A sleeping dog usually takes 15 to 30 breaths per minute. If your senior dog pants at night or breathes faster than 30 at rest, here are the 5 common causes, the emergency signs, and how to count breaths at home.
If your senior dog is panting at night, first count their breaths while they sleep. A healthy dog takes about 15 to 30 breaths per minute while asleep, and VCA Animal Hospitals advises calling your vet if it is consistently over 30. Common causes are pain, a room that is too warm, anxiety or dementia, heart or lung problems, and Cushing's disease or steroids. Blue, gray or pale gums, collapse, or a dog who cannot lie down needs a vet now.
Go to an emergency vet now for: blue, gray or pale gums, heavy open-mouth breathing at rest, collapse, noisy breathing, a dog who cannot lie down, or sudden confusion.
Call your vet today if the panting is new, happens night after night, or comes with coughing, not eating, more thirst or pain.
1. Wait until your dog is fully asleep and calm.
2. Watch the chest or belly. One rise and one fall count as one breath.
3. Count for 30 seconds, then multiply by 2.
4. Write it down. Check a few nights in a row.
5. If it is often over 30 or keeps rising, call your vet.
1. Pain. Arthritis, back pain and dental pain often show up as panting, restlessness and getting up and down at night.
2. Too warm. Thick bedding, a warm bedroom or a heavy coat can make an older dog pant.
3. Anxiety and dementia. Storms, being left alone and canine cognitive dysfunction (dog dementia) can cause night panting, pacing and confusion, often in the evening.
4. Heart or lung problems. Heart disease can make breathing harder when lying down.
5. Cushing's disease or medicines. Cushing's disease (too much cortisol) and steroid medicines such as prednisone commonly cause heavy panting, often with more thirst and peeing.
Panting and pacing: pain, anxiety or dementia are common.
Panting and drinking a lot of water: Cushing's disease, kidney disease or medicines are possible. Our free water calculator helps you see how much is too much.
Panting and coughing: heart or airway problems are possible. Call your vet.
Panting and not eating: pain, nausea or illness. Call your vet today.
1. Cool the room and offer a thinner bed or a cooling mat, with fresh water nearby.
2. Keep the room calm. A night light can help confused dogs.
3. Count the sleeping breathing rate and write it down.
4. Check the gums: they should be pink and wet.
5. Do not give human pain medicine. Many are toxic to dogs.
6. Record a short video for your vet.
A cooling mat: Bedsure ArcticMax Cooling Mat for Large Dogs (breathable cooling fiber, non-slip base).
A camera to see night panting: Furbo 360° Dog Camera (1080p live view, two-way audio, color night vision, basic features without a subscription).
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Expect an exam of the heart, lungs, joints and mouth, often with blood and urine tests, and sometimes chest X-rays or hormone tests.
Related guides
Recognizing senior dog dementia symptoms at night
Calming nighttime anxiety and cognitive decline in senior dogs
Old dog shaking and acting weird: what to check first
Why is my old dog panting at night when it isn't hot? Pain, anxiety, dementia, heart or lung disease and Cushing's disease are common reasons.
How many breaths per minute is normal for a sleeping dog? About 15 to 30, according to VCA Animal Hospitals.
Is panting at night a sign of dying? Not by itself. Many causes can be treated, but new heavy panting should always be checked.
Can dementia cause panting at night? Yes. Dogs with cognitive dysfunction often pant and pace at night.
Sources: VCA Animal Hospitals – Home Breathing Rate Evaluation; Ridgefield Veterinary Center – Why Is My Dog Panting Excessively at Night?; Snider Veterinary Services – Dog Panting at Night.
This guide is educational and does not replace advice from your veterinarian.
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