:
Tracheal collapse
Digestive problems
Exercise intolerance
Severe heat sensitivity
Difficulty regulating body temperature
6. Pneumonia
Pneumonia refers to inflammation of the lungs or lower respiratory tract. A bacterial infection causes most cases of pneumonia in dogs.
Pneumonia can cause dogs to breathe fast and have trouble breathing. Other signs of bacterial pneumonia in dogs include:
Loud breathing
Cough
Lack of energy
Tiring quickly during exercise
Lack of appetite
Weight loss
Certain dogs are at increased risk for pneumonia, particularly dogs with:
Compromised immune systems
Laryngeal paralysis
Uncontrolled diabetes
Respiratory system tumors
7. Laryngeal paralysis
Laryngeal paralysis is a disease of the upper airway that occurs when the larynx doesn’t open and close normally during breathing. It is more common in middle-aged and older dogs and in large dogs, such as Great Danes and Labrador retrievers.
Laryngeal paralysis is the most common cause of stridor, a high-pitched, wheezing sound often associated with tracheal disease.
Other symptoms of laryngeal paralysis may include:
Voice changes
Dry cough
Difficulty breathing
Exercise intolerance or sudden collapse during exercise
8. Tracheal collapse
Tracheal collapse is a progressive disease of the windpipe commonly found in middle-aged and older toy and small dogs.
The trachea, or windpipe, carries air from the nose and mouth to the lungs. It is kept open by small rings of cartilage. Tracheal collapse occurs when the cartilage weakens and flattens out.
A dog with a collapsed trachea may breathe faster than normal. They may also breathe heavily, because the narrowing of the windpipe prevents them from getting enough air into or out of their lungs.
Common signs of tracheal collapse include:
Persistent, dry cough
Harsh-sounding (“goose-honking”) cough
Wheezing sound when inhaling
Difficulty breathing
In advanced cases of tracheal collapse, you may notice that your dog’s gums or tongue have turned blue.
9. Lung cancer
Primary lung tumors, which begin in the lung, are less common in dogs. Metastatic lung tumors have spread to the lung from other locations.
Some dogs with lung cancer show no signs. Those who do display symptoms can show any of the following:
Difficulty breathing
Coughing
Decreased appetite
Weight loss
Rapid breathing, even at rest
To diagnose lung cancer, your veterinarian will need to do chest X-rays and a fine-needle aspiration to examine tumor cells under a microscope.
What can you do to monitor your dog’s breathing?
You can monitor your dog’s breathing by looking at their breathing rate and effort. Breathing rate is the number of breaths your dog takes in a minute. Breathing effort is the amount of force it takes your dog to inhale and exhale, noted by the rise and fall of their chest.
To monitor your dog’s breathing effort, look at how much their chest goes up and down when they’re breathing.
You can use a stopwatch to measure your dog’s breathing rate, which you should check when they are resting. A dog’s average breathing rate while at rest is 15 to 30 breaths per minute.
When should you worry about your dog’s heavy breathing?
Excessive panting and fast breathing can result from exercise and hot weather. But they could also indicate that your dog is having difficulty breathing. Difficulty breathing is a serious condition and warrants a visit to your veterinarian immediately.
Listen for noisy breathing
A clear sign of respiratory distress (difficulty breathing) is noisy breathing. If your dog is suddenly making noises while breathing, they may be struggling to get enough air.
Frequent canine breathing noises include stertor and stridor. Stertor is a low-pitched snoring noise that can sound like a snort or a reverse sneeze. Stridor is a higher-pitched wheezing sound.
Watch for excessive panting
Excessive panting may be another sign it’s time to worry. Watch for any of the following signs that your dog’s panting may indicate breathing difficulty:
Having a lot more stomach movement than usual when breathing
Breathing fast or shallowly
Breathing noisily
Breathing with their mouth open
Not wanting to eat or drink
Stretching out their head and neck
Having pale, dark-red, or blue-colored gums
Track your dog’s breathing rate
You can also track your dog’s breathing rate. A healthy dog will take 15 to 30 breaths per minute when resting calmly or sleeping. If you count any rate above 30 breaths per minute while your dog is resting, contact your veterinarian.
When to take your dog to the vet for rapid breathing
If your dog is breathing heavily and has not been physically active or in a hot environment, see your veterinarian immediately. If you notice that their panting becomes consistent or their breathing is noisy, this can indicate an underlying condition.
Rapid breathing can be a life-threatening emergency if it is persistent or accompanied by other symptoms, such as:
Change in appetite
Change in weight
Lower activity level
Elevated resting breathing rate
Increased breathing effort
Coughing
Discoloration of gums
Frequently asked questions
It can be. Heavy breathing is common for some dogs, especially breeds with brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome, such as pugs and boxers. But not all dogs breathe heavily while sleeping. If you’re concerned, talk to your veterinarian. They can let you know if it’s normal for your dog or if something else is going on.
The best way to calm a dog’s respiratory distress is rest — have them sit or lie in a comfortable place and limit their activity. If your dog’s respiratory distress doesn’t resolve with rest, take them to a veterinarian or emergency clinic right away. Try calming them on the drive by keeping the car cool and speaking to them gently.
The best thing you can do for a dog that's breathing rapidly is take them to an animal hospital. Rapid breathing can be an emergency and is best handled by a veterinarian.
The bottom line
There may be a number of reasons your dog is breathing fast. It’s common for dogs to breathe faster after exercising, but their breathing should return to normal. Other causes of fast breathing in dogs can include heatstroke, pain, heart failure, or laryngeal paralysis.
Heavy or rapid breathing in dogs can be a medical emergency. Knowing the symptoms of underlying medical conditions is the first step in getting timely medical help for your dog. If your dog has difficulty breathing, getting them to a veterinarian right away can save their life.
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References
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