Milo, a gorgeous Border Collie, has been breathing heavily lately, even though he’s resting. He otherwise seems fine, but it’s still strange, as he never did that in the past.
Don’t worry, Milo is fine now, but this situation is common. If it happens to your puppy, there’s no need to google the question, “Why is my dog breathing heavy while resting?” Read this quick guide instead.
Understanding your dog’s resting respiratory rate is crucial, and monitoring it can help unravel underlying health issues. We’ll tell you about this, the causes, and how the Maven Pet Health Monitor can track the rest respiratory rate and detect subtle changes automatically.
What Is Normal Resting Respiratory Rate in Dogs?
Before worrying about your dog breathing fast but not panting, you need to understand its resting respiratory rate. The rate is the number of breaths your pooch makes per minute. The normal rate for pet wellness is 10 to 35 breaths, while the exact number depends on your dog’s age and size.
If your puppy takes more than 35 breaths, this is an increased and abnormal resting respiratory rate. It’s crucial to visit your vet so they can uncover the underlying cause.
At the same time, you can use the Maven Pet Health Monitor to monitor the rate automatically instead of making your own evaluations, which can be daunting and complicated.
The device tracks the respiratory rate and continuously compares it to your dog’s unique baseline. It will also notify you of any changes so you can discuss with your vet the reasons for your dog breathing heavily through the nose.
Why Is My Dog Breathing Heavy While Resting?
There are many causes for your dog’s heavy breathing. We can separate them into normal and concerning causes.
Here are the normal causes:
- When the dog is dreaming or in REM sleep, brief increases in the breathing rate are common.
- Mild anxiety or excitement can lead to increases in the resting respiratory rate.
As for the concerning causes, here’s what you need to know:
- Respiratory issues — Various respiratory issues can be the cause, like an infection or allergies. However, you’ll likely see other symptoms, too, like coughing, night restlessness, and nasal discharge.
- Heart conditions — If the underlying cause is a heart condition, symptoms like lethargy and decreased activity are also likely.
- Overheating or heatstroke — In the case of a heat stroke or your pooch overheating, it’s crucial to take immediate action and monitor for changes. AVMA has a few suggestions for keeping your pet safe from overheating in warm weather.
- Discomfort or pain — Whenever your dog is in pain, it will likely start breathing more heavily than usual. In such cases, the Maven Pet’s ability to detect behavioral and activity level changes can be of great assistance.
Besides these, there are various other reasons for a dog breathing heavily while resting, and it might be worth knowing about them, even though you should still rely on your vet to determine what’s wrong with your pup.
It’s worth noting that the reasons for an older dog breathing heavy while sleeping are not always easy to find.
When Should You Worry About Heavy Breathing?
You shouldn’t start worrying, but you should start acting as soon as you notice one or more of these red flags:
- Persistent rapid breathing during rest
- Coughing, wheezing, and nasal discharge
- Blue-tinged gums (cyanosis)
- Unusual lethargy
- Loss of appetite
The Maven Pet smart collar can greatly help here as it will help you act on time. It will track patterns like prolonged inactivity or night restlessness.
These behavioral patterns can point to potential health concerns that must be addressed soon to keep your puppy healthy.
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How Maven Pet Helps Monitor Resting Respiratory Rate
You won’t have to ask, “Why is my dog breathing heavy while resting?” if you have the Maven Pet Health Monitor. That’s because the device will help you act on time and visit the vet as soon as the device records behavioral changes and symptoms that might lead to something.
The device has several advanced capabilities that are of great help here:
- Resting respiratory rate tracking — The device actively and continuously tracks your pet’s respiratory rate while there are no activities, which shows the device that it’s time to track the rate.
- Pattern comparison and alerts — Various individual patterns are compared to healthy standards to determine if there are indications of health issues. If there are, the device will alert you through the app.
- Various detections — Our health monitor can detect decreased activity, behavioral changes, and night restlessness. All of this can help you answer the question, “Why is my dog breathing heavy and fast?”.
- Logging symptoms — You can use the app connected to the device to log various symptoms like appetite loss and coughing, leading to a more holistic health assessment with your vet.
What to Do if Your Dog Is Breathing Heavy While Resting
We talked about the symptoms that should lead you to action, and once you do notice them, here’s what you should do:
- Observe and document — Monitor the frequency of heavy breathing while at rest and document other symptoms you notice or our health monitor alerts you to.
- Ensure a comfortable environment — Provide your pet with a cool and peaceful space to help it calm down.
- Consult a vet — If you notice additional issues, as we’ve covered previously, you should call your vet and schedule a check-up.
The Maven Pet monitor can provide peace of mind by continuously monitoring all health indicators so you don’t have to worry whenever you notice heavy breathing.
Bottom Line
The answer to the question “Why is my dog breathing heavy while resting?” should now be clearer.
In many cases, it’s nothing, but if accompanied by other symptoms and behaviors we’ve discussed, it might indicate a health problem that needs to be addressed with the help of your vet.
The Maven Pet Health Monitor has the capabilities you could benefit from if you want proactive insights about your dog’s well-being. It will help you address concerns early on.
Read more about our monitor to see what it offers, and consider subscribing to our service if you like what you see.
Maven Pet focuses on improving the quality of life of our pets with technology, using artificial intelligence (AI) to enable proactive pet care. By accurately collecting and monitoring pet data 24/7 and flagging any irregularities, Maven Pet empowers pet parents and veterinarians to stay ahead of potential health issues, ensuring the well-being and longevity of our beloved companions.
