My dog is panting to cool off
Unlike human beings who are able to sweat, dogs cannot rely on this natural mechanism to lower their body temperature when the outside temperature rises or when their internal temperature has increased following an effort physical.
If dogs can't count on sweating, it's because they have very few sweat glands compared to humans. The only ones he has are located under his pads, a surface so small that it is not enough to effectively cool his body.
To lower its body temperature, the dog has a parade: panting.This is a type of rapid, shallow breathing that the dog practices with its mouth open and which accelerates the evaporation of water present on its tongue, in its mouth and in its upper respiratory tract, thus helping your dog to regulate its body temperature.
After physical exertion or when the outside temperature is high, it is therefore completely normal for a dog to pant. However, he should return to calmer breathing within a few minutes, once his body has cooled sufficiently. If, on the contrary, your dog continues to pant very markedly and emits heavy salivation, these are probably the first signs of heatstroke. You will then have to act as quickly as possible to help your dog cool his body before taking him urgently to the nearest veterinary clinic.
When your dog starts panting "for no reason" , when the outside temperature does not explain it and/or at rest, we also consider that the dog's panting is abnormal. Let's see together what can be the reasons for an abnormal panting of the dog
My dog is panting because he is stressed or in pain
Dogs that are anxious, stressed, suffer from phobias or physical pain often pant "for no apparent reason" or at "strange" times (at night while resting, for example ). The panting is then a manifestation of their emotional distress and/or physical suffering. It may be accompanied by other signs of discomfort such as repetitive yawning, shaking, moaning/crying, low posture, licking/biting of the legs or flanks or even a loss of control of the bladder or intestines (among others).
If you think your dog is panting for these reasons, it is imperative to consult your veterinarian without delay so that he can relieve your animal.
My dog is panting because he has trouble breathing
Panting can also reflect the difficulty your dog is having breathing normally. In this case, your dog may then seem to be making more effort and noise than usual while panting as if "looking for air" .
Breathing difficulties in dogs have multiple causes such as a heart problem, damage to the respiratory system itself, a metabolic problem, poisoning by inhalation or accidental ingestion of products toxic
Whatever the cause, breathing difficulties in dogs should always encourage you to contact a veterinarian as soon as possible to let him know!
The peculiarity of brachycephalic dogs
Brachycephalus means "with a short skull" . It is an adjective that describes the particular morphology of certain breeds of dogs such as the French bulldog, the English bulldog, the Pug, the Cavalier King Charles, the Pekingese or even the Shih Tzu. These dog breeds can develop breathing difficulties due to their abnormally closed nostrils (this is called stenosis of the nostrils) and a soft palate that is too thick and too long.These malformations can make the breathing of these dogs more noisy and difficult in the event of effort or high outside temperature. These breathing difficulties are reflected in particular by chronic panting. These dogs are even more susceptible than others to the onset of heatstroke.