Hi, I have a question about my 2 year old lab, Merry. Merry is a black lab and she has been panting excessively the past few days. She has been drinking a lot of water, but I am starting to think it is b/c she keeps tipping her water bowl over to play with the water!!! She is panting when she is laying down or when she is active. She is a bit over weight (81 pounds) and we live in a hot climate (New Orleans). I am not sure if she is panting due to the fact she may be hotter then the rest of us in the apartment or if it is something else. She is eating normally and using the bathroom normally. Any advice or comments is appreciated. She is the first lab I have ever owned and I have had her since she was 6 weeks old. Oh her gums are normal looking and so is her tongue. thank you in advance for any help.
question about excessive panting in black labs
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Hi Merrysmom I also have a black lab that is 19months old she pants a lot, ??? I have read that black Labs retain the heat more than yellow or Chocolate labs do not know if this is true, but Saska will pant a lot whilst playing and running and when finished when she sits. She only seems to drink a lot of water whilst playing and when she is hot. 
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Apollo (also a black lab) doesn't really pant that much while in the house, but I DO worry about him getting too hot when we are out on walks. He IS black and I DO live in AZ lol. I wanna make sure he doesn't overheat, ya know?
As for your panting pup, perhaps you could use some cooling techniques while she's in the house. If she IS panting because she's hot, then you will see improvement.
Fans don't do anything to cool ANY creature that does not sweat. You see the reason a fan feels cool to us humans is because the evaporation of our sweat is what makes us feel cool. BUT....Perhaps you could stick a water bottle sprayer in the fridge and mist her down every so often with the cool water. (my ferrets LOVE this in the summer months) THEN you could put a fan near her. As the water evaporates from her body, it might just help to cool her down and feel more comfortable. Giving her access to cool tile floors and putting the A/C up just a *little* more MIGHT just help to stop the panting.
Thats my two cents. I am by far no dog expert, so I don't know if excessive panting is a sign of an underlying medical problem or not. Hopefully some of the dog "experts" on this board can toss in there two cents as well.
As for your panting pup, perhaps you could use some cooling techniques while she's in the house. If she IS panting because she's hot, then you will see improvement.
Fans don't do anything to cool ANY creature that does not sweat. You see the reason a fan feels cool to us humans is because the evaporation of our sweat is what makes us feel cool. BUT....Perhaps you could stick a water bottle sprayer in the fridge and mist her down every so often with the cool water. (my ferrets LOVE this in the summer months) THEN you could put a fan near her. As the water evaporates from her body, it might just help to cool her down and feel more comfortable. Giving her access to cool tile floors and putting the A/C up just a *little* more MIGHT just help to stop the panting.
Thats my two cents. I am by far no dog expert, so I don't know if excessive panting is a sign of an underlying medical problem or not. Hopefully some of the dog "experts" on this board can toss in there two cents as well.
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Hi there. My black lab also pants heavily. I worried about this when he was younger, but it's just how he is. I definitely think they get hotter with their black coats. What seemed to help Neiko on really hot days when he ran hard was to put a couple inches of cold water in the tub and stand him in there for a few minuts. Being a lab, he thought it was fun to splash in the water, and it really cooled him off. If you're concerned that she's panting without cause, you could check her heart rate and temp. Temp should be between 100-102 and I think hr would be somewhere about 60-160, depending on her activity. Of course, I always try to err on the side of caution and call the vet if concerned. They should be able to tell you over the phone what to look for.
Good luck!
Good luck!
Thank you all for your advice. I am taking her to the vet today to get it checked out. I am not sure if she is panting because she is a bit over weight or if she is just hot. Our weather here has been changing everyday so I do not know if that could be bothering her. I like that idea about freezing the water a bit and then spraying her with it. Thanks! She seems to be panting more when she is upstairs so it might just be hotter here then downstairs. who knows. I will let you all know what the vet says. thanks again.
i too have a black lab that pants heavily. she pants more than our yellow one. i do not know if their color has anything to do with it as she is fatter. but on a hot day here in the tropics i would usually hose them down and they love it. that would cool them down. if you have the space and place to do it im sure your dog is going to love it.
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