Why is my puppy breathing open-mouthed and raspy after birth?

I am worried that Bella may have pneumonia - which is fluid or infection of her lungs and has the symptoms you describe of open mouth labored breathing - running nose and less active/ crying. If she is not feeding as usual, you should take her to the emergency vet nearest to your home very quickly. They will probably recommend giving her oxygen, antibiotics and they will xray her chest to see how severe the problem is. Best of luck with Bella, I hope she does ok.

Yes, it looks like this puppy has a pretty severe cleft palate. I would recommend having the puppy evaluated by the vet. Some of these can be fixed surgically. The vet may show you how to tube feed this puppy to make sure the milk is getting to the stomach and is not being inhaled through this hole (so that the milk gets into the lungs and causes pneumonia). You should start weighing the puppy daily on a small kitchen scale to make sure it is gaining weight every day.

Oh no. Breathing issue in a newborn are considered critical. Take a pediatric bulb syringe and suction out the nose and throat area for any residual liquid. I suspect that your puppy may have gotten fluid in the lungs. There could be a congenital defect (i.e. cleft palate) that could have caused this or it could have been accidentally done by aggressive feeding from the mother where milk went down the trachea instead of the esophagus. It is critical to take puppy to your ER vet if he continues to having difficulty breathing after you suction everything out well. He may need oxygen support (if tongue is blue or not oxygenating well) and antibiotics if he is found to have aspiration pneumonia. Constipation is also a concern but doesn't take precedence over the breathing problems. Please get puppy help asap because he is considered to be in critical condition and in need of medical assistance.

This sign could be compatible with an upper respiratory tract inflammation/infection. A clinical examination at your local veterinarian is essential to confirm this clinical suspicion and treat appropriately. Antibiotics may be needed. Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

I am concerned that she is having such trouble breathing. This could be another pneumonia, an upper respiratory infection, a fungal infection, a congenital heart problem and much more. If your vet has already done X-rays and they were normal, you may want to talk to them about having an ultrasound of the heart done. Also, I would have her blood work checked to see how her liver and kidney values are and see what her white blood count looks like. Finally, I would talk to your vet about whether see needs some antibiotics and medicine to help her breathing. I hope this helps and she starts to feel better soon.

I would be concerned that this puppy may have a cleft palate, hence why it is effected when suckling. You can look at the roof of the mouth for a defect, but I would suggest going to your vet regardless as this is not normal.

Hi and thank you for your question on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Unfortunately there is not a whole lot that can be done for this at home until it is seen by your veterinarian, but keep the puppy warm and make sure it has access to mom's milk. Also if fluids haven't been cleared out quite enough after birth, you may use a bulb syringe to help suck out fluid from the puppy's nose and mouth. I hope this helps and best of luck with Lulu!