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Why is my dog panting and shivering in bouts, then acting normal?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed Medium (23 - 60lb) | Male | neutered | 1 year and 7 months old | 60 lbs

My dog is experiencing bouts of panting and shivering. The first bout was yesterday after an intense walk in the snow. After an hour he calmed down and went to sleep. The second bout was last night, which lasted several hours. We were all ready to take him to the vet in the morning, but then he went completely back to normal. The last 5 hours he's been perfectly normal, but just now started painting with subtle shivers again. He's still eating, peeing, pooping (no diarrhea), and no vomiting.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Linda G,  MS, DVM

Answered By Linda G, MS, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on February 21st, 2019

Hello. Making any kind of assumption or diagnosis is very difficult just based on panting & shivering, but I can tell you this can be typical signs of pain & an elevated temperature. Since he has periods of normal behavior, my concerns is there is some underlying pain that JosLouis is experiencing. It could be from any area, so even if he quits the behavior, I would recommend having your vet check him out, just to make sure. Hope all is well soon. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.
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