panting

Question
My 3 year old yorkie has recently begun panting excessively, even in his sleep. I have taken him to his vet who did a chest x-ray, blood work (not back yet) and listened to his heart.  He was not panting during his trip to the vet. It does seem to occur most when he is at rest, and and it occurs quite frequently - off and on every day. He is currently asleep at my feet, panting and breathing irregularly. The vet didn't seem concerned about it and said he looks fine. I am still not convinced.Can we be overlooking something?

Answer
Gini,

Thanks for letting me know.  Can I ask why you would give me a rating of 5 for knowledgeability?  Considering you left out 4 of the 5 symptoms was there some reason you thought I could have answered the question better?  Everyone on this site is a volunteer and the only reward I get is helping other people.  I rarely receive a score lover than a 9 so I was very distressed that you gave me a 5.  I just want to know what you think I could have done better.

Thanks,

Melinda
Gini,

If you trust your vet then I would take my cues from him.  If you don't trust him a second opinion may be necessary.  It would be very difficult for me to determine what could be the problem especially since I cannot see the actual event.  Your definition of panting may be different than mine.  The reason the vet could not tell what the problem was is probably for that very reason.  If however, the panting continues and all of the test come back normal there would be only one thing I can think of that could possible cause the symptoms you are describing.  Small dogs are prone to seizures.  The signs of a seizure can range from mild panting to severe panting, drooling and abnormal twisting of the limbs.

Seizures in dogs can occur on a daily basis or only occasionally.  Usually the more frequently the seizures the milder they seem to be.  Since you say he is doing the panting several times a day it is possible that he is having mini seizures.  Unfortunately, unless your vet were to see the seizure in action it cannot be diagnosed.  There is no blood test or any other kind of test to tell if the dog has a seizure disorder.  There is also no cure.  I only had one dog over the years that had severe seizures.  They were managed with a daily dose of phenol barbital.  While it did cut down on the number of seizures it did not stop them completely.  Each time they have a seizure there is the possibility of damaging the heart muscle.  Bless her little heart, she died in my arms at the age of 9 while having a heart attack.

I know this is probably not what you wanted to hear but it is just the way it is.  If your vet finds that the blood work comes back normal you may want to discuss the possibility of seizures with him.  Be aware though that if he seems uncooperative you may want to seek a second opinion.  Don't second guess yourself, you are his mommy and if there is something wrong with him you know it in your gut.  You owe it to yourself and your baby to follow your instincts and fight to find out what is wrong.  Good Luck and if you find out what it is I would appreciate you letting me know so I can pass it along to my readers.