It can be disturbing to see your greyhound panting! If they seem, to you, to pant harder than other dogs, it’s not your imagination.
Dogs pant to cool themselves. Greyhounds, with their deep chests, pant harder than other dogs, which cools them very efficiently. Don’t panic when your greyhound pants! Instead, prevent situations in which he will struggle to cool himself, which could lead to heat stress.
It’s essential to learn when a panting greyhound needs your help. Read on, and you will gain enough insight into your greyhound to know the difference between panting as a symptom, panting as a means of “chilling out,” and panting as…well…drama.
In a rush? Scroll ALL the way down to enjoy the video version of this article 🙂
How Panting Helps Your Greyhound
The greyhound’s respiratory system is designed to move lots of oxygen through his body at a steady rate. This oxygen refreshes the blood and all of his vital organs. The blood is pumped through his body efficiently, even under the stress of running at 40 mph. Surprisingly, the greyhound’s cardio-respiratory system is even MORE efficient when sprinting (according to Ross Staaden, in his PhD thesis, “The Exercise Physiology of the Racing Greyhound”). This is opposite of humans, who face physical deficits during aerobic exercise.
What Your Greyhound Needs to Cool Off
For your greyhound’s panting to do it’s job, he needs four things (according to a greyt article over by the staff of the UK’s GreyhoundTrust):
— Air that is cooler than his body temperature
— Air that is dry enough for evaporation to happen
— Plenty of saliva
— His airway needs to be wide open
So, simply put, you need to make sure you keep him hydrated and able to breathe easy. Let’s examine how you can do that.
Always Monitor Air Temperature and Circulation by Your Greyhound
A dog’s normal body temperature is roughly 100-102.5 degrees (F); but watch your greyhound’s comfort level even when the air is in the 70’s, especially if it’s humid (which we will get to in a moment). Enclosed spaces can reach hot temperatures rapidly, even if the outdoor air is nowhere near 100 degrees. Every year, dozens of children and an untold number of pets die in hot cars, all completely unintentional, needless, and preventable. According to Jan Null of the Dept. of Geosciences at San Francisco State University, a dog left in the car on an 80-degree day is in trouble in less than 10 minutes. Greyhounds are especially susceptible to heat stroke, compared to other breeds.
…but cars are not the only culprit. Any poorly ventilated space is a danger in hot weather. This includes plastic shell crates and small, windowless rooms. It also includes crates with coverings put over them; so think twice at that outdoor event, before you decide that your greyhound would be OK, crated in the sun, as long as you shade the crate by covering it.
You want to avoid any situation where the heat can build up, and/or the air circulation is poor. Air conditioning is a boon to greyhound kind, and they love fans. You can always tell your greyhound has gotten warm in his sleep, when you see him flip onto his back. He’s letting the air flow across his belly, cooling the blood there, which then circulates throughout his body, cooling him off.
Humidity: a Sneaky Greyhound Enemy
Given my comments about hydration, you would think that moist air would be good, right? I’m afraid not. You see, panting cools your greyhound by moving air rapidly over moist areas in his mouth and nose. This evaporates the moisture, which cools off your dog. If the air is humid, it prevents this evaporation from happening. Again, a fan will make a huge difference. Even at cooler temperatures, if you see your greyhound panting on a wet day, try putting a fan on him. If he then relaxes, you will know that the air was too damp, and that was making him uncomfortable.
Hydration is Important for Greyhound Safety
Plenty of saliva requires plenty of water, and greyhounds are notoriously poor drinkers. Since they think everything can be fixed with a nap, they may not get up to take a drink when they need it. I cannot emphasize enough how many greyhound problems you will solve/prevent, simply by adding 8 oz. of water, twice a day, to his food. It also helps greatly to refresh your dog’s water right before he goes outside. It makes it much more enticing. So much so, in fact, that your greyhound may turn his nose up at “stale” water, even when he really should drink. Adding some ice cubes to his water will keep it cool and fresh; or set a shallow container of ice cubes or crushed ice before him, while he’s laying down. When doing this indoors, I set the container on a towel. It makes for easier clean up afterward.
There is a wonderful YouTube vlog called Xander’s Adventures, about a greyhound who lives in Florida. Xander is owned by a woman, K., who really knows her dogs, and how to keep them healthy and happy in tropical weather. Xander pants a lot. She takes him for short hikes in shady places, often stopping to let him soak or paddle around in the cool water. Another thing she does, which I think is brilliant, is to mist him with a spray bottle. Xander clearly likes and expects this, especially when she sprays it in his mouth.
I reached out to K. for the purpose of this article, and she generously shared the two videos which best highlight her techniques for cooling a greyhound. She said, “The mister bottle makes a cameo in a lot of Xander’s videos, but I think these two show more about how misting can help with cooling. These links are set to the time stamp where I use the mister bottle.”
K. also mentioned that using a spray bottle for cooling is a trick she learned from showing her Great Danes:
“Many dog show exhibitors have a spray bottle on hand to help keep their show dogs cool before they go in the ring.”
Xander Greyhound’s “Humom”
(article continues below videos, with MUCH MORE helpful info about greyhounds’ panting!)
Other Reasons Greyhounds Pant
Greyhounds pant from internal stresses, too; not just from the weather and sickness. In these cases, simply putting a fan on him does not help. It’s important to figure out what is upsetting your greyhound, and address that. Let’s take a look at those causes:
Illness/Pain
Since greyhounds really do pant a lot, it is rarely a symptom of injury or illness. It can be, though, so always be sure you understand why your greyhound is panting. It may be the only clue he gives you that he’s not feeling well.
A greyhound who is panting and walking around fretfully is truly not feeling well. The most common of these is stomach upset. This is a good time to move him to an easily cleanable surface and/or stick a newspaper in front of him.
If you see your greyhound panting and moving his mouth a lot, you may want to check inside his mouth to see if he has eaten something he shouldn’t. While you’re doing that, send another family member around to see if he can figure out what the dog might have gotten into.
Fear
If you can recall a time when you felt suddenly flushed and overheated as an emotional response, you’ll understand how your greyhound reacts to emotional stress. If he gets excited or nervous, you will see the panting start.
Fireworks & Thunder
Like many dogs, greyhounds can be terribly afraid of these particular noises, as well as gunshots. This is not to say, however, that greyhounds fear loud storms or noises, are disturbed by noisy environments, or are fearful dogs. If they are, that is a separate issue.
I saw some guesswork on this over the AKC’s website. While I agree with them that the greyhound knows the thunder is coming before you do, I maintain that it is strictly the percussive sound of the thunder that scares them, not the other factors of an oncoming storm, such as the ‘increasing wind or the darkening sky.’
I live in an area with violent storms and a lot of wind, but it is only the thunder that bothers my greyhounds (they aren’t fond of going out into crazy weather, but it doesn’t get them so upset, they pant).
One look at a greyhound sleeping through anything and everything (except these particular noises) shows us that the fault lies not with a general fear of loud sounds. They’re used to commotion – After all, life with dozens of other racers gets pretty noisy sometimes!
Help for Greyhounds’ Fear of Loud Noises
I also disagreed with their notion that a behaviorist may try to “cure” your greyhound’s fear of thunder through “desensitization.” This is where they ‘introduce the sound gradually, at low volume” and help the dog get used to it with praise and treats. The trouble with this is you would need a steady supply of the feared sound, and greyhounds can certainly tell the difference between actual sounds and recordings of them. Can’t you? Of course, we can!
One greyhound owner swears by his own DIY desensitization method – Everytime the loud noise occurs, he’s quick to give his dog a treat. It’s kind of a random way to go about it; but greyhounds have long memories, so it may be worth a try.
People have had varying degrees of luck with pheromone diffusers and Thundershirts (I set up some affiliate links, so you can check out the products). The most common solution, and the one I use at home, is to move the dog to the part of the house farthest from the offending noise, and try to block out the rest with closed windows, fans, and TV. A little hint – Cellars are great, because they tend to be acoustically dry, underground, and there is less vibration coming through the floor. I believe it is the vibration, more than the sound, that greyhounds fear.
I found an interesting home remedy for thunder-panicked greyhounds, in the AKC article, mentioned earlier. A woman who shows dogs swears by applying a drop of peppermint essential oil to the pad of each foot. I’m looking forward to exploring this with Lily at the very next opportunity. If it works, I will let you know.
The Car
Our Peaches was terrified of riding in the car, and would tremble and pant pathetically the entire trip. During her racing career, she had been in a kennel truck accident.
Our last two greyhounds have also been scared in the car. We usually just leave them home, which becomes impractical when we’re trying to shoehorn the mulish, panting greyhound into the car, so we’re not late for our vet appointment (watch for my upcoming article on helping greyhounds overcome fear of car travel).
My plan is to start taking Lily on short trips. This did help a little with Peaches. She was only going to get so comfortable in the car, given her history; but in her later years, we could get her into the car with only a little resistance. The panting from stress pretty much disappeared.
Shannon was unhappy any time he was away from home, but we conditioned him to be calm in the car. He never loved it, but we were able to get him into the car fairly easily and keep the panting to a minimum.
Vet Visits
A visit to the vet’s office is another thing that can set your greyhound’s panting to “overdrive.” Lily is the only one of ours who isn’t terrified at the vet’s. If she pants there, it’s with the heady excitement of the social butterfly that she is.
The sight and sound of sick animals and fellow panickers combines with a greyhound’s hatred of hard, slippery surfaces. If your greyhound is there because he is unwell, it’s even worse. Then, he will pant from fatigue, as well – Because there is no comfortable place to lay down, he will just stand, thank you.
The greatest help I have found for this is to have a thick, layered pad that we use for outings. Since it’s the same one I put out on the deck, when the dog wants to enjoy the sunshine, she is already comfortable with it.
I’ve been doing this for 20 years, and I’ve never seen anyone else in the vet’s waiting room with a pad! I rarely see another greyhound there, though.
Anyway, it’s worth it, because once I lay out the pad (which is now expected), the hound settles in, and the panting stops.
Greyhounds also loathe standing on the examining table. I’ve found most vets willing and o compromise on this, and settle for letting the dog stand (or flop onto the pad) on the floor. Otherwise, they tremble and pant, quaking the entire table; and slide around, trying to grip the unyielding steel. This cuts down on the panting, and gives the vet a better examination.
Don’t be afraid to look a little different, and to stick up for your greyhound. Remember, you’re at the vet’s for a reason, and it’s costing a lot of time and money to boot. All that panting is a symptom of greyhound “white coat hypertension.” If his nerves throw off the vet’s examination, he may not get whatever help he needs.
Your Nervousness
Yes, *your* nervousness can make your greyhound nervous, to the point where he is panting. Of course, you’re probably nervous about him being nervous, but it’s your job to break the vicious cycle.
If you get nervous every time your greyhound pants, you are going to find very little pleasure in pet ownership, especially in the warm weather. For example, it’s OK for your greyhound to throw himself on the cool grass and pant heavily after a good run in the yard. Xander’s owner, K., says that Xander pants so much, his nickname is Xander Pants! Considering he lives in Florida, however, much of this is just Xander taking care of himself.
Common Sense: the best cure for greyhound panting
You know now that panting is healthy, but it may be a sign that your greyhound is not well. If you are trying to figure out what’s wrong, you will search the internet. Here is where you want to use discretion! The best advice is not necessarily going to be found in the first hit.
Why does this happen? Often, it occurs because there are advertising dollars involved in grabbing a high spot on the page. Just as often, the results were collated by people who do not understand the nuances of greyhounds….and you will be surprised at who ends up on top, giving bad advice.
Hopefully, this article you are reading right now will be the top hit for the search term “greyhound pants;” but when I did the research for it, the top three all warned of dire consequences for your greyhound. Here are some of the highlights of the Panting Panic Brigade:
“Panting is not good. It’s usually a symptom of pain. Get to a vet and diagnose what is causing the pain, and hence the panting.”
“Panting does not just mean that a greyhound is hot; it is also a sign of stress.”
“If panting does cannot adequately reduce the body temperature of your dog, he will develop heat stroke. Look for signs such as heaving sides, heavy panting, …”
The truly scary part is that all of the above quotes came from greyhound adoption organizations, the very people we count on for expert opinions, used in making critical decisions for our greyhounds! I say “scary,” because if *everything* is a crisis, than *nothing* is a crisis; and when the real crisis occurs, how will we know, and respond in a timely manner?
I was deep into my search results, before the voices of reason kicked in, at Hits #7 and #8:
“Panting is normal because healthy dogs pant to regulate their body temperature, but abnormal panting can be a sign of illness or emotional …”
“Panting is totally normal! It helps dogs cool off and is also a natural response when a dog is thirsty, excited, happy or scared.
FINALLY! Answers that make sense! …but who will ever find them, if we’re all stumbling around in a blind panic from the previous results? Everyone knows that the best place to hide a dead body is on Page 2 of Google, and these common-sense answers were darned close to that. By the way, hit #7 came from Merck pharma., and #8 came from a site calld “Cuteness(dot)com.” Don’t be disarmed by the frivolous name; that site does a GREAT job of conveying correct, usable info about pets.
The beauty of the internet is that a second opinion, and many more, are always right there for you, whenever your greyhound needs your help. Of course, Greyhound Homecare is always here for you; but do not underestimate the greyt resources of greyhound forums and social media groups.
