Is my active dog's occasional three-breath pattern normal?

This sounds like perhaps a hiccup or respiratory distress, hard to tell based on your description and without seeing the event myself. If your pet seems to be having a hard time breathing continuously or has increased respirations >50 breathes per minute, then I would recommend taking her into the vet for a good physical examination. However if this is intermittent and does not seem to trouble here I would monitor for now, take a video recording of the event and schedule an appointment at some point to get a vet to look at this an ensure this is not something to worry about.

Hi. This could be normal, especially if dreaming. If he is normal otherwise and breaths normal when awake, you can monitor. If he acting quiet and breathing fast awake, I would get him seen right away.

The increased respiratory rate could be from him dissipating heat but it could also be pathological. I cannot tell you for sure just based on your description. I suggest you take a video of him breathing heavy at rest and then take him in to your vet for an examination. Show the vet the video and see what they think. The vet will take that video combined with their examination findings and let you know if it seems like his breathing is normal or abnormal. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. I can understand your concerns with having a new puppy. It is likely that your new puppy is finally starting to come into his own. As your puppy grows and matures he will start to develop his personality. This can lead to higher activity levels and more playfullness. As long as he is still tail wagging, running, jumping and overall seems happy, he is likely just fine. After quick spurts of play, puppies can also have heavy breathing episodes, but it should only last for 1-5 minutes at the most. If your puppy seems like he is in respiratory distress, coughing, gasping for air, etc, then its best to have him evaluated by your vet. At that point I would suspect he may have an airway infection, underlying heart disease, or a laryngeal disorder. However, if your pupy is still playful, eating, drinking and normal acting, then he is likely just fine and is having over exerting moments of play. Just try to limit his play to no more than 20-30 minute intervals two times a day to keep him healthy. I hope this helps and best wishes with your new puppy Winter. Take care.

I would recommend to monitor him closely for the next 4-6hours in case signs become more consistent. The presentation you described should not be a problem at all, especially if there are no other signs with it.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Noushi. If she only breathes hard like this after hard play, this is not a cause of concern. An increased respiratory rate or panting (open mouth breathing) is worrisome if it occurs while she is resting with no recent history of exercise. I hope this information helps!

Hello, thank you for your question about Arnie. Shaking can be caused by many different things or could be normal for your dog. It can be a sign of underlying pain/discomfort or difficulty breathing. If Arnie is showing any other symptoms such as lethargy, lack of appetite, vomiting, or diarrhea I would recommend having him evaluated by your veterinarian so that they can examine him and look for an underlying cause. If Arnie is otherwise acting fine and this is the only change you have noticed it is possible that this is normal for him, and a response when he takes long deep breaths. I would recommend continuing to monitor him if this is the case. Hope this helps!