My dog has trouble breathing and won't eat. What should I do?

Bronchial pneumonia can be a very serious diagnosis. Sometimes pets that have been diagnosed with pneumonia need oxygen therapy for a few days until the antibiotics kick in. He seems to be very uncomfortable because of his difficulty breathing. My recommendation is to have him seen at a facility that can provide oxygen therapy. In the mean time, you might try taking him in a steamy bathroom and patting his chest firmly until you can make him cough. This may help break up some of the mucous, but the best thing for him is oxygen therapy and continued antibiotics. Best wishes!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Hugo! If Hugo is having trouble breathing this is an emergency and he should be evaluated by a Vet as soon as possible. When dogs can not breathe they tend to not relax and lie down. Or when they lie down they extend their necks and/or abduct their elbows. Causes of trouble breathing: congestive heart failure, anemia (bleeding some where), pneumonia, upper respiratory tract infection, fluid around the lungs or heart, pain, or cancer. I am glad Hugo is eating and drinking. I would call your Vet to have him examined and X-rays of his chest to make sure everything is ok. I hope this helps and I wish Hugo a speedy recovery!

Difficulty breathing and panting could be a sign of heart disease or respiratory disease. Congestive heart failure would be the most common heart problem, while pneumonia, bronchitis, pleural effusion/fluid in the lungs would be some common respiratory problems. I would recommend seeing an emergency veterinarian as soon as possible if you feel Rex is having trouble breathing.

He needs to be examined by a veterinarian right away. Your vet can take an x-ray of his chest to evaluate his lungs and airway. He could have pneumonia, asthma, heart disease, or fluids in his chest. Please call your vet immediately and schedule an appointment.

OH my. I can understand your despair, especially after having already taken her to your vet. It sounds like she needs to have some testing done to determine what the underlying problem is so that she gets the proper treatment. A pet that is having difficulty breathing, not eating and blood in the stool (could be due to stress), sounds like a possible lower airway infection or even pneumonia. She needs to go to another vet for a second opinion, bloodwork and chest radiographs to evaluate her lungs. If she does have pneumonia, then she will likely need to be hospitalized and treated symptomatically for a few days until she is hopefully well enough to go home. Here is a finanical assistance website in case you need help affording her veterinary care. http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html I hope that Bea is able to make a full and speedy recovery from her illness. Best of luck to you. Take care.

I am so sorry Austyn is feeling so badly tonight. The safest thing to do given the severity of his signs would be to bring him to an emergency vet for evaluation. Vomiting can be caused by many things (dietary indiscretion/eating something he shouldn’t for example) and often isn’t too serious. However, given that Austyn is pacing, short of breath, and uncomfortable I worry something more serious could be going on. For example a condition called gastric dilatation and volvulus can be seen especially in large breed dogs where their stomach bloats. Or dogs can aspirate a little on the vomit which can lead to respiratory problems. If he doesn’t settle down over next the 15 minutes, or if his belly is bloated and firm, or the vomiting continues it is important to bring him right away. If his belly is soft and he settles down and he is breathing normally and his gums are pink, you could watch him closely and bring him to his vet tomorrow for evaluation. I hope austyn starts feeling better very soon.

Poor Duke sounds quite ill at the moment! It's serious that he can't seem to breath, and that he hasn't eaten or laid down all day. There are a number of things that could be causing this, such as respiratory infection, cardiac disease, pain, infection, inflammation, cancer, or heartworm disease among others. Unfortunately without seeing him in person, I can't narrow it down further. My recommendation is to take him into a vet immediately, who can diagnose what is causing his symptoms so he can be treated.