Whether you’ve owned a dog for a day or your entire life, you must have realized that panting sort of comes naturally for the animal. Your puppy may pant while accompanying you to your morning run after having a hearty meal, during rather hot days, etc.
The reality is that every dog pants. The behavior is usually perfectly normal, and there’s no cause for alarm.
However, there may be occasions when panting warrants a visit to the vet. As a loving and caring pet parent, the onus is on you to understand what constitutes healthy and unhealthy dog panting.
This article uncovers all the possible reasons dogs pant. But first, let’s begin by understanding exactly what the term panting denotes.
What Is Panting?
Panting refers to moderate-to-rapid, open-mouthed respiration usually observed in certain animals. This type of respiration is common in mammals (like dogs, deer, and badgers), amphibians like frogs, and birds like ravens.
As already hinted, panting is normal among healthy dogs – pups and older canines alike. The phenomenon helps to lower a dog’s body temperature. It also ramps up the intake of oxygen into the animal’s lungs while facilitating carbon dioxide removal. The clearest indication that your dog is panting is if the animal is breathing rapidly with his mouth open and the tongue somewhat protruding from his cheeks.
There are many resources to learn more about dog panting and common canine behaviors. Dogs Best Life is one such website.
Is Panting Similar To Labored Breathing?
Panting may resemble labored breathing at first glance. However, they’re not exactly the same.
Labored breathing normally presents as strained respiration and may often be accompanied by sounds of distress – such as whining, crying, or whistles – from the windpipe or nostrils. These sounds result from a temporary blockage in a dog’s windpipe.
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Normal Reasons Why Dogs Pant
1. To Cool Off
Cooling off is among the most common reasons dogs pant. Panting is necessary as dogs have a less effective system of sweat glands than humans.
Panting helps remove excess heat buildup from a dog’s body as a cooling mechanism. The cooling effects set in as the dog exchanges hot air from its lungs with cooler air from the external environment. And while the process may look painfully laborious, it comes naturally and effortlessly.
2. A Display of Happiness
Panting may also indicate that your dog is in a happy mood. This is especially if the behavior is accompanied by another body language, which signifies excitement, such as tail wagging, bright eyes, and relaxed body and facial features.
Many pet parents term happiness-induced panting as the canine version of a human smile.
3. A Sign of Overexcitement
Dogs are inherently given to physical stimulation. These adorable creatures particularly love the game of fetch.
But depending on the intensity of a game or exercise, your canine friend may release too much energy and eventually run out of breath. The resultant exhaustion can cause your dog to pant frantically.
It’s essential to watch out for the signs of exhaustion and slow things down. Otherwise, your puppy may suffer from heat stroke from excessive heat buildup.
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Unusual Reasons Why Dogs Pant
1. To Relieve Pain or Discomfort
Dogs experience pain nearly as much as humans do. The difference is that these animals cannot talk to express their extent of suffering. They can only communicate their discomfort through a raft of body language, one of which is panting.
When panting is due to pain, you may realize other symptoms like restlessness, lethargy, inappetence, reduced mobility, limping, and compulsive licking of the pain site. It’s best to whisk the animal to the vet right away to have the condition treated.
2. To Soothe Anxiety
Our canine friends are creatures of habit. A subtle disruption in their routine can throw them off balance, causing feelings of stress and anxiety. Anxiety may also result from environmental factors like fireworks and lightning or psychological problems like post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
Panting is simply one of the many ways dogs express anxiety. To be sure that anxiety is the underlying cause, you might want to look out for other symptoms, such as drooling, pacing, and withdrawal.
3. Other Medical Problems
There are numerous other medical conditions that might cause your dog to pant excessively besides pain and anxiety. They include;
- High fever, whereby the dog pants to cool off their bodies
- Heart failure, where panting may often accompany labored breathing
- Respiratory illnesses, such as bronchitis
- Bloating, whereby the dog pants in readiness for vomiting
- Laryngeal paralysis, a medical condition in which the muscles that control the opening and closing of the larynx become weak or paralyzed
- Cushing’s disease, a condition triggered by excessive secretion of the stress hormone cortisol
- Weight-related diseases like obesity
4. Certain Medications
Certain medications may cause excessive panting in dogs. Notable mentions are corticosteroids commonly prescribed for gastrointestinal diseases, inflammation, and allergic reactions.
Analgesics have also been shown to worsen panting in dogs. Besides, certain medications prescribed for treating panting may initially aggravate the problem before eventually mitigating it.
It’s best to consult your vet if you suspect excessive panting might be due to medications.
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Wrap Up
Panting is a normal doggy behavior. However, excessive panting may indicate an underlying medical problem, necessitating a vet trip.