Why is my senior Shih Tzu breathing fast, wheezing, and has a heart murmur?

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.

Heart disease is tough. This is true for humans or animals. Pets can quickly go from ok to not ok in minutes. Most forms of heart disease are progressive which means they get worse over time. Signs of worsening heart disease can be increased heart rate and respiratory rate, collapse, exercise intolerance, or coughing. There are many medications that can help improve quality of life. Please see your vet ASAP for an exam and possibly more tests or meds. Hope Boomer feels better!

Poor Jasmine! These symptoms are pretty generalized so it is difficult to speculate on why Jasmine isn't feeling well; lethargy and a decreased appetite could indicate nearly any medical problem. It is the heavy breathing that has me the most concerned. This could indicate a number of serious issues such as a heart condition, ruptured mass, pneumonia, or severe pain. I recommend having Jasmine seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible.

It really depends on the situation. They can breathe fast normally with exercise, excitation and an increase in environmental temperature. If you are sure that none of those are a factor and her breathing rate has definitely increased from normal, then it could be due to a problem affecting the heart, lungs, or red blood cells. In this case it's best to have her evaluated by a veterinarian as soon as possible to prevent further complications. Below is a link to a good guide on how to evaluate her breathing before scheduling a visit to the vet. I hope that helps and all is well with Maisie.

It could be Mick has a respiratory infection or he could have heart disease. Unfortunately heart disease can be common in senior dogs. I would take him into the vet first thing in the morning for a health check. Best of luck.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Jasmine. Based on your description, she may have an upper respiratory tract infection. So it is good that you are having her seen. If this is the case, ask if she is still contagious and how long she needs to be kept home and away from other dogs. If a dog is congested, I will turn the shower on hot and let steam build up in the bathroom. Then I place the dog in bathroom to allow them to breathe the steam. This can help to ease congestion. You can ask if she would benefit from this as well. I hope this information helps!

It can be very difficult to evaluate x-rays without being on the computer that took them - I can't manipulate the lightness and darkness or zoom in all the way. That being said, I am concerned that there is something very serious going on in Jasmine's liver. It is much, much larger than in a normal dog. I can't see the entire spleen, but the parts that I see appear normal. I can also see that there is some free fluid in her chest cavity - this would be fluid between the lungs and chest wall that can cause trouble breathing. I would recommend re-evaluation immediately with an emergency vet. There could be many things going on, but the heavy breathing you described combined with the abnormalities in the chest have me worried that she may be having severe issues with breathing. This can cause severe anxiety and stress in a dog. The vet will probably want to repeat the x-rays and bloodwork, and may be able to draw off fluid if it is still there to ease her breathing.