Why is my senior dog breathing heavy, losing balance, and falling?

She does need to see a vet as soon as you can as this sounds like a neurological problem. It may be a stroke, an inner ear infection, or vestibular disease. Your vet will examine her and start her on medicine to help with the dizziness and off balance so she can rest. Most regain normal function with time and treatment.

This could be due to something serious such as heart disease. Exercise intolerance is one of the first signs of heart disease, and it can be common in senior dogs. I'd have Poopsie seen by a vet for this problem. If she does have heart disease, the vet can manage her symptoms with medication. Best of luck.

Cholie looks very sweet! I think you need to take her in for an appointment with your vet as soon as you are able. I'm very concerned with how much weight she has lost in the past year and suspect she may be in pain due to your description of her being restless. Her wobbling may be related to arthritis in her lower spine and hips. Some older dogs can have strokes that cause neurologic signs like you are describing, or can develop vestibular disease which can cause them to be very dizzy and have trouble walking. She likely needs x-rays to evaluate her lower spine/hips as well as blood work and a fecal check to see what could be causing that much weight loss.

Poor Souza! With her extensive history and multiple medications, I am quite concerned about these symptoms. These could be secondary to being on the wrong dose of phenobarbital, having a problem with her heart disease and not getting enough oxygen, a condition called geriatric vestibular disease that cause instability, a stroke and much more. I would try to get in to see a vet soon. A vet will be able to check phenobarbital levels, blood work and even X-rays if needed. Your vet will be able to adjust her medicine if needed or give her additional medicine if it is something unrelated to her current problems. I hope this helps and she starts to feel better soon !

This could be due to a few different problems that can likely be treated effectively. One possibility is heart failure. They tend to have a decrease in activity and tire more easily after exercise with this condition. It can also cause them to have labored breathing and wheezing after exercise. This can be dramatically improved with medication. Another possibility is that she has a condition known as laryngeal paralysis. This can cause very noisy breathing after exercise. This can be corrected with surgery. It's worthwhile to at-least have Sammie evaluated by a veterinarian. They can likely narrow-down the possibilities with an exam and possibly a few tests. I hope that helps and Sammie gets better soon.

Hi. It sounds like he is having respiratory signs. This could be from many things such as....upper respiratory infection, cardiac disease, primary respiratory disease, cancers, or other infectious causes. With his age, he needs a full exam, labs, and chest x-rays. If he is in respiratory distress, you will want to go to the ER.

Oh my. Poor guy. The weight loss and his body condition score is very concerning. Gradual weight loss in older pets is highly suspicous of cancer unfortunately. Other possible causes are intestinal parasites, diabetes mellitus, etc. There is also possible arthritis which is causing Blue to become debilitated and unable to move around well; however, generalized weakness could also be a cause. You can try to feed Blue a high calorie diet (ie puppy food) to help with his muscle tone and try over the counter joint supplements (ie Dasuquin) to help with his mobility. Here is a website link with more financial resources to help you get him seen by a vet for further care because he really needs medical attention and testing to determine if this is something serious or not, and to pursue medical treatment. http://m.humanesociety.org/animals/resources/tips/trouble_affording_veterinary_care.html Best of luck to you and your pet Blue. I really hope he will be ok. Take care.