Why is my dog breathing heavy after an accident three weeks ago?

Question

I have a two year old American Bulldog that was hit by a pick-up truck three weeks ago. I took her to the vet and there were no broken bones just minor scrapes. The vet checked her and said she was fine. This past week I noticed my dog breathing hard and heavy, at night it's hard for me to sleep because her breathing is so loud. The vet tells me she is fine but I don't think so. Are there any vets that can tell me why she may be like this?

Answer 1

If your vet is telling you that she's fine, I'd be taking her to another vet. What do her gums look like? They should be nice and pink, and moist. If they are pale, or have a slight blue tinge to them, that vet visit needs to be done ASAP. Given that she's in some degree of respiratory distress, she really needs to have chest x-rays done. Did your current vet do anything like that at the time of her accident?

It's possible, as someone else said, that she may have something like a pneumothorax- this is where the lung tissue is damaged and allows air to leak into the chest cavity, which stops the lung inflating properly. This can occur very slowly, and may explain why she is only having problems now.

Other possibilities would include pulmonary contusions (bruising of the lungs), or something like a diaphragmatic hernia- this occurs when the diaphragm is damaged (very, very common in road accidents!) and allows some of the abdominal organs to be pushed through into the chest cavity, again stopping the lungs from expanding properly. Another possibility would be that she has fluid in her lungs or chest.

It may be too that it's not related to her accident, but if it were me seeing her, I'd certainly want to be getting a better idea of what is going on in her chest. Particularly as some of the conditions I've mentioned require surgery, or at the very least a chest drain if they don't start resolving.

Heavy breathing like that can also be indicative of heart problems, but in a young adult dog I'd consider that far less likely.

Hope that she recovers soon.

Answer 2

We once had a dog who started crying everytime we moved her and she just laid around. The vet said he could not find anything. It continued and we took her to another vet. Turns out she had been bitten by a snake on her face. We went through some touchy times with her. You know your dog!!! If YOU think something is wrong, take her somewhere else! It could save her life!!!

Answer 3

I would agree with checking with another vet. There are several things that could have happened, from fluid buildup as a result of the accident to bruising or other compromise of the chest.

Answer 4

If this is a new thing, it is not a good thing. You knoiw your dog and is depending on you to knoiw it. Did you do any X-rays? Can you find a Vet that has digital X-ray equipment? That shows and tells all if there is anything funky. Maybe she has a punctured lung or something? Good luck.

Answer 5

Go to a different vet or emergency animal shelter RIGHT AWAY. it sounds like she may have fluid in or around her lungs. She may not have had it there before. But you need a second opinion. It could be serious.

Answer 6

On possiblilty is pnemnothorax - any injury to the lung causes air to leak from lung into surrounding chest. That make it hard to inflate the lungs with air to use breathing.
Now I'm sure there are 101 other possibliities that I don't know of.

Answer 7

She has probably thrown a clot that is in her lungs. You need to see a different vet right away. It can be very deadly.

Answer 8

I think you should go to a different vet. This doesn't sound normal.

Answer 9

have the dogs lungs checked and have them do x rays just because her lungs sound clear doesn't mean she doesn't have a broken rib or a bruise one. good luck

Answer 10

Something similar happened to me with a much smaller breed. My vet told me that it is an indication of pain. I gave my dog liquid children's aspirin. He is doing much better.