My small dog is breathing fast and drooling. Is this an emergency?

I recommend that you have your dog examined by a veterinarian as soon as possible. A dog at rest takes about 10 to 30 breaths per minutes. Breathing at a faster rate may indicate fever, pain, anxiety, or a problem with the lungs or chest. Rapid, labored breathing is indicative of congestive heart failure and/or lung disease, shock, heat stroke, dehydration, and ketoacidosis associated with diabetes, kidney failure, and some tyes of poisonings.

I'm sorry Lucky is having issues! If Lucky is having a hard time breathing this is a medical emergency and he needs to be examined by a veterinarian immediately. Difficultly breathing can indicated fluid build up, lung disease, or heart disease so it's critical that Lucky be examined right away. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and good luck to Lucky!

This is a quite concerning presentation. Differentials are many including pain/discomfort (which has to be quite pronounced) and cardiac and respiratory diseases. It is anyway a presentation that usually requires an immediate check up, so I would recommend to take Sammy to your vet asap.

Poor Volt! The red lesion in the picture could be a result of a skin infection from underlying allergies (to fleas, food or the environment), ringworm or mange. If Volt is highly uncomfortable from the skin lesions, this could cause him to breathe slightly faster, but as you mention, heat can do the same in some cases. If Volt seems to be having difficulty breathing, is taking more than 35-40 breaths per minute while resting (respiratory rate is often higher while active and excited), or is unable to rest, he will need an urgent vet visit today. Otherwise, you can try bathing him in a gentle oatmeal-based dog shampoo to try to ease any mild skin discomfort and take him to the vet tomorrow for evaluation. I hope that he's feeling better soon!

I am concerned about the recent changes in Maggie. I think that she should be seen by a vet as soon as possible. Potential causes for rapid breathing with or without a tongue hanging out include stress or anxiety, pain, difficiculty breathing, or heart or lung disease. Depending on the cause, pets experiencing trouble breathing can get worse very quickly and this may be a medical emergency. I can see from the picture that Maggie's nose is very dry and crusty. It appears that her eyes are also dry and irritated. This could be caused by allergies, infection, immune disease, among many others, and should be evaluated by a veterinarian. Corneal ulcers are commonly found in dogs with chronic dry eye and need to be treated by a veterinarian. Potential causes for not using the back legs include pain, poor blood flow, musculoskeletal disease, and neurologic disease. Many of these issues can be incredibly painful, and some can be treated if immediate vet care is provided. I recommend that Maggie see a vet immediately.

I am sorry to hear about your dog. These symptoms are indications that your dog needs to see a vet right away. Any time we have breathing issues, it is considered an emergency. There are many different causes for lethargy and difficulty breathing but could include an infection in the lungs, a problem with the heart, anemia/low red blood cells, trauma to name just a few. The vet will do an exam and may recommend x-rays of the lungs and/or bloodwork to check for low red blood cells and signs of systemic disease. They may provide oxygen support if needed and will base treatment on the results of testing. I wouldn't delay in getting her in right away!

Breathing difficulties is always an emergency so you need to take Kittoo to your local vets as soon as possible. Pneumonia is one of the possibility, distemper can also affect the lungs but it usually affects young dogs. Breathing problems can also be caused by heart diseases, upper airways diseases (collapsed trachea, bronchitis etc), anaemia, even painful problems within the abdomen. It is not possible to say what is going on without examining Kittoo, so you really need to take him to your nearest vets to find out what is going on.