I let my Pomeranian run around the house and the yard as much as he wants and I always put a bowl of water nearby.
I usually see my Pom panting just after exercising but lately, I noticed that his panting would last until bedtime.
At first, I thought that his fast panting was just part of his personality.
Maybe he was just as much of an excitable extrovert as my cousin Herbie’s pup who never stopped talking and as a result, seemed to pant as well.
My Pomeranian breathed in short quick breaths and sometimes panted with their tongue out. He seemed to be out of breath all the time. Was this some kind of coping method rather than a personality trait?
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Why Do Pomeranians Pant So Much?
There are many reasons why your Pomeranian pants so much including the weather, bloat, anxiety, stress, Cushing’s Disease, dehydration, a collapsed trachea, enlarged heart, and others.
Here I made a list of everything that could be causing your Pomeranian to pant excessively. I hope this helps you know the reasons behind it, what could be causing it, and whether or not you need to make an appointment with the vet.
All dogs pant. This is a primary mechanism to reduce heat. The air movement when your dog pants are limited strictly in the upper airways which end up where the windpipe or trachea branches out.
Cool outside air absorbs body heat when your dog pants. This allows saliva evaporation in the airway and the mouth, lowering the temperature of the body.
Panting is a way your dog cools down. It is not very efficient because dogs have evolved to retain as much heat in their body as possible. This is also the reason dogs only sweat through their noses and paw pads.
The last thing that occurred to me was that this was any kind of medical condition. I decided to look more into the matter.
I noticed that my Pom would seem to have trouble breathing even hours after he walks across the yard.
The signs that he was having trouble became apparent. In between panting he would make choking, hacking, or coughing sounds.
Hollow breaths or weird sounds were coming from his throat. His breathing was quite fast and raspy. He sometimes breathed in a football stance with his elbows on either side.
He would breathe with his mouth open and flaring nostrils. Most of all, each time he would take a breath, both his chest and belly moved at the same time.
The Weather
Poms come from the German Spitz line, which is cold-weather working dogs. This is why their coat is dense, thick, and big. Under specific weather conditions, their pattern of breathing can become altered.
This could be the reason why your Pom pants so much, especially if you live in a warm-weather state with a lot of humidity.
You might want to cut his hair short to resolve this. Even in cold-weather states, the humidity can cause liquid to collect in their lungs, kennel cough, or even pneumonia, which I discuss in greater detail down below.
If you already cut your Pom’s hair short, all you need to do is get him a sweater for colder-than-normal days.
Bloat
When your Pom emits saliva, makes sounds like he might vomit, starts pacing, and bites his sides, he may have developed bloat. Bloat is a life-threatening condition that Pomeranians sometimes develop after eating. This requires a trip to the vet immediately.
Anxiety
Anxiety can also cause your dog to pant. When your dog feels anxious due to aching joints when there is a thunderstorm with a lot of thunder and lightning, adrenal glands produce a steroid hormone called cortisol in excessive amounts.
The extra cortisol will increase your dog’s panting, body temperature, and metabolism. It also does this when your dog is under more stress than he is used to, which I discuss below.
Stress
Stress is something that every living, breathing creature is better off without, including your Pom. Stress can have symptoms such as panting excessively and the loss of fur.
Your Pom might go through stress when exposed to thunderstorms, fireworks, or other loud noises. Big life changes can also stress out your Pomeranian.
Introducing a new family member such as a baby, a guest, or another pet into the home can cause stress to your little pooch. Isolating your dog from the source of stress is the solution.
Illness
A panting Pomeranian can be an indication of illness. Ceaseless panting can be due to kennel cough, pneumonia, lung fluid, or obesity.
If your Pom seems to be panting from the time he wakes up to the time he sleeps, schedule an appointment with the vet. Lung disease and anemia can also be the culprit. A decreased blood cell count results in anemia.
Blood cells transfer oxygen to the different tissues of the body. Oxygen deprivation is a result of severe or moderate anemia.
Escalated respiration and heavy panting are thus your Pomeranian’s natural bodily response to air deprivation. Lung disease stops the transfer of oxygen to where it needs to go. The result is harder, faster breathing from your Pom, which eventually leads to panting.
Dehydration
You can tell that your Pom is dehydrated when you notice sunken eyes, lethargy, a very dry nose, and sticky gums. Healthy noses are always a little bit wet.
Heatstroke
When my Pom spends too much time outdoors in the summer charging around the garden like a loon, his temperature sometimes gets too high to control.
When this happens and you see that he is in distress, discourage him from moving, make sure he has lots of water as you keep him calm.
Your dog might have heatstroke when he has diarrhea, vomiting, having a hard time walking, appears weak, his tongue appears bright red and there is sticky, thick saliva coming from his mouth. The inability to regulate his temperature normally and heavy panting are the first signs of heatstroke.
Cushing’s Disease
Poms are generally prone to having overactive adrenals glands that overproduce cortisol, also known as Cushing’s disease. With Cushing’s disease, your Pom will tend to drink and eat greedily, as his life depended on it, aside from panting heavily even when he is at rest.
Enlarged Heart
The reason behind sneezing and heavy panting could be an enlarged heart. If your Pom seems to run out of breath easily, the reason might be an enlarged heart.
Medication controls this condition. Once your pooch starts running around the yard with an enlarged heart again, though, you can be sure he will start panting once more.
A Collapsed Trachea
Collapsed tracheas result in a smaller breathing airway, causing excessive panting in the process. The signs of a collapsed trachea include a bluish color on his gums, difficulty breathing, honking, coughing, and heavy panting 24/7.
You will generally spot the signs of a collapsed trachea pretty early so what you can do is make an appointment with the vet as soon as you do.
Overheating
One common reason your Pom pants are because of feeling overly hot. Poms are bred from arctic dogs that are used to pull sleds.
Their coat has an outer and an inner portion. The job of a Pom’s inner coat is to keep him warm.
It is normal to see your Pom pant after exercising or on a hot day. Dogs have sweat glands inside their ears and on their paws.
These glands can only cool him a little bit. When I walk my Pom out in hot weather, take frequent water breaks or stay under the shade often to prevent him from panting.
What Can I Do To Alleviate My Pomeranian’s Panting?
The first thing I made sure to do to lessen my Pom’s panting was to keep his weight stable. Poms are a smaller breed with a low metabolism.
Do not overfeed them no matter how cute they look when they beg for food. Breathing issues are common among obese Poms, so remember to feed him just the right amount and no more than that.
Poms with tracheas that have collapsed will pant more than usual. Having this condition is a common health problem among Pomeranians. Usually, walking them with a dog harness that does not pull on their necks is a good way to reduce panting.
If the cause of your Pomeranian’s panting is an enlarged heart, it can be hard to lessen his panting.
Ask the advice of a veterinarian who might even suggest a surgical procedure. Try and find other ways to alleviate your Pom’s panting so that you can take your time deciding about surgery.
You can also reduce your Pomeranian’s panting by giving him/her a haircut. I know, I know, our Poms are super cute when they puff up with all that hair–and they know it, too!
The thing, the same thing that causes your Pom to be super cute can also cause overheating and heavy panting. Remove any clothing your Pom is wearing.
Conclusion
I hope this list I put together for you gave you an insight into why your Pom pants. Here I discussed the issues that I experienced with my own Pomeranian and added in all the research I found that explained why he seemed to pant even at rest. I hope this helps you get to the bottom of why your Pomeranian pants and what to do about it.
