My 5 year old corgi girl Sofi is ALWAYS panting. She's heavy breathing pretty much 24/7 except when she sleeps. I'm having a hard time figuring out if she's in pain somewhere or having problems other than with the heat. We run the aircon to keep the rooms decently cool during the day but at night we shut them off. Even with the air on though she's aaaaaalways panting! Her stool looks normal, she's drinking and eating normally, she's not exhibiting any other symptoms but it just seems like she's maybe too hot all the time. She's not excessively overweight, she's 11 inches at the shoulders and weighs 27 pounds... I know she could be a little trimmer but when I take her for walks her tongue turns purple and she really drags :P

Is she just too hot? What can I do to make her more comfortable and at the same time keep the apartment from being a refrigerator? I know shaving a corgi is not recommended and I would like to not clip her but if it will make her feel better I will do it.

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Hi Sarah! How hot does it get at home? Try shutting the blinds and shades, ceiling fan will help too. Since dogs only sweat via their paw pads, panting helps them cool off by evaporating water from their mouths and noses. Does Sofi have a special spot under the air vent?
Hi Sarah,
I am a retired RVT. Please call your Veterinarian and make an appointment for a checkup. Panting can indicate a few health issues ie: heart problems. I don't mean to scare you but please have it checked out. Good luck, Sherri & Tucker
I would definitely have her checked with your vet. The holistic vet I just took Sally to asked if she seeks cool or warmth. I said always cool, both of my dogs do, so she recommended not feeding chicken based because it is a warm food, rather feed duck because it is a cool food. This comes from Chinese medicine. I’m trying it on both dogs right now, (it it has been so hot & humid out it’s hard to tell if it’s working). This is some of the list I found;
Following are some of the Yin food and Yang food:
Yin (Cool) Foods:
Asparagus, Banana, Bitter-melon, Chinese cabbage, Daikon, Duck Meat, Green Bean (Mung Bean), Mango, Pear, Radish, Seaweed, Tea, Tomato, Water, Water-melon, White Gourd, etc.
Yang (Hot) Foods:
Almond, Apple, Basil, Beef, Chestnut, Chicken, Garlic, Ginger, Ginseng, Green Onion, Lamb Meat, Longan, Mushroom, Orange, Papaya, Peanut, Perch, Pork (Warm), Red Bean, Red Date, Sesame oil, Shrimp, Spinach, Walnut, Wolfberry Fruit. etc.

Good luck finding the answers to make Sofi comfortable.
This is a super late response, not sure what you ended up doing. I too am a vet tech and the first thing that comes to mind with the sympoms is heart trouble. Has she been in to the vet? Any update on her condition?

Hey everyone, I'm not sure if posting in here will bump the thread to get seen again, but I thought I'd just give an update on Sofi's panting.

 

I took Sofi to the vet and my veterinarian had nothing poignant to say to me about it. She was in for an update on her shots and I filled her in on Sofi's panting habits, and she seemed otherwise unalarmed after looking her over. I have not mentioned this behavior to my vet again, but still a year later, the panting is not any different. She is always panting heavily. I wrote this when it was midsummer, but over the excruciatingly, bitterly cold winter I spent near the border of Canada with her, she still panted for all the moments she wasn't sleeping. She is spending quality time with my mom and dad right now because I am in the transition for another transfer to another new city, and my folks were alarmed by her panting, which re-ignited my anxiety about her heavy breathing. It has just become "normal" to me to see her always huffing and puffing. I am still unsure if this is cause for alarm... Should I be seeking a second opinion?

I think a second opinion is definitely in order! It does not sound like it's heat related at all. My elderly dog Chester pants when he's in pain; my vet also said that if their heart is having to work too hard to pump (weak muscle) the dogs will pant to help push the blood through the body. I'm not sure what kind of test they would do, but they have to do something! Maybe ask for a blood panel to make sure everything is working right internally. Please let us know how it goes!
She should be seen by another vet. Is she on heartworm preventative? Panting is often the first sign of heart problems. I'm not saying this to scare you but a constantly panting dog is not normal. Take her to a second vet, do some bloodwork (ideally a full blood panel, but a heartworm test if nothing else), maybe discuss possible pain related issues? You mentioned her tongue turning purple on walks which really indicates heart issues to me. A chest x-ray would probably be a good idea too to rule out both heart and lung problems. Even if all the blood tests come up negative, it is always good to have a baseline blood panel just in case something happens to her in the future so a full blood panel would be valuable either way. If everything comes up normal maybe the doc can put her on a short course of pain meds to see if the panting is pain related.
She is indeed on heartworm preventative. She's UTD on all her shots and she got her dose of flea and tick preventative about a month ago. When she is idle she has normal, pink color on her gums and tongue, but if she walks for a long time in the summer her tongue will get a little blue. I do have a concern that it may possibly be pain related, her breath is starting to smell very terrible and I think she may have tooth pain. In any case, I am going to have her taken to the vet and insist that they examine her mouth first before examining her heart- Sofi is my world, but money is tight right now... If I can avoid extra vet charges for exams and x-rays that she doesn't need, I'd prefer to. Her teeth need a routine cleaning as it is, so it may be best to start there and see what happens?
I would definitely get another opinion.
I second the second opinion!

Hi everyone, thanks for your replies.

 

I am concerned for her health, but at the same time, I don't want to seem panicky. Some of her symptoms sound like it could be a heart problem, but she doesn't exhibit ALL the symptoms that are associated with a heart problem: She's got a very good appetite, she's attentive, playful, and active. I am otherwise concerned that she may possibly have a problem with a tooth hurting her and that's what's causing her constant panting, as she may have tooth pain. I am going to arrange my mom to have her taken to a vet and get her looked at.

I would seek a second opinion, not all Vets get it right.... see if you can get a good referral, maybe by some breeder in the area.

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