Question
Ivonna
Hi, I have a three year old pomeranian named Ivonna. She is very sweet but I do spoil and baby her too much. She sleeps with me at night in my bed. I have noticed here lately when she is asleep, she will start breathing very heavily and making a deep noise and then she will wake up still making the noise and breathing heavily looking around like she can't find me. I will soothe her and rub her and tell her it is alright and kiss her and then everything will be normal again. But it has happend almost every night now for a couple of weeks. Can my pomeranian be having an anxiety attack? Also, I bought her a pillow (heart-shaped) to lay on in my bed. She lays on it and will start nursing on it and eventually fall asleep and her still nursing on it. Is that normal and does that have anything to do with her "anxiety"? Thank you so much!
AnswerHi Danielle,
Dogs can develop anxiety over stressful situations, such as thunderstorms, or being left alone. Signs of stress and anxiety can often be: excessive drooling, shivering, moaning, panting, whining, or reluctance to move.
Ivonna's heavy breathing and sounds that go along with the breathing might not be anxiety or confusion, it may be part of a larger issue. You need to look beyond the breathing incidents and get a baseline evaluation of your dog's heart and lung health. The strange breathing sounds might be happening during short periods where your dog's heart beat is irregular, the heart also helps govern the amount of oxygen in the lungs.
Please have your veterinarian examine Ivonna, which at the every least will give you peace of mind.
Nursing behavior can be a clue that your dog did not complete the weaning process with proper support. Often this happens when pets were taken from their mother too soon. Nursing is a coping strategy the dog turns to when feeling stressed. Like all coping behaviors, we can guide and direct the dog to better ones by reducing their stress and coming up with behaviors that will work better in our home. One simple way of relieving a dog's stress level is to increase the amount of exercise she gets each day. Just one extra walk, or a good run in a park will go a long way to help. Just have your dog checked out by your vet first, given her breathing issue.
Best of luck,
Patti
Nutrition & Health
Question
Peek-A-Boo!
Hello! I am new to owning small br
Large dog with possible poison ivy
Question
Guero
My poor dog has led a rough life to date
10 week old Pitbull Pup
Question
Ares
I have a few questions =]
Why does he ke
Temperature before birth
QuestionQUESTION: My female cheweenie is on day 52 of h
Agression towards kids
Question
Holly Daze
I have a 2.5yo Silky Terrier. She i
