excessive panting in older dog

Question
Hi - my 15yr old golden pants excessively during the day and night.  It's almost like he is out of breath or needs water.  He has water available and is not out of breathe from exercise, etc.  Is there a reason for this or anything I can do for him.  It isn't a problem for us until night time, when it is hard to sleep over his panting.  Thanks for any info you can give us - Donna

Answer
Hi Donna!  This sounds like uncanny symptoms of Congestive Heart Disease. This is so very common in older dogs. What happens is, the pulminary sacs around the heart fills with fluid.  This fluid causes pressure on the heart and lungs, which makes the performance of the lungs limited, especially when the dog is laying down.  You will need to take him to your veterinarian to get a medication called Lasix. What Lasix does, is it literally dries that fluids from the pulminary sacs, ending all that pressure on the heart and lungs.  Lasix is then given every day.
Don't panic...my family's dog when I was a child was diagnosed with this at 13 years of age, and lived very happily and healthily until the age of 18.  This is not a death sentence, as it can be controlled with medication.  It's most important to get him on that medication as soon as possible.  The sooner he gets the Lasix, the sooner he'll be feeling alot better!
I hope this has helped and please keep me posted as to how he does.
Hilary