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Why is my senior Shih Tzu suddenly breathing fast and coughing?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Male | neutered | 14 years and 9 months old | 10 lbs

Is it normal for a 15 (almost 16) year old shih tzu to have a respiratory rate of 73pm? It started suddenly and he has had some coughing/hacking fits. He is breathing through his nose and not his mouth.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on August 3rd, 2018

I am afraid that is not normal. Considering that Snoopy is almost 16 years old my first thought here is that he needs his heart examined by your veterinarian. There is a condition almost every old dog gets, some worse than others, called endocardiosis. THis is a condition where the lips of the heart valves develop little nodules which then keeps the valves from closing properly and then the oxygenated blood is not effectively pumped into the rest of the body. This makes for a weak heart action and causes pulmonary edema, ie fluid in the lungs.
The fluid in the lungs make breathing a chore (therefore a high respiration rate), and causes a moist cough when the dog is resting. Your dog also will not have as much energy as usual and slows down significantly. This can be significantly improved by giving diuretics and a heart medication that improved the output of the heart.
Of course it is also possible that he has kennel cough or another respiratory condition.
So I suggest you make an appointment with your veterinarian for an exam soon.

3Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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