I have an almost tricolor spaniel dog. Black, white, a touch of brown. She is ¾ cavalier, ¼ cocker. I’ve had her since 8 weeks and now she is 2. My concern is her breathing pattern after activity. Here is her story, included some random facts about her life to hopefully make sense of the issue.
When I got her, I took her hiking immediately and she was able to do 5 miles/1200 ft hike with no problem.
At some point, she started getting a shortness of breath while getting exercise. She’s like that on a one mile slow paced walk. We just did a one mile slow paced walk and she was breathing faster than my other two dogs on the hike and didn’t catch her breath until 5 minutes in the house. When I do a 5 mile hike with her it can take her an hour to catch her breathe. She doesn’t stop on the trails, although when I stop to give her water she lies on her stomach and drinks more than the other two dogs I have. Generally, she drinks much more than the other two.
She eats the same amount as my other similar sized dog, yet she seems to poop a whole lot less than the other! She has allergies like my other two dogs. I just started her on some medication. Her breathing pattern does not appear to have changed since the medication started. The medication seems to have helped the allergies slightly, if at all.
I took her to the doctor. Everything I said to him he said sounded like a thyroid issue. All the blood tests came back negative. He did think she was a tad overweight. She has a small build, and I’ve gotten her down from 16 to 15 pounds in two weeks by decreasing her food (Orijen) and increasing her daily walks. I think her weight is just average at this point, not overweight. I’ll probably get her to 14 pounds and let it stay at that range.
Does anyone else out there have an overexcited dog? I’ve had her heart checked by many doctors and no one can hear any murmur. One doctor felt fast breathe for an hour was normal, another said anything over a few minutes wasn’t normal. I have a ½ cocker ½ cavalier the same age that gets excited walking and seeing people but doesn’t experience any shortness of breathe
I want to keep exercising her but am unsure when I’m exercising versus over exerting her.
When I got her, I took her hiking immediately and she was able to do 5 miles/1200 ft hike with no problem.
At some point, she started getting a shortness of breath while getting exercise. She’s like that on a one mile slow paced walk. We just did a one mile slow paced walk and she was breathing faster than my other two dogs on the hike and didn’t catch her breath until 5 minutes in the house. When I do a 5 mile hike with her it can take her an hour to catch her breathe. She doesn’t stop on the trails, although when I stop to give her water she lies on her stomach and drinks more than the other two dogs I have. Generally, she drinks much more than the other two.
She eats the same amount as my other similar sized dog, yet she seems to poop a whole lot less than the other! She has allergies like my other two dogs. I just started her on some medication. Her breathing pattern does not appear to have changed since the medication started. The medication seems to have helped the allergies slightly, if at all.
I took her to the doctor. Everything I said to him he said sounded like a thyroid issue. All the blood tests came back negative. He did think she was a tad overweight. She has a small build, and I’ve gotten her down from 16 to 15 pounds in two weeks by decreasing her food (Orijen) and increasing her daily walks. I think her weight is just average at this point, not overweight. I’ll probably get her to 14 pounds and let it stay at that range.
Does anyone else out there have an overexcited dog? I’ve had her heart checked by many doctors and no one can hear any murmur. One doctor felt fast breathe for an hour was normal, another said anything over a few minutes wasn’t normal. I have a ½ cocker ½ cavalier the same age that gets excited walking and seeing people but doesn’t experience any shortness of breathe
I want to keep exercising her but am unsure when I’m exercising versus over exerting her.
