# heavy panting after exercise



## Isabella (Apr 27, 2010)

Rex pants REALLY hard & for a long time after we play outside. The weird thing is, at the time while we're playing, he seems fine. It's once we come in & he lays down is when I notice how bad it is.
I have a big yard & he does run fast & hard. If it were up to him he would chase his ball all night but last night I cut it down to 10 minutes & he was still really out of breath. Do your dogs take a long time to catch their breath? Is this something I should be concerned about? Rex isn't even a year & a half and I'm paranoid he's got some heart condition!


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## Two (Jul 18, 2011)

Well how long are you exercising him for?
How hot is it outside?
Does he have a pool or a kiddy pool to cool off in?

He might just be over heated. Maybe go check out a vet and see what he/she has to say.


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## PaddyD (Jul 22, 2010)

Two said:


> Well how long are you exercising him for?
> How hot is it outside?
> Does he have a pool or a kiddy pool to cool off in?
> 
> He might just be over heated. Maybe go check out a vet and see what he/she has to say.


Agreed
What are the conditions? Try to back off on the exercise before you bring him in. Let him get a start on catching his breath outside. If the vet says he's OK then maybe he is a heavy breather. My previous dog was short winded and took a long time to get to non-panting. Current dog has great cardio and recovers quickly. Another thing: is your dog on the heavy side or of a stocky build? Those can contribute to slow recovery. One other thing: I go by the length of tongue I see during her exercise. I don't let it get to the lolling flopping all over the place stage.


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## yvonneglen (Sep 20, 2008)

All is can say is trust your instincts....At 1.5 yrs. old it took Bacchus forever to recover from a 15 minute session of frisbee catching (whether it was Winter, Spring, Summer or Fall; hot, cold or mild). I told myself then it was not normal then and finally have confirmation of what I surmised all along... He has a heart arrhythmia. At this point I don't know how bad it is and don't know how it's going to affect his longevity because at this point in time we have opted not to do a cardio/Echogram. From what I told there are several different H.A. a dog can have. Some you can manage with meds, some you cannot and will not have a long life. Some can live long and some won't. I will see if I can post the video I took of Bacchus so you can compare it with the symptoms that you see.

It usually takes my boy 45 minutes to 60 minutes of recovery time after a 15 minute frisbee session. Definitely not normal..


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## yvonneglen (Sep 20, 2008)

Here is a clip of Bacchus after a 15-20 minute session. His total recovery time took 45 minutes for this particular session...

If you are able to get his heart checked out I would for your peace of mind. Personally I just cannot afford $850 at this point in time. I just keep it in mind when I run him and only run him in 15 minute intervals about four times a day. I cannot take him on long walks when it's extremely hot and humid out. Last year he actually (and this was when he was 1.5 yrs. old) stopped and refused to walk any longer. And this was no a power walk either with my two little children in a jogging stroller. It was a leisurely walk.


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