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Why is my dog panting, tired, with slow heart & electrolyte problems?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Dalmatian | Male | neutered | 2 years and 4 months old | 58 lbs

My two year old male Dalmatian suffers from exercise intolerance and pants excessively after 5 to 10 minutes of play. Took him to the vet. His EKG shows slow heart rate I believe in the 70's and his labs show electrolyte imbalance. We take him Monday to check him for Addison's disease. But after reading the symptoms he doesn't really have them. What are your thoughts? EKG did not show any heart abnormalities.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

Veterinarian

Published on May 13th, 2017

I'm sorry to hear that Paddington has not been feeling well. An electrolyte imbalance with a low sodium to potassium ratio occurs most commonly with Addison's disease, but can also occur with kidney diseases or due to medications. I agree with your vet that performing an ACTH stimulation test to rule Addison's disease in or out is quite important. Addison's disease is referred to as the "great pretender" because its clinical signs can be quite subtle in many cases.

Exercise intolerance and panting are most concerning for heart disease. I would also recommend asking your vet if chest x-rays could be performed to evaluate the size of Paddington's heart as well as the overall appearance of his lungs and blood vessels. Not every heart disease shows significant changes on an EKG. You may need to consider taking Paddington to a veterinary cardiologist to perform an echocardiogram (ultrasound of the heart) to assess the heart's function and ability to effectively contract. I hope that all goes well!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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