Panting in dogs can be a sign of many things. There are so many explanations for it, which unfortunately makes it a tricky behaviour to comprehend. However, when we break it down, we can start to get a much clearer picture of the various reasons why a dog may pant or breathe excessively.

Here, we’ll cover all the bases and potential explanations so that you can learn a little bit more about your furry friend’s needs.

Why Is My Dog Panting A Lot?

A dog’s panting can be explained by a few different scenarios, including:

Exercise

Panting after exercise is perfectly normal. Exercise can cause a lot of exhaustion and a loss of breath, which your dog will fix by breathing quickly through their mouth – panting. If you’ve been out for a strenuous walk or just finished a run and your dog is panting, this might explain things.

Overheating

Dogs don’t sweat like humans. Their sweat works its way out of their bodies through their feet and, surprisingly, their tongues. If you’re in the middle of a heatwave, or even if the thermostat’s been turned up a touch too high for their liking, you may find them panting for relief.

Pain

Sometimes, panting can be put down to medical reasons. The most immediate, of course, is pain and physical distress. Constant panting may point toward chronic pain.

If there are no other symptoms, like limping or lameness, this explanation could bring you some solace.

If you suspect this to be the reason why your dog is panting, we highly advise you to contact your vet.

Stress or Anxiety

If you’ve ruled out pain and exhaustion, another explanation for your dog’s constant panting could be their mental state. Specifically, dogs tend to pant when they feel stressed or anxious.

Removing the cause of their stress might help alleviate the panting after a while, but there is often no immediate fix for this while their feelings continue to linger.

Why Does My Dog Pant At Night?

Panting at a particular time of day, or only under specific circumstances, can help you drill down further into the underlying cause. This could be down to past trauma that your dog finds particularly stressful/uncomfortable, or a physical condition like heart disease or respiratory issues.

Rapid changes in temperature can also trigger panting at night time, especially if you turn the heating on.

If you feel your dog is panting too much, the number one thing to do would be to contact your vet and arrange a check-up.

My Dog’s Panting for No Reason, What Do I Do?

Sometimes, the cause of your dog’s panting can’t be easily figured out. In these cases, your best bet is to reach out to your vet for their advice. This is usually the case for any inexplicable oddities with your furry friend. If you can’t solve it or understand, a vet likely will.

Black Labrador chasing a stick through water

How Do I Know If My Dog Is Panting Too Much?

While panting is sometimes very normal behaviour for a dog, there are times when this behaviour becomes abnormal. Excessive panting throughout the day can be a warning of overheating or exaggerated signs of the reasons we’ve listed above.

While you may not have the ability to count each individual inhale and exhale, you should only get concerned when your dog pants at a speed of more than 40 breaths per minute.

How to Calm a Panting Dog

There are a few ways of dealing with a panting dog, but the steps you take can alter depending on the underlying cause.

Step #1: Identify The Cause

First, take some time to figure out why your dog might be panting by using the causes from earlier in this article.

Step #2: Offer Them Water

Most dogs will be receptive to water regardless of the cause of their panting. So, the first thing you should try offering is a bowl of clean, fresh water. Taking a drink might be just enough to regulate their temperature and get them to slow down and focus.

Step #3: Remove Any Stresses

As we’ve seen above, the causes of panting can sometimes be psychologically driven. As such, try and remove as many stress triggers as possible around the home from your dog.

This will of course vary depending on what triggers your dog’s stress response, so spend some time figuring out what these triggers could be and get your dog far away from them. Most dogs hate vacuum cleaners, for example, and find them extremely stressful to be around.

Step #4: Stay With Them

Unless you’re the source/cause of your dog’s stress and panting, staying close to your dog’s side is generally advised to deal with panting. Your presence, especially when you’re in a calm mindset of your own, can pass along some reassurance and much-needed relaxation.

 

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