Manto's breathing

[Jodi]

Manto's been panting really hard for the last couple of days. Even right now, he asleep on the floor next to me and he's breathing heavy. The thermostat says its 71 in here and I have the ceiling fan on in this room.

Ok, so it's been in the 80's for over a week here and it's really his first exposure to hot weather for any period of time. And he has a BIG ol black fur coat. He's a pretty big boy but still a pup at 6 1/2 months old.

Even when he's not playing, just laying in the living room or whatever, he's breathing heavy. It's starting to make me nervous. He seems normal in everything else (except he had the dry heaves tonight for some reason).

So....am I worried for nothing? Is it just his size and coat? Do I need to be concerned? I just feel like he's having a hard time breathing. What do ya'll think?

[Jade]

Are his gums always nice and pink?

Has he ever been diagnosed with a heart murmur?

Does the breathing increase when playing?

Does he get weak after playing at all? Need to lay down more so than normal?

You said he was dry heaving ... is it persisting? Is he lethargic? How's his appetite? Stools? Dry heaving in a large breed can be trouble if it persists. My ER mind goes to bloat when I hear that but he's a bit young for the typical presentation.

[Jodi]

His gums are always pink. I'm kinda weird about always checking my dog's teeth often (Kenny says I'm always prying their mouths open! lol) and he's got nice pink gums.

He's never been diagnosed with anything. We haven't been to the vet since he's finished his puppy shots a while back. He got a clean bill of health then.

Yes, his panting/heaving breathing does increase when he plays. In fact, sometimes I make him lay down for a bit because he gets to breathing so hard. But he's pretty good about going and laying down when he gets tired. He likes the cool cement of the patio & the brick steps (also cool).

He's been a pretty lazy and laid back dog since we brought him home. When we first brought him home I worried that he was too lethargic but the vets said he was fine. He gets the puppy zooms and his hyper moments...he loves playing and running in the field but he wants a good nap when he gets home.

Is he lethargic? I would say yes. I'm assuming it's from the weather though. He's not dry heaving anymore. It lasted about 2 minutes. He had been outside with Tito and Rooroo for about 10 mins (potty break)...I was sitting outside on the patio and they were pretty close to me. He came up to me dry heaving. I called Kenny in a panic. It wasn't even totally like a dry heave, it was like he was trying to sneeze or something, yet his belly was doing the thing that they do when dry heaving. I gave him a piece of bread (Kenny's idea) and some water. He stopped after that.

His appetite and poops are normal. His activity level seems a little decreased but again, I'm assuming it's weather. But, it's always a bad thing to assume! Should I take him to the vet tomorrow? Am I being paranoid? Should he still be panting in his sleep?

[Jade]

Panting while sleeping would concern me. As long as he has an appetite, his abdomen isn't distended and his gums are nice and pink, I wouldn't be overly worried though. A call to your vet tomorrow probably wouldn't be a bad idea.

You said it's 71, he should be comfortable rather than warm. It sounds like no fun, but do you think he'd let you take his temp? Any thermometer would work (get a new one tomorrow for you guys!) and you just gently lubricate it with some vaseline or KY and insert it into the rectum. Up to 102 is normal for a dog.

[Jodi]

Oh lovely. I wondered if you were gonna suggest that!

Umm, how long does it need to be in there?

[Jodi]

Jade, I forgot to tell you something else....when he was dry heaving, he was foaming at the mouth. Not tons, but enough that I wiped his face twice.

[Jade]

The foaming is typical of nausea. Ever notice how your mouth waters a lot right before you get sick? Same thing.

It needs to be in about 3 minutes if it's a typical thermometer, til it beeps if digital.

[Jodi]

Aha. Otay, well I'm off to try my hand at taking a doggie temp...never done this before.

If I can't get it to *work*, I'll take him to the vet tomorrow.

Thanks for all your help. Almost forgot to say that, I'm feeling a little anxious and scatter brained right now. REally, thank you Stephanie. ((hugs))

[Jade]

Anytime. If you have a problem with him, you can call me too. I'll PM you my number. If I don't know the answer, I can always call work.

[Formula86]

please keep us updated jodi! poor manto...i'm sure he'll be ok.

[kittygurl823]

Oh no, Jodi!! I hope everything is ok with Manto. Were you able to get his temp.? How scared you must be! Please keep us posted. Sending my thoughts and prayers. I am always here for you.

[Becki]

How did the temperature taking go? I hope everything turns out ok, I'm sure it will It shouldn't have anything to do with the temp, Ira's parents dogs go running (full speed, around 40 acres) in 100+ degrees and they just come in, get a drink and lay down to cool off... panting stops in probably 5 mins or so. He could just be being a big lazy puppy too!

[RSbunny]

Hope everything goes ok! Nacho used to have problems like that....he had kennel cough before I got him which turned into pneumonia which gave him a partially collapsed lung. He was fine though....just had to make him rest. But Manto hasn't had any bad illnesses so tit is probably nothing like that at all *hugz* Jodi...let us know how he goes!

[Jodi]

Thanks guys.

Well, he was having nothing to do with the temperature taking. He's a pretty big kid and I couldn't get a hold of him good enough and get the temp. Of course even though I explained to him what I needed to do...it didn't help! LOL

I made him sleep in our bedroom so I could listen to his breathing throughout the night. It did quiet down some but I'm still not comfortable with the amount of panting. It's going to be cooler the next few days so we'll see if he pants as much. But to be on the safe side, I'm going to call the vet today. If they want to see him I can bring him in. So...hopefully it will all be ok.

Thanks for the good thoughts!

[Scarlette]

Any updates?