Panting for no reason

clearjade · 01-15-2005, 07:16 AM

I did a google search and what I came up with is quite vague and alarming. Lavander likes to sit behind me in the computer chair while I am on the internet and most of the time she is absolutely fine. Occasionally she starts panting with her tongue hanging out and her eyes halfway shut. That's when I start feeling her to see if she's over-heated and make her get down onto the much cooler floor (we have ceremic tiles). She did it again today and I made her get down and she flopped onto her side on the floor for a few minutes before getting up to go into my room (the air conditioning is on because my sister is taking a nap). I tried to make her go into the room before this because she was panting earlier as well but she refused and wanted to sit behind me on the chair.

So I don't know if she's just being stubborn about wanting to stay by my side even when she's feeling hot or if something else is causing the panting. The websites that I found suggested it might be linked to a heart condition.

I guess I am quite paranoid now because she is recovering from corneal ulcers which went unnoticed by myself for some time because she'd squint her eyes at times but the moment anyone was eating she'd immediately open her eyes really big and beg for food which made me think she was acting to get my family members to pity her and give her some.

I'm doubly worried because she bears pain quite stoically, she never whimpered or gave any indication her eyes hurt even though the vet says it is a rather painful condition.

Does anyone else have any experience with this kind of panting? She's only 7 so she's not quite a senior dog yet.

Candycane · 01-15-2005, 01:51 PM

The only thing that I came up with on Google was stress. But it doesn't seem like that because she is calm at the time. Perhaps she has an infection of some kind and it's elevating her temperature? I would check with the vet to be sure that she's not in any danger.

CTChin · 01-15-2005, 02:06 PM

Some dogs get heated very easily. My corgi will occasionally pant when everyone else is fine. He has a thick double coat. Dogs will pant from pain. Some even pant when they have to go poop LOL It may not be anything, but I agree with Candice. A checkup will ease your mind.

clearjade · 01-16-2005, 01:10 AM

She is due back at the vet next week for a follow-up on her eyes and I will mention it to the vet then. She's a short-haired JRT but I still make her get on the cooler floor in case she's overheating.

She has conjunctivits as well which the vet can't treat until her corneal ulcers are healed so that might be giving her a temperature at times.

I wonder if she's panting with frustration because the minute I take the cone off her head she starts scratching and biting her itchy spots which she can't do with the cone on.

clearjade · 02-07-2005, 07:46 AM

Okay, I asked the vet about it when I took her in to get her anal glands emptied. The vet says to feel the tips of her ears and if they are still cool then it's probably not a fever. She does agree that it might be frustration or slight over-heating. She says it could also be a sign of other things like kidney failure, etc but she doubts that is the cause since Lavander only does it once in a while and there aren't any other symptoms.

Lavander is probably extremely frustrated with me keeping an eye on her 24/7 and stopping her scratching and biting all the time, especially with her allergies trying to run their course.

suzoo · 02-12-2005, 08:33 PM

How's Lavender doing now CJ? Any reoccuring panting?

clearjade · 02-13-2005, 07:35 AM

I've noticed that she tends to start panting a bit when I interupt her chewing on her legs or wherever she's itching, so I think it might be mostly frustration which makes her pant. Her allergies are dying down, they should be gone in another two weeks or so. I think her chewing has become a bad habit, kinda like nail-biting so I'd like to keep her with me as much as possible and keep her entertained and distracted.

petart pam · 02-13-2005, 11:46 AM

Just a suggestion. My dog has diabetes and he pants when his blood sugar is too high. With diabetes there are other signs too like frequent urination and eye problems. I only mentioned this as your dog has the eye problems too and it just sounded a bit too much like what my Snickers went through when he started to develope diabetes. Have you had any blood work done or a urinalysis. They can tell right away if there is sugar in the urine.
Not trying to alarm you or anything just trying to give you sometime to ask your vet about next time you are in.

clearjade · 02-13-2005, 10:34 PM

Thanks for the tip Pam, I'm going to read up on canine diabetes. The vet feels her eye problems are probably linked to her food allergies but I will keep what you mentioned in mind just in case her eye problems come back (knock on wood).

Ninja · 02-13-2005, 10:54 PM

This is all I found and its been hit already by some posts...
"Dogs rely on panting and heat loss through the respiratory system rather than sweating. Therefore, separate studies need to be conducted for dogs to determine if the mild elevations in body temperature achieved during warm up can enhance heat loss through the lungs or nasal cavity. Heat stress is a problem which is becoming more widely recognized in sporting dogs."