Lately I’ve been getting some questions concerning if your Pomeranian is having trouble breathing and what you should do. Most of the time Pomeranians look like there breathing hard but because they are an “excitable” dog, they tend to breath hard or very fast. This should not be mistaken that for “labored” breathing… which is difficulty breathing. Both my furry babies Mika and Luka used to have a really hard time with reverse sneezing and it would look like something awful but was really nothing to worry about. I wrote this to help you as a Pommy Mommy distinguish between what is serious and what is not… and I included a video at the bottom for you to watch.
If you suspect that your Pomeranian is having trouble breathing, don’t panic but definitely monitor it because breathing problems can become serious very fast. I would absolutely recommend that you take your Pom to the Vet as soon as the breathing problem looks more serious than heavy panting.
There are two terms that you should be familiar with when it comes to breathing problems that concern your Pomeranian. 1. Dyspnoea, which just means “labored breathing” or difficulty breathing. 2. Tachypnea, which means extremely fast breathing
Signs that your Pomeranian is having trouble breathing
- You may see both the belly and chest moving at the same time as your Pom takes a breath
- Your Poms nostril may be flaring
- You may witness your Pomeranian breathing with an open mouth
- Your Pom may be breathing while what looks like a football stance (with elbows out to the side)
- Raspy breathing
- you Pom may be breathing very fast
- Weird sounding or very hallow breathss
- Coughing, hacking or choking sounds
What may be causing my Pomeranian’s breathing difficulties?
There may be various reasons your Pomeranian may have trouble breathing. They may include:
- An Infection (bacterial, viral, parasitic)
- Recent trauma
- Bleeding
- Ingestion of foreign objects
- Symptoms of heart failure or heart problems
- Anemia
- Some allergies
- Acute Pain
- Fever
- Diseases that make the belly enlarged or bloated (such as enlarged liver, stomach filled with air (bloat) or fluid in the belly)
- Some medications
- Tumors
What happens when you bring your Pomeranian to the Vet
Your Vet most likely will ask you several questions about your Pom’s health about your dog’s health, When the signs of the breathing problems began and probable causes of why this may be happening… did your Pomeranian do something, eat something, play around something the he could have eaten, swallowed or fell from? Most Vets will take out their stethoscope and listen for any abnormalities in your Pom’s chest, such as heart murmurs or fluid in the lungs. Then they will check your furry baby’s gums to make sure that oxygen is flowing and being delivered efficiently to all the organs of his little body. This is also a good way for the Vet to check if your Pom has anemia, which is a low red blood cell count. It may be a little disturbing to you, but your Vet may press on the windpipe to get your Pom to cough and see if there is an obstruction in the throat. In some cases that your Pomeranain may be having very severe problems breathing, either the Vet or a vet tech will whisk your Pom to the back in order to get him oxygen to to help him breathe and calm down before there is any more examining to be done.
Expect to have the Vet tell you that they will need to draw blood to test for underlying conditions, an x-ray to see if there are any obstructions, fluid build up, or broken bones that may be contributing to his breathing difficulty.
A Pomeranian with difficulty breathing is something to be taken seriously and as a Pommy Mommy it is our responsibility to make sure that we know the signs of just excitement or a very serious situation.
If your Pomeranian does show signs of an obstruction, broken bones, fluid in the lungs or any of the symptoms above, he will most likely be admitted to your Veterinarian’s Hospital to be monitored or treated until his breathing improves.
Here’s a video by Dr. Greg Martinez, DVM that shows a Pomeranian named Mariah who came in to see him having problems breathing:
Please use this blog post as a reference guide and not expert medical advice. Pommy Mommy recommends that if your Pomeranian has difficulty breathing that you seek the advice of your Veterinarian. You can check out The Top 5 Pomeranian Health Issues by clicking the link.
14 comments
Thanks for the great educational video! Scary and glad I haven’t experienced any of those symptoms but it’s good to know what to watch for!!
Thank you, good to know!!!
Thank you–sometimes my pommy start hacking but I always thought it was allergies–he doesn’t do it alot but I will keep my on him regarding breathing…thanks for the article…very informative
Thank you–sometimes my pommy start hacking but I always thought it was allergies–he doesn’t do it alot but I will keep my on him regarding breathing…thanks for the article…very informative
just lost my lovely little soul last week with heart failure.Heartbreaking watching her struggle for breath.she was fitted with a pacemaker two years ago but this time the vet could not save her.
Thank you so much I find coconut oil helps….and always a harness when walking your pom……..also my little one has pink skin and very thin hair…..is their any hope….her blood work is fine!….
Thank you
Pomny Mommy
ok now if i get another pom pom then i know what to do if this is happening
i just went trough with this with my dog pumkin at first it was diagnosed as acute bronchitis, treated him for that for months, had second opinion with the same results, than this year the day before thanksgiving took him to the vet for a check up (because they are closed for the week end and wanted to make sure he was ok) the vet gave him a shot of lasick (double dose because he was coughing more than usual, which he is doing this week too) which on the way home he went into a frenzee screaming from pain, i was driving could not help him only trying to calm him down took him to a emmergency clinic to find out he did not have any sign of acute bronchitis (which i was told “acute bronchitis” never goes away, but here in the test they did he did not have any sign of it, but he had an enlarged heart which pushed on his trachea and one valve of the heart was leaking so he was on an oxygen tent from five pm till six am, one of the vet on duties said he was doing fine and did not need any more oxygen, was a crazy time because one said one thing the other said another thing the first vet that saw pumkin came back on duties and she would not let me take him home unless she did another test and said if he had problem breething to take him back in right away, which tank god he did not, i just took him back to have another check up x-rays for the lungs and heart, and blood test, and according to the vet (i saw the x-ray just like the video you just showed) and it showed the heart still kind of big, his trachea was opened up more do to the shrinking of the heart, the fluids were less, so he is on lasix, tussigon and analapril unfortunatelly this last couple of days he is coughing more and if he keeps it up here we go again, not sure what really is going on or iam worried too much, but it is weird that i just had a good vet visit and here he is again coughing more than he did before i took him in for the check up! thank you for the video, made me understand even more because this vet pin pointed all the body parts of the dog, my vet only showed me and pin pointed the heart the trachea and the fluids (black area) thank you!! please put more videos like this it helps! angela
Is coconut oil good for their cough? My little Abbi,coughs extremely bad in the a.m.she isn’t eating as well as she did,I feel that it hurts her throat when coughing,I do know it hurts me to hear her cough,they gave me some medication for her cough,VET,states it is her trechea causing the cough,I don’t want to loose my little girl,she is my partner in my life,we’ve been together since she was 6 mths.old.Any suggestions,one lady said give her butter,didn’t sound right,I know I would not like greasey substance going down my throat.She is very smart,I’ll give her the meds,she’ll pretend to take,then when I’m not watching,out it comes,have tried mixing with cheese,peanut butter,her food,believe me she knows! HELP,Pommy Mommy!
My little guy is snorting breathing u think that’s a problem???
This was very helpful! My Nemo sometimes does the heavy panting usually at rest and it concerns me. Im gonna be bringing him in for a checkup.
My Pom had the shot to prevent Kennel cough and 3 days later my Pom was having problems breathing. She was honking and could not catch a breath. I took her to the vet and they put her on oxygen. Kept her on that all day and released her to me. Did no tests. And said that She was fat and that was what was causing her breathing problem. She put her on a steriod and cough med. with codine. The next two days and night were really rough. She could not sleep as she could not breathe. It has been a week now and still she will have spells of hard breathing. My pom has extra thick fur and gets over heated real fast. She is two pounds over her weight limit. She weighs 8 pounds. She probably weighs less now due to not eatting during her bad spells. We also put her on decongestant meds and that really seems to help. She was sneezing a lot. She is 6 years old. Is there anything else I can do to help her through the bad times?
My beautiful girl had a bad breathing problem come about last summer.
Her breathing became very very laboured and her tongue swelled (I didnt actually notice this until it went down) I was too focused on her breathing.
Anyhow vet gave her an injection and seemed to help so after a week I went back for the long term injection while I searched for allergy related things in my area, I pulled up the vegies growing in my small courtyard (pumpkin and tomato mostly)
I scrubbed her bedding and washed her (twice) brushed and groomed and trimmed her within an inch of her life to lighten the load of her coat …… I gave her dog vitamins and castor oil in her food (not every time and never very much)
It all worked …. I wouldnt say it was any one thing (altho I trust the vet gave her the right meds) but ALL of those things together made my little D well
I think its a summertime thing for my girl she’s almost 13 now ….. I suffer allergies since we moved here and I expect its caught up to her as well
My poor Loki is 10 years old and 18 lbs. just started having problems with a collapsing trachea and an enlarged heart 2 weeks ago. Dr. Gave him some cough tabs that helped a bit. It seemed that diffusing doterra breathe oil would help him calm his breathing a bit enough to rest. Now he is on a diet and feeling mic happier