Is Difficulty Breathing an Emergency?

If your dog having difficulty breathing doesn’t send you to the emergency vet, what would?

Dr. Coates put difficulty breathing as the first one on the list! Dr. Barchas on Dogster puts it first on the list. Dr. Justine Lee, in her article on Pet Health Network, puts it first on the list.

If you had difficulty breathing, would you seek emergency care?

Any time your dog is struggling to breathe, that’s an emergency.

Dr. Andy Roark
Is Difficulty Breathing an Emergency? If your dog having difficulty breathing doesn't send you to the emergency vet, what would?

Difficulty breathing (dyspnea) is absolutely, most definitely, an emergency.

Definition

Respiratory distress describes labored, difficult breathing or shortness of breath. Did you know that the problem can occur during both breathing in or breathing out?

When a dog is unable to breathe normally, their tissues can suffer from lack of oxygen. The body needs oxygen to live.

Frequently, difficulty breathe is associated with accumulation of fluid in the lungs or chest cavity. Heart failure is a common medical condition that can lead to difficulty breathing.

.. After three minutes without breathing it’s all over. If your dog is having trouble breathing or is “breathing funny,” making alarming noises when he breathes or is puffing his lips when he breathes, you need to get to the vet immediately.

Dr. Eric Barchas, dogster

Potential causes behind difficulty breathing in dogs

Potential causes that can lead to difficulty breathing can be mechanical (obstructions), infectious, inflammatory, or functional (such as lung and heart disease.

  • injuries
  • infections
  • tumors or foreign bodies
  • tracheal collapse
  • lung disease
  • heart failure
  • heartworm disease
  • lung disease
  • fluid in the lungs or chest cavity
  • and more

It is a long list all together.

Further information: Overview of Dyspnea (Trouble Breathing) in Dogs

What it might look like

Warning signs might present in different ways:

  • labored breathing
  • rapid breathing
  • abnormal panting

Different medical conditions can come with other accompanying symptoms such as coughing, abdominal distention, fever, and so on.

In any case, regardless of the cause, difficulty breathing is always an emergency.

Related articles:
Dog Symptoms: When Is It an Emergency?

Further reading:
10 Symptoms That You Should Never, Ever Ignore
Overview of Dyspnea (Trouble Breathing) in Dogs

Categories: Difficulty breathing • Emergencies • Symptoms

Tags: : • •

Jana Rade

I am a graphic designer, dog health advocate, writer, and author. Jasmine, the Rottweiler of my life, was the largest female from her litter. We thought we were getting a healthy dog. Getting a puppy from a backyard breeder was our first mistake. Countless veterinary visits without a diagnosis or useful treatment later, I realized that I had to take Jasmine's health care in my own hands. I learned the hard way that merely seeing a vet is not always enough. There is more to finding a good vet than finding the closest clinic down the street. And, sadly, there is more to advocating for your dog's health than visiting a veterinarian. It should be enough, but it often is not. With Jasmine, it took five years to get a diagnosis. Unfortunately, other problems had snowballed for that in the meantime. Jasmine's health challenges became a crash course in understanding dog health issues and how to go about getting a proper diagnosis and treatment. I had to learn, and I had to learn fast. Helping others through my challenges and experience has become my mission and Jasmine's legacy. I now try to help people how to recognize and understand signs of illness in their dogs, how to work with their veterinarian, and when to seek a second opinion. My goal is to save others the steep curve of having to learn things the hard way as I did. That is the mission behind my blog and behind my writing. That is why I wrote Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog, which has turned out being an award-winning guide to dog owners. What I'm trying to share encompasses 20 years of experience.

Share your thoughts