A dog panting is a physiological and natural event, but sometimes it becomes a sign of illness. Let us look at which conditions and how to respond, with the help of a veterinary expert.
Why do dogs pant? As a general rule, the phenomenon is not linked only to excessive heat, but also to joy, fear, anxiety, and — unfortunately — it sometimes becomes a genuine symptom of serious and debilitating illnesses. Technically, the term is of Greek origin: panting is defined as "tachypnoea" (meaning "rapid breathing"). It is something we all frequently observe in our dogs, perhaps without even noticing it. Before we delve into a description of this phenomenon, however, we need to talk about the normal respiratory activity of dogs — in other words, when we can properly speak of tachypnoea.
At rest, the norm is an average of 20 breaths per minute, where a breathing act is understood to be a complete inhalation-exhalation cycle. What we have given is, however, a decidedly approximate figure that can vary considerably depending on the animal's size, physiological state and environmental conditions. In practice, values between 10 and 30 breathing acts per minute are considered normal.
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"If we want to simplify things a little, we can say that an increase in breathing rate represents a normal response of the body to an increased demand for oxygen, such as that which occurs during strenuous physical exercise," explains Dr Cinzia Cortelezzi, veterinary surgeon.
But it is not only movement that causes tachypnoea. There are, in fact, several other physiological conditions (i.e. not linked to any illness) in which a perfectly healthy body reacts by increasing its breathing rate. Young animals, for example, have a higher breathing rate than adults, and the same applies to bitches in heat or at certain stages of pregnancy. And then there is the heat, sometimes scorching. We have all certainly watched our dog on a sweltering summer's day — the kind, to be clear, that makes you want to spend the whole day in the shower. On hot and humid days, dogs try to dispel excess heat by increasing their breathing rate. This is because it is only in this way that they can eliminate the greatest possible amount of water vapour, the most efficient "vehicle" for getting rid of heat.
Sometimes, however, tachypnoea represents a genuine symptom that should be reported to your trusted vet as soon as possible. Speaking in general terms, we can say that almost all conditions affecting the lungs can cause a more or less noticeable increase in breathing rate. The reason for this, in light of what we have already mentioned, is easy to understand. Any alteration (inflammatory, neoplastic or functional) of lung tissue causes a reduction in the efficiency of the mechanisms responsible for oxygenating the blood. In these circumstances the body attempts to compensate for this deficit simply by increasing the number of breathing acts.
"This situation is found in a large number of diseases affecting the lungs, such as pulmonary oedema, certain forms of poisoning, foreign bodies, infectious conditions and more. Fortunately, in such cases, tachypnoea is accompanied by other symptoms (both respiratory and otherwise) that prompt the owner to contact a vet promptly," continues Cortelezzi. However, it is not only diseases of the respiratory system that manifest themselves through the symptom we are discussing. High fever, for example, regardless of its underlying cause, can lead to a significant increase in breathing rate.
Among the non-respiratory conditions that induce tachypnoea, we also find various types of anaemia. This is a condition (fortunately not too common in dogs) that, as in humans, consists primarily of a reduction in the number of circulating red blood cells. Here too we have defective transport of oxygen to the tissues, with a consequent "compensatory" increase in breathing rate. Even less common are tachypnoeas of metabolic origin, which occur in the presence of an excess of hydrogen ions in the blood.
Everything we have seen so far is not enough, however, to account for certain episodes of tachypnoea that occur at particular moments in our dog's life and have nothing to do with any objective pathological cause. Anxiety attacks — perhaps triggered by natural phenomena such as thunderstorms — behavioural disorders such as separation anxiety, traumatic or anxiety-inducing events — think of the routine visit to the vet, but also New Year's fireworks or the noise of fireworks displays — can all trigger rapid breathing in dogs.
When our companion displays abnormal behaviour that is confined to a specific event or situation, there is no cause for concern. The quickened breathing and resulting tachypnoea fall, once again, within the normal range of a situation involving stress and generalised anxiety. All perfectly ordinary occurrences, unfortunately, in the daily life of our best friend.