Should I worry if my new puppy breathes hard while sleeping?

If River is normal when she wakes up and acts normally during the day (eating, drinking, playing, no vomiting, no diarrhea, etc) then I would not worry about it. If she seems sick in any way then I would get her to the vet for an exam. I suggest you take a video of this behavior so you can show your vet when you take River in for her next set of vaccinations so they can give you better advice. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

This is probably normal for your puppy but if you are concerned then I would recommend having her examined by your veterinarian. It is always wise to have the heart and lungs of a new pup examined to make sure everything is as it should be. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

If there are no other signs and you are not suspecting any intoxication you could monitor him at this stage for the next 2 hours and see if he settles down. If not a check up would be ideal to understand the underlying cause and treat appropriately. Unfortunately at this stage the presentation is quite generic and differentials are many.

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.

If this breathing heavy is only occurring when Tater is resting, it could be that he is dreaming and his breathing is changing in response to the dreams. Dogs dream and they can show behaviors such as barking, leg movement, and breathing changes in response to their dreams. Given that he is fine otherwise, I would monitor him for now, but certainly it's okay to have him seen by a vet just in case to make sure everything is ok health wish with him :-)

I would recommend that you have Rousey checked out by a vet. Breathing that quickly is not normal. While sleeping, she should breathe less than 20 times in a minute. Increased respiratory rate at night could indicate heart or lung disease, anemia, or pneumonia. If she has fractured ribs, she could benefit from pain medications. She should probably also be checked for intestinal parasites, which are easily picked up while hanging out on the streets.

Fast breathing, twitching, and vocalizing are all normally seen when they are sleeping and is not a concern as long as they don't do it when they are awake. If he is otherwise OK when he is awake, then no need to worry about this. He appears to be a well-cared for pup. I recommend taking him to a vet for an exam as soon as you can. The vet can scan him for a microchip (in case he's owned) and make sure he's up-to-date on vaccines and deworming. I hope that helps and all is well with Rock.