My dog is breathing hard, gurgling, and in pain. Is it serious?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds as though your dog is in respiratory distress and should be seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible. Breathing problems are a medical emergency and should not be ignored. There maybe a life threatening problem.

This can be serious if you are hearing a gurgling sounds as she breathes. This typically is a sign of pneumonia or it can be a really bad upper airway infection. She needs to see a vet right away for treatment, which hopefully will be a short course of antibiotics. Best case scenario is that she has an upper airway infection and it’s not lower down in her chest. I hope that your pet Roxy feels better soon. Take care.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Breathing problems can be a sign of many conditions such as pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Bailey evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Likely diagnostics to be performed include thoracic radiographs and bloodwork. Treatment would be dependent on findings. Good luck and have a good night!

I am afraid that is not normal. Considering that Snoopy is almost 16 years old my first thought here is that he needs his heart examined by your veterinarian. There is a condition almost every old dog gets, some worse than others, called endocardiosis. THis is a condition where the lips of the heart valves develop little nodules which then keeps the valves from closing properly and then the oxygenated blood is not effectively pumped into the rest of the body. This makes for a weak heart action and causes pulmonary edema, ie fluid in the lungs. The fluid in the lungs make breathing a chore (therefore a high respiration rate), and causes a moist cough when the dog is resting. Your dog also will not have as much energy as usual and slows down significantly. This can be significantly improved by giving diuretics and a heart medication that improved the output of the heart. Of course it is also possible that he has kennel cough or another respiratory condition. So I suggest you make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam soon.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. With these symptoms I am very worried about what could be going on with Miss Piggy. If she was exhibiting respiratory problems last night and then fell over, she could have passed out due to lack of oxygen / blood to the brain. I would be worried about primary heart disease / failure and respiratory disease that has lead to these symptoms. Seeing that Miss Piggy is older in the photos, heart disease and respiratory disease are definitely my top suspicions. I would strongly recommend that you get her seen by an emergency veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I would have her blood tested and have x-rays taken of her chest to see what is going on. Unfortunately, there is not much you can do in the meantime for her if this is her heart or respiratory disease. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

He needs to be examined by a veterinarian right away. Your vet can take an x-ray of his chest to evaluate his lungs and airway. He could have pneumonia, asthma, heart disease, or fluids in his chest. Please call your vet immediately and schedule an appointment.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. If you are noticing an increased respiratory rate and her belly becoming larger, I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I would recommend having x-rays done to help determine what the cause of these symptoms could be. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.