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Why is my dog panting heavily after coming inside, not hot?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Female | spayed | 60 lbs

My dog is panting more heavily than normal. She just came in from outside. Her gums look fine, she doesn't appear to be injured and keeps drinking water. Its also not hot outside.

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on March 12th, 2017

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.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Linda G, MS, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on December 20th, 2017
Hello, & thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Panting can result from many causes. Exercise, excitement, warm temperatures are normal & common causes, but fear, pain, & an elevated body temperature ( fever ), would be of concern. Depending on how long this has been occurring, & if you can not calm her down with a treat of a cool fan, she may be in need of seeing a veterinarian. Hopefully, she will be fine. Take care.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Kevin Sanada, DVM
Veterinarian
Published on January 20th, 2018
This is quite concerning if he is panting and not in a hot environment. Even if he was just hot, he would be drinking water. Panting without there being a hot environment indicates that the body is having trouble keeping up with oxygen demands. This can happen when there is something wrong with the lungs, heart, or there is a low red blood cell count. In either case it would be considered an emergency and I would recommend you take him to the vet as soon as possible for an evaluation. They will be better able to assess how serious this is and narrow-down the cause of this.

If you have further questions or need further clarification, then you may consider having an online consult with one of our vets on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. This way, you can send unlimited pictures and have a text conversation with a vet.

I hope that helps and Winter gets better soon.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful
Answered By Maria DVM
Veterinarian
Published on September 30th, 2018
If she is eating and drinking well, very active then I would not worry too much. My concern would be if she is having difficulty breathing. If you feel the panting is from difficulty breathing then absolutely bring her. If she has just been more active today and playing more then I would recommend monitoring her today.

You want to look to see if she turns blue, panting and breathing heavy without running and playing, not eating well, feels warm (temp over 103F), or is very lethargic. If you notice these symptoms I would highly recommend taking her to an emergency veterinarian.

If she just ran around and started panting I would have her rest, give her water and monitor. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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