Breathing is the act of inhaling and exhaling air through your mouth, nose or skin.Dogs and cats breathe mainly through the nostrils.Gas exchanges that occur during breathing are essential for life and, if not carried out normally, can compromise the welfare of the animal.be and life.
If you have an animal that feels short of breath and / or short of breath, take your pet immediately to the nearest vet. Respiratory stress is very common in clinical practice and is an emergency or even a medical emergency.
- For more information about dogs suffering from shortness of breath.
- Causes and solutions.
- Continue reading this Animal Expert article.
First, you should know some of the medical terms used in patients with cardiorespiratory problems.
Although these terms are used daily by veterinarians, many guardians do not know what they refer to and do not know what is happening to their dog.Below, we will present ways to identify breathless dogs and what are the possible causes.Read.
Not all breathless animals are positioned in the same way or exhibit the same behavior, so it is very important that you know when your dog is not well so that you can act.
When a dog runs out of breath and has difficulty breathing, it adopts a posture that allows it to breathe better and without too much discomfort, can be standing, lying down or sitting in a sternal position (sphinx position), and is already lying down.a sign of considerable unease.
One of the most common postures is the orthopedic posture characterized by:
If due to insufficient oxygenation, the mucous membranes of the dog may become pale or cyanosis (blue-violet). Cyanosis develops when the blood is not sufficiently oxygenated at the lung level and, as a result, there is insufficient oxygenation of the tissues, causing them to become that color.A breathless dog with a purple tongue is a medical emergency and immediate action is needed.
In addition, the type of dog breathing can guide you over the possible cause and location of the injury:
Other symptoms may also be associated with a breathless dog
The causes of the feeling of a breathless dog are very varied, in general the older and obese dogs may be more susceptible to this type of diseases, in addition, brachycephalic breeds, such as the English/French Bulldog, Shi tzu, Pug and Lhasa apso, have a genetic predisposition to respiratory problems, result of the anatomic conformation of the face, palate and larynx.
They are diseases or injuries in the respiratory tract
There are also causes that are not directly related to specific diseases, but to the body’s response to the environment and that also cause respiratory symptoms, such as hyperthermia (increased body temperature), hypothermia (decrease in body temperature), heat, cold, fear, stress, anxiety, pain or shock.
There is also a condition called inverted sneeze, more common in small breeds and brachycephalic breeds, which is characterized by a sound of breathing similar to a snoring, as if the dog is drowning In a normal sneeze, the air comes out to try to expel the Substances or foreign objects that cause irritation, however, on the contrary, sneeze the air enters instead of leaving , causing this characteristic sound.Don’t worry, this is a harmless condition that usually has no involvement for the dog.
If you’re wondering what to do with a breathless dog, read the following steps to help your pet.
First of all you should stay calm and avoid sudden movements or very loud noises, it is important to know that animals with this problem are very unstable and that excessive management can cause more widespread stress and cause more breathing difficulties or even cardiorespiratory arrest.Therefore, it is important to be very careful when handling an animal in this critical condition, the first thing you should do is take your pet to the nearest veterinarian.
If you do not reach the vet quickly and your dog is lying down and has a purple tongue, you should place it on the right side (left side up) and try to feel the heart rate near where the dog’s elbow is touched.in the ribs. If you don’t feel anything and the animal doesn’t respond, start 5 heart massages (not too abrupt), followed by a blow to the nostrils with your mouth closed, try to do so at least three times, or until you reach the clinic/hospital.
Once in the veterinarian’s office and first, the animal should be stabilized by supplementing it with oxygen to help it breathe better, then what happened must be counted in detail and a physical examination should be performed. Observing the breathing pattern helps guide the type of urgent treatment to apply.
Some of the questions the veterinarian may ask are
It is important that you provide the veterinarian with as much information as possible to assist in the diagnosis.Once the animal is stable, more diagnostic tests may be performed.
Watch our YouTube video and find out what are the 10 things that make dogs stress:
This article is for informational purposes only, in Animal Expert.com.br we cannot prescribe veterinary treatments or make any type of diagnosis, we suggest that you take your pet to the veterinarian in case of any condition or discomfort.
If you want to read articles similar to Dog with Dyspnoea: Causes and Solutions, we recommend that you visit our Respiratory Diseases section.