What Does It Mean When A Dog Pants

Panting isn t normally a reason for concern but if your dog is panting excessively it could be a possible sign of heat exhaustion or overexercise.

What does it mean when a dog pants. Many dogs will pant when they experience fear anxiety or stress. Dogs rely on panting as their primary means for getting rid of excess body heat. Panting may have nothing to do with body temperature. Heavy panting is different though and may be a sign your dog is dangerously overheated coping with a chronic health problem or has experienced a life threatening trauma.

It helps dogs cool off and is also a natural response when a dog is thirsty excited happy or scared. Examples include car rides fireworks separation anxiety vet visits and other stressful events. Panting is totally normal. This type of normal panting can be quite heavy but the level of heavy breathing should correlate with the air temperature or amount of activity your dog is doing.

So it makes physiologic sense for a dog to pant on a hot day or following exercise. A large amount of water can be evaporated in a short amount of time when a dog s panting so always make sure that your dog has access to plenty of fresh water on hot days. Dogs normally pant when exercising or when it is hot as a way of cooling down. Look at your dog s body language to help you determine if your dog is showing signs of fear or any other type of distress.

Panting in old dogs is not uncommon but warrants investigation by a vet considering that it can be indicative of various health ailments.