All about Laboured Breathing in Dogs




Dyspnoea, commonly known as difficulty in breathing or laboured breathing is a life-threatening condition that obstructs oxygen supply into your dog’s bloodstream. 


Dog heavy breathing could be a result of several underlying causes such as heart or lung disease. Often older dogs report fluid accumulation in the lungs, which causes difficulty in breathing. In some cases, laboured breathing in dogs could be due to lung infections such as pneumonia or fungal infections, lung cancer, allergies, kennel cough, or trauma causing injury to the chest wall. Difficulty in breathing could also be due to pain or problems of metabolism. It could also be caused if a foreign object gets stuck in your pet’s throat.


Signs of laboured breathing in dogs

If you observe any of the below symptoms in your dog, you must treat it as a medical emergency and immediately rush to the nearest vet:

  • Noisy breathing

  • Chest and belly movement with each breath

  • Flared nostrils when breathing 

  • Excessive heaving

  • Breathing with mouth open

  • Congestion sound when breathing

 

The normal respiratory rate for dogs when resting is between 20 to 34 breaths per minute. If your dog’s respiratory rate is around 60 per minute, it is an alarming sign, and you must immediately rush to a nearby vet.


Diagnosis of Dog Breathing problems in Sydney

Veterinary hospitals treating dog breathing problems in Sydney suggest that the pet owners keep a detailed account of symptoms of troubled breathing in their pets. This is because the laboured breathing could be due to several underlying causes, and giving an exact account will help an accurate diagnosis of your pet. 

The diagnosis of breathing problems in a dog would include:

  • Detailed physical examination of your pet

  • Observing the dog’s breathing pattern, in particular lungs and chest sounds

  • Checking levels of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood

  • Detailed reports on blood count, urine analysis, and blood chemical profile to identify underlying causes such as infection, heartworms, the functionality of organs, anaemia, and more.

  • X-ray and ultrasound to determine vital organs functionality such as lungs, heart, and stomach and identify fluid build-up in lungs

  • ECG

  • Endoscopy

In case of severe breathing trouble, your vet may administer oxygen before conducting further tests.

Treating Dog breathing problems in Sydney

Your vet will decide on the course of treatment depending on the test results. Your dog may need oxygen supply to ease breathing troubles till the time root cause is eliminated.

Your dog’s response to the treatment will depend on how soon you take it to the vet. This is because a lack of oxygen supply will damage vital organs of your pet, so the sooner the treatment starts, the better would be chances of reversing the damage.


Location: Sydney NSW, Australia

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