Excessive Panting

[~Lin]

Ok, so Logan has been panting excessively lately. By excessively, I mean when there is no need to pant and he pants for most of the day. Inside and in air conditioning, he's panting while Tessa is fine. At first I was just thinking with all the black he was warmer than Tessa. But he's been waking me up at night and keeping me up at night with the constant panting. I googled excessive panting, and found it linked with another symptom of excessive drinking and peeing and recommended testing for cushings. Logan is doing this as well. I was thinking he was getting a UTI, but maybe its something else. He drinks incredibly more than Tessa does, and needs to pee very often. The last few nights, he has woken me up asking to go pee a few times during the night. There is drinking water available outside, but Tessa is just fine making it through the night and Logan used to be as well. I'm not sure if I should be worried, or if maybe he is just "a panter" (some websites mentioned that possibility as well). I would rather be safe than sorry, but I am hesitant about taking him to the vet because I am broke. I mean seriously broke. Credit card maxed, I'm $200 short on July's rent right now. I have care credit for emergencies. My vet doesn't take care credit, but a vet I take my IG fosters to does (and, they are known as being the most expensive vet in the city). I have this for emergencies. But my hesitation, is I only have a 500 limit and what if nothing is wrong with Logan and a week down the line Logan or Tessa gets seriously ill or injured and needs treatment NOW and I have no way to pay (and yes, the vets in this city WILL turn you away if you can't pay. The ER vet requires 75 fee upfront for the exam alone). So I'm hoping I can get some input from you guys on what this could be, if I should be worried, other symptoms to look for?

[trubandloki]

If this behavior is a change in behavior then I would for sure get him to the vet.  It may be as simple as a UTI and he is panting because he is uncomfortable.  But drinking lots more water and waking you to go out and panting more than  usual all seem like red flags to me.


Some dogs do pant more than others though.  Our Rottie pants pretty much all year round.  The pibble does not pan even when it is in the upper 90s in the house.  Each to their own.  But that is normal for both.  If either had a sudden change I would for sure look into it.  (I just treated Loki for a UTI actually)

[~Lin]

Ok, after some drama this morning... The vet that was supposed to take Care Credit DIDN'T take care credit, but then I found out my rat vet takes care credit! My rat vet isn't solely an exotic vet, but she is the best exotic vet in town. I take my personal dog/cat fosters to her as well, just don't take my own dogs/cats to her because they've been going to the other vet since I moved here and didn't want to switch their vet yet AGAIN (I was in 7 cities in 4 years). So, I have an apt tomorrow at 3:15. I hope it is something simple like a UTI. I should have thought of the possibility of the panting being from discomfort sooner, thanks for pointing that out!! Last year I had to take Tessa to the ER vet twice because of panting. She was panting incredibly fast and didn't slow down at all. The first idiot vet said it was from an allergic reaction and gave her a shot of steroids. She only got worse, and when we went back the smart vet determined she was in a lot of digestive system pain and the pain was causing the panting.

[Ratwings]

Panting + excessive drinking and urination is definately cause for concern. Is he peeing large amounts of dilute urine? Or peeing smaller amounts very frequently? The latter is more indicative of UTI.

[~Lin]

He is drinking excessively and peeing large amounts of normal urine. He will squat for 3x as long as Tessa peeing. I'm watching, and theres no sign of pain of blockage, its a steady stream and by the colour I'd say its not dilute.

[~Lin]

Its not a UTI. I was pretty sure it wasn't but didn't want to admit it and tried to convince myself it was. But its not. Urinaylsis was normal. The urine was a bit more concentrated, rather than dilute. The vet also remarked at the amount he peed, which is what he does. Pees often in concentrated urine (it appears rather dark) and huge amounts. So she ran some bloodwork and I'll find out the results of that tomorrow. The visit was 114 and I only have 500 on care credit so I'm nervous 

[Ratwings]

Hmm, odd. I hope you find out what's going on... and it's nothing too serious.  Keep up posted!

[Kati33]

I actually saw a golden during my medicine rotation who's only complaint was excessive panting. Some things we tested for in her were Cushing's, hypothyroid, and checking to see if there was an issue with her lungs/airway that made it difficult to get enough oxygen- thus the panting. We spent a ton of money searching for a cause for the dog's panting- CBC, chem panel, urine cortisol:creatinine (a test for Cushing's), UA, chest rads, arterial blood oxygen levels, thyroid levels- and then pursued Cushing's as the UCC came back suggestive with an ultrasound and ACTH stim test (which were both negative). In short- we never did find a cause for the dog's panting. We suggested getting some weight off her, but didn't have much else to go on. There are possibilities of neurologic causes, but my patient had a year long history, so we ruled that one out. Do you know what other bloodwork your vet did? I really hope you find an answer- my case was truely frustrating!

[~Lin]

My vet wasn't in the office today, but I got a call from the receptionist. She said the bloodwork showed an elevated BUN, and that I am to come and pick up antibiotics on Monday then when they are finished return for another urinalysis. Which, doesnt make any sense to me! If his kidney function is impaired, why antibiotics? And the urinalysis was normal except concentrated urine before, so why repeat it?

[Ratwings]

Perhaps they found something else that made them think he is having some sort of kidney infection?

[BackAtTheLab]

Excessive panting often indicates anemia. Without the red blood cells to carry oxygen a dog with breath rapidly. Check for pale pink/whitish gums. That would be your second indicator. It's a long shot, but if nothing else is working it's worth a try.
M.

[~Lin]

Excessive panting often indicates anemia. Without the red blood cells to carry oxygen a dog with breath rapidly. Check for pale pink/whitish gums. That would be your second indicator. It's a long shot, but if nothing else is working it's worth a try.
M.

He had a full blood panel done, he's not anemic. And, his gums are black

Kati33: I finally was able to catch my vet today and talk to her in person for a bit, she also gave me photocopies of the lab results. His BUN was 40 (for those that don't know, normal is 6-25), and his BUN/creatinine ratio was 36 (normal being 4-27). She said she wants to start on the antibiotics to rule that out before going any further, because she'd rather not wait until more severe signs. After the antibiotics are through, we will re-evaluate his symptoms and redo the urinalysis and the kidney panel.

[Kati33]

Sorry- I missed your addition to the post- I'll PM you.