Why is my dog breathing heavy? Tick disease or other problem?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Respiratory signs like that can be a sign of many conditions such as pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Cooper 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!

Poor girl. Heavy breathing that just starts in an older dog is highly suspicious of things like heart disease, a primary lung disease or even cancer. The next best step here would be to get Lady to your local vet for an x-ray of her chest. This is a great diagnostic tool to help up definitively say what is causing her breathing issues so that we know how to proceed with Lady and get her breathing as normal as possible again. I hope that you are able to get Lady checked out soon! Best of luck and take care.

If you are noticing a change in respiration, she needs to see the veterinarian quickly. Changes in respiration can indicate severe heart disease, fluid in the lungs, pneumonia, tumors in the chest or something impairing the movement in the diaphragm. She may not be laying down because she can't breath well in that position. Respiratory issues should always be checked out quickly. The veterinarian may need a chest x-ray to know whats going on. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Oh dear, poor Totie! Changes in breathing and restlessness are concerning signs, particularly in a relatively young puppy. These signs could indicate congenital heart disease, infectious diseases, pneumonia, among a variety of other conditions. At this point, I recommend urgently taking Totie to her vet for an exam. She may also need to have chest x-rays performed to try to get to the bottom of this issue so that the best course of treatment can be started. I hope that all goes well!

It sounds like Tato may have an underlying illness causing him distress, especially if he is acting out of sorts, has had behavior changes, and also had a lot of tick bites in recent days that can cause illnesses such as lyme disease, tick fevers, and more. Since these symptoms have been ongoing for two days without improvement, it would be best to bring Tato into your vet ASAP for a full exam, bloodwork, neuro exams, and additional testing as needed.

52 breaths per minute is considered tachypneic and points to some breathing problem such as an upper respiratory or pulmonary congestion or a heart condition. The fact that this is even worse when she is resting is also pointing to a possible heart condition. I suggest you schedule an exam with your veterinarian for an exam.

I think it is more likely that the high temperature was due to the seizures. Their bodies shake so much that it is like they just ran a marathon. The seizures could certainly be brought on by tick disease, but could also be caused by liver or kidney issues, infection, epilepsy, etc. For these types of cases, I usually hospitalize on IV fluids, run a CBC and blood chemistry and urinalysis and tick tests, and monitor for additional seizure activity throughout the day.