Panting Puppy

by Theresa

Hello. I have a litter of Sheltie pups that are 3 weeks old today. One of the males today starting breathing heavy like a short fast breaths.

I have taken the puppy to the vet twice. He says his heart and lungs sound good. Today he gave him constipation meds and checked to see if there was an obstruction. He didn't see anything abnormal.

The puppy doesn't want to feed on the mom. I have been supplementing them with firstborn baby puppy formula. He acted a little listless yesterday but is walking and awake today. He doesn't have cauxsidia or worms.

I'm so worried. Do you have any suggestions or ideas of what could be causing him this problem. Thanks for your help and advice.

Vet Suggestion for a Panting Puppy

Hi Theresa,

I’m afraid I don’t have too much to suggest since I haven’t performed a physical exam myself on your pup. You say he doesn’t have any intestinal parasites. Is this based on multiple negative fecal exams? If not, it surely wouldn’t hurt to treat him (and his littermates) with a dewormer like pyrantel and maybe even consider giving him a broad spectrum antibiotic (talk to your vet first, though).

Concentrate your efforts on making sure that he is getting adequate nutrition. You might even want to remove him from the litter and his mom, continue giving him the puppy formula, and start offering him watered down canned puppy food. Once he is eating well, you can switch completely to canned puppy food and water.
If his condition deteriorates, bring him back in to your vet.

Good luck. This pup is lucky to have you looking out for him!

Jennifer Coates, DVM