Why is my senior dog breathing loud, whining, and can't lie down?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Breathing problems can be a sign of many conditions such as pneumonia, bronchitis, heart disease, among many other possibilities. I recommend that you have Bailey evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. Likely diagnostics to be performed include thoracic radiographs and bloodwork. Treatment would be dependent on findings. Good luck and have a good night!

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.

It is hard to say the exact cause of her breathing. I would be concerned about a possible upper respiratory infection, pneumonia, heart disease, heartworm disease or pain. I would recommend taking her to a veterinarian for a good listen to her chest and possible chest x-rays.

Poor girl. Heavy breathing that just starts in an older dog is highly suspicious of things like heart disease, a primary lung disease or even cancer. The next best step here would be to get Lady to your local vet for an x-ray of her chest. This is a great diagnostic tool to help up definitively say what is causing her breathing issues so that we know how to proceed with Lady and get her breathing as normal as possible again. I hope that you are able to get Lady checked out soon! Best of luck and take care.

If you are noticing a change in respiration, she needs to see the veterinarian quickly. Changes in respiration can indicate severe heart disease, fluid in the lungs, pneumonia, tumors in the chest or something impairing the movement in the diaphragm. She may not be laying down because she can't breath well in that position. Respiratory issues should always be checked out quickly. The veterinarian may need a chest x-ray to know whats going on. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

Poor Bailey! Coughing up blood along with bleeding from the nose are quite serious, and I would take her into the vet now. This bleeding could be a sign of ulcers, an inability to clot blood, liver failure, respiratory disease, or cancer. Unfortunately, cancer is always a possibly in an old dog, and if she did have cancer that had spread to her lungs, it could cause these signs. I would take her into a vet right away. The vet can do routine blood tests, a urinalysis, x-rays, and possibly blood clotting tests to see what is causing her to cough up blood and have nose bleeds. Once the cause is found, the vet can determine what, if any, treatment is appropriate for her.

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.