My Dog is Excessive Panting at Night
Dogs do pant habitually from time to time. Many cartoons portray this sign for a hungry dog, waiting for a bone or a meat piece. However, in actual life, dogs pant for many reasons. One of them is to cool down when it’s warm. Although, if they pant at night, it may be an anxiety problem.
Why Do Dogs Pant?
There are a lot of reasons why dogs pant. In many situations, it is found that dogs panting is absolutely not an important thing to look at. However, there are many situations where a dog panting can be a sign of it being stressed or anguished. Listed below are some common causes for your dog panting:
- Exchange of Heat: Dogs pant just because they want to cool down. So, it is very normal for them to pant while they cool down. Sweat glands are missing in dogs. They don’t have a physical ability to sweat. This is the reason; their body allows them to cool down by exchanging heat through their bodies. If you notice that the weather is particularly hot, then you might see your dog panting.
- Stress: Dogs can also feel stressed. Panting can help dogs relieve stress and can calm them down. You might see the dog gasping for breath if they feel stressed out. Stress may also happen to dogs at the time of shedding, hiding or if they are trying to escape. If you see that your dog is showing this symptom you have started to pant. It might be because the dog is stressed out.
- Anxiety: Sometimes you might see your dog panting at night, this may be because the dog is anxious. The dog who is anxious will often feel nervous and stressed and would also start pacing or repositioning its body along with continuous panting.
Why Do Dogs Pant At Night?
When a dog pants at night it is an entirely different situation than panting during the day. If your dog is pacing and panting at night it can disturb your sleep. You would feel that there is something terribly wrong with your dog. This can happen because of the reasons which is stated below
- Stress: If you see your dog panting at night it is most likely because of anxiety and stress. When your pet is stressed out, they face a lot of difficulty while sleeping. They become very anxious about the surroundings around them and then it likely affects them and they show disruptive behavior during the night. CBD is one of the good ways in which you can help your dog de-stress.
Listed below are some reasons why your dog could be stressed during night:
- New Environment or Life Change: Dogs are very similar like the humans when it comes to getting affected with stress. Even a slightest change in the environment can lead to a very upset pet. When you are making a change to your lifestyle, it is a big change in your life because of your choice. However, the changes you made affect your dog even though it is not a decision your dog has made.
- Unhappy Home Environment: There are many homes which have an abusive owner and a very unhappy surrounding. Even dogs get stressed by continuous yelling. A home with a happy environment can reduce the stress of your dog.
- New Owner: If you are adopting a grown-up dog and want to give them a second chance. It may be a good decision. However, it causes a lot of stress to the dog’s life. A new owner is good but a new home and adjusting to the lifestyle of the new owner causes a lot of stress. Living with a new person and gradually adjusting to them takes time. You can try taking your dog to play in a park or walk to help him to adjust to you and your lifestyle.
- Allergy: Stress is one of the major reasons for dogs panting at night but there is another thing which affects the dog’s panting. One of the other reasons is allergy.
Allergic to New Food or Something in the Environment: Dogs do react to many things, which they are allergic to and show different symptoms. One of the symptoms which they show when they have an allergy is panting. If you see your dog panting during night it is not always stressed. It might be that your dog is allergic to some things. You can try using Salmon oil as a supplement and add it to your dog’s food as it can reduce the allergy in your dog.
- Anxiety: Another reason why the dogs might be restless and start to pant is anxiety. There might be a few reasons why your dogs might feel anxious and might pant is because:
- Separation Anxiety: Your dog can be restless and may face anxiety because of separation from you. Most pets get really stressed in these conditions and start to pant. If they are allotted a separate place to sleep you might see that your dog has started to pant as they feel anxious about the condition.
- More likely in Older Dogs: (Anxiety) mainly common in dogs of old age as their physical and mental capability decreases with age. This when added to the age increases the anxiousness in the dog making it quite anxious.
- New People and Party Situation: Many dogs are comfortable with socializing with people around them while others are not that friendly. However, even the friendliest of the dogs can become stressed out with the situation where there are people who are partying and making loud noises. This would keep them stimulated and even worried during night.
What to Do with a Panting or Anxious Dog?
Make efforts and create an environment which is calm and peaceful for your dog. This can help your dog to have a good night’s sleep. It will also reduce anxiety in them and thus will reduce their panting during night time.
