My dog pants heavily after biking. Normal or overheating? How to cool?

Poor Happy! Good on you for checking her gums to make sure they look normal. Even though it's not hot outside, she could have worked herself up running around outside leading to her panting. Her drinking could be an effort to cool herself down. You can put a fan on her to see if that helps with the panting, and make sure she has plenty of access to fresh water at all times. Keep monitoring Happy, and if you do notice that her gums turn red or pale, she starts vomiting, becomes dizzy, shows weakness, has a bright red tongue, or the heavy panting continues over the next few hours despite trying to cool her down, I would have her seen by a vet right away. There is also a chance her panting could be due to a medical illness, such as cardiac disease, respiratory disease, or heartworms. Even if her panting stops, I would still have Happy seen by a vet tomorrow for a health check to be safe.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It sounds like Lassie may have gotten very hot outside and needs to pant to cool off. Dogs cannot sweat to release heat, so they have to pant to breathe off heat. As long as Lassie can settle down and act normally, eat, drink, etc, he should be OK. I hope this is helpful!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Goodness! I think that you should shorten the walks or only walk him in the early morning or evening when it is cooler out. His breed (or any smooshed faced) breed can have significant problems breathing, especially on hot, humid days. If he is coughing and/or vomiting after a walk that is serious and may be a sign of heat stroke. You may want to discuss airway surgery with your Vet: stenotic nares, over long soft palpate and everted saccules. Dogs of his breed that have significant breathing abnormalities may benefit from surgery. Also keeping him thin and lean helps with their airway problems. Otherwise, hose him down with cold water and put him in front of a fan. I wish you and King Midas the best!

It just may be too cold in front of the fan. She may also be afraid of the fan. Panting is a dog's way to regulate the body temperature. You can try to cool her down by taking Daisy swimming, or play with her showering her with a garden hose. You can also give her ice cubes to play with or suck (or eat....) and put ice cubes into her drinking bowl into the water. This should all help to cool her down as she sees fit or likes.

Dogs can adapt to running in hotter weather, however going out at times where it is cooler, packing enough water for your dog to take breaks and drink on the way, and using items such as dog booties to protect feet from hot surfaces can all help ensure the run goes smoothly for you and your companion. If it is unbearably hot it is best to leave Fido at home where he can rest in some shade instead. Dogs are just like people, so you'll want to work up to a longer exercise routine over time, rather than starting out on a big long hike or jog at once that is likely to exhaust and overheat your dog. Dogs can sweat through the pads of their feet and also release heat through panting, so ensuring they're given enough water, and even something such as a misting spray and shaded areas for breaks to take a moment to cool off can help.

Panting is the normal way for dogs to cool themselves off during a walk (they do not have sweat glands like we do). So this is normal behavior. I wouldn’t worry about the tongue curling up, this is just a normal variation. Just make sure your dog has access to water before and after a walk and she should be ok. If you are walking for longer than 30 minutes you should probably take some water with you to make sure she doesn’t get over heated. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

If he seems to be breathing heavier than normal then he should be examined by a vet to determine the cause. Your vet can take a chest x-ray to evaluate his heart and lungs. It is not normal for a dog to breath heavy for an hour after exercise so I think you should definitely have him evaluated by a vet.