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Expert: - 9/6/2011


Question
My cavalier recently started doing something weird. About a week ago, he started breathing extremely fast at about 5pm, lasting through the night (and his snoring was fast too.) The next day, when he awoke, he was better. That night, around the same time, he did it again, and it's been happening all week.

Here is some background: 5PM is right after he eats, he's been in the vet recently for air licking (also called flylicking/biting), he has is anal gland squeezed monthly (infected) and he recently had an ear infection.

Please help, the vet is stumped.

Answer
Well Josh, I am not a vet, but I have some suggestions for you. I don't know his age, but eating at 5 pm is a bit late for a dog as they get older.

Eating one large meal is also hard on their gut and presses on the diaphragm as they lie down. It's possible that he is having a hard time breathing due to this. Breathing fast, like panting, can be a sign of pain. If his gut is full and he is overweight also, he could really be in pain when he breathes.

I would suggest that you split his meal into two feedings, one in the morning and one at night. Feed him the same amount, or less if he is overweight, and just split the full sized meal into the two time frames.

This could help a lot. Another thing could be what he is eating. If you recently changed his food, it might not be agreeing with him and causing him some discomfort. The air licking could also be from this discomfort.

It's worth trying as a starting point. If it doesn't help, then you might want to see about what he is eating, or have the vet run some tests, such as a blood panel and do an xray of his digestive tract. Could be other things that are causing this, but it sounds like it's food related either directly or indirectly. If there is a mass or such in his gut the full stomach might press on that and cause pain until he digests the food and the pressure goes down.

Just some ideas worth investigating.  

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Jana Connell RVT, CVT

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PLEASE READ BEFORE SUBMITTING TO ME: I am NOT a vet and do NOT diagnose diseases. That is only for a licensed Veterinarian to do. I will give you suggestions and steer you toward calling your vet for help. You can call the vet's office and talk to the technician there or the vet at times. Don't be afraid to call them! If you have a serious issue with your pet please post it to one of the veterinarians in here- I will tell you the same thing in my answer. IF your pet is injured or in an emergency situation, CALL YOUR VET- Do not wait and post in here. Just call the vet's office and get them in to see the vet right away. Critical treatment time is lost if you seek answers here when you should have your precious pet at the vets!! Don't sit at home waiting for an answer when your pet is critically ill or injured!! I can answer most questions about small animal and wildlife care as well as small animal nutrition. I can also answer questions about all phases of dental care for small animals. I DO NOT answer questions about birds (unless it is wildlife or songbirds) or HAMSTERS/GERBILS/CHINS/GUINEA PIGS/REPTILES/FROGS/RABBITS/PET BIRDS OF ANY KIND so please submit these questions to the appropriate sections. I, as well as other experts in here, do NOT do homework questions- that is for YOU to do! Please respect these rules for all of us. Thanks!

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I have over 35 years experience in the field of veterinary medicine. I specialized in small animals and did wildlife rehab for over 25 years, mostly raptors, squirrels and opossums. I am a Small Animal Nutritional Consultant with 6 certificates from Hills Pet Foods, CNM and Purina. I also specialized in Small Animal Dentistry which is a field I truly love.

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Audubon,World Wildlife Federation, American Society of Veterinary Dental Technicians.

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Licensed with California and Oregon, RVT and CVT. Certified Veterinary Dental Technician Have over 500 logged hours of Continuing Education Credits(that means I keep up to date!).

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Nominated for Expert of the Month for the last 5 years.

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