My dog can't breathe when she lays down, is there any way to make her comfortable enough to sleep sitting up?

Question

My dog has a problem with her lungs and recently it has started acting up very badly. She is breathing very quickly and she can only breathe if she is sitting up with her head up in the air to get a clear passage to her lungs. She can't lay down or she starts coughing. The vet says we have to wait for her to naturally drain the fluid from her lungs, so it will take some time. She hasn't slept for 3 days though, and she doesn't eat anything she only drinks. Is there a way that I can make her comfortable enough while sitting up so that she can still breathe but she is able to lean and possibly finally get some sleep? Please help any idea is appreciated.

I apologize, when I said pass naturally I did mean with the help of medication. She takes a pill that is supposed to help her pee, and apparently this is supposed to drain the fluid somehow. To answer some questions the vet was concerned with how pale her gums were, but he said her tongue was pink and as long as it stayed pink and didn't turn blue it was ok. He did an xray and a blood test as well.

Answer 1

I don't understand exactly what is the health problems your dog has and why is the Vet not doing more? Is it that nothing can be done to help your dog breathe easier? I don't know how you would get your dog to sleep 'propped' up so it could breathe? You need more help, I think, than what you can get here.

Answer 2

There are medications out there that can rid her lungs of the fluid faster. I can't understand why your vet has said that she would naturally get rid of the fluid. it is a serious prob for dogs if they cannot breathe. You should be checking her gum color and it should be pink. if it is white, plae or blue than that is a sign of distress, and you should contact your local emergency center. As far as some ideas to get her to sleep sternal (sitting up/laying down on chest.) try making her a little "bunker" to sleep in with pillows, and such so that she is positioned into something more comfortable. I would call your vet and talk to them about some medications that you can use. Have you had an xray checked? there are also medications that you can use to control the coughing, but they will also make her drowsy as well. This may not always be a good thing, as you wont be able to tell if she is uncomfortable since she will be groggy. Good luck, and I would seek a 2nd opinion if your vet doesn't help you further.

Answer 3

I'm amazed at your vet. Call him and ask what you can do to assist the dog in getting the fluid to drain. There are ways to palpate a human to encourage phlegm to break up. There may be some way to help dogs cough it up.

Ask the dog if it should still be going on like this after 3 days. Did the vet give her ANY meds ??? ANY kind of treatment??? If not, you might want to check with another vet for a 2nd opinion.

Give the dog things like chicken broth to get more nutrients into her.
Don't worry about solids right now. Push liquids with nutrient value. You can make some beef broth by boiling ground beef in water and feed her that as well. Gets her protein.

You can't get her to just sleep sitting up, which might help, so try holding her in a sitting position to see if she'll sleep in your arms during the day.

Answer 4

"Also, I haven't saw a doctor yet because I want to see if it's nothing too serious before I have to freaking spend a ton of money on an appointment that may be useless" So you would accept the opinion of John Q. Public over whether you live a long healthy life, or die of asthma? You are likely to be allergic to something at home, and something has happened in the last couple of weeks to make the symptoms worse. Try and spend a week at a relatives' house that has no cats or dogs. See how this cramping goes then. Then once you find those wonderful bundles of fun are causing your symptoms, what will you do then?

Answer 5

My dog does this too! She can hardly sleep on her stomach because it is hard to breathe. She has sort of gotten used to it. If that is possible....
You might be able to put some pillows in a corner somewhere so that she can lean up against them...
My dad sometimes stays up with the dog and holds her up. But there really isn't much you can do. Just give your puppy extra love and let her know she is loved. It's hard for her and as long as you keep petting her, talking to her, etc. she will be fine.

Good luck!

Answer 6

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Answer 7

I don't know all the details of your dog's condition. Is it overweight? How old is it? I feel sorry for it and you! I hope I am not sounding mean but, if it is suffering, it needs to be put to sleep. That would be the most humane thing to do. Yes, I do have a dog I love very much, and yes I did have to put a dog of mine to sleep. It was suffering and I did not want to see it suffer any more!

Answer 8

Try sitting her up at the edge of the couch (up agents the arm of the couch) with some pillows on each side of her and maybe a light blanket : )
But you will have to watch her of course just incase she falls off or something. I don’t know if this will work I never had to try it. But if it doesn’t you should just hold her on your lap so she can sleep if you don’t have that type of time. To bad hold her any ways. If she is going to get better her body needs to sleep all though you probably already knew that. I hope that nasty liquid will drain very soon! I wish you all the luck! : )

Answer 9

dog breathe lays comfortable sleep sitting

Answer 10

Maybe you could hold her over your shoulder or against your chest, and she might sleep that way. Or you could use some pillows to prop her up so she's in a sitting position....I have a sectional couch and my dog wedges himself in the corner with the pillows holding him up- you could do the same thing, and try to use big pillows to prop her up. Poor girl! I hope she gets better soon.