Why is my Poodle anxious, breathless, and heart racing at night?

This is pretty non-specific behavior, so it's hard to know exactly what's going on. Hero may be having some gastrointestinal issues at night, like vomiting or diarrhea, and is asking go outside to the bathroom. Or, she could be worried about something going on in the neighborhood like other dogs barking. Or, she could be having neurologic issues at night like a small seizure that wakes her up and worries her. Or, this could be purely behavioral, like if she is going into heat and there are intact male dogs in the neighborhood. I recommend a full exam by a veterinarian to make sure she looks healthy and has no underlying health concerns.

Ruling out an underlying health issue such as pain or illness is always a good first step when your pet experiences a sudden behavior change. As seven is the start of the senior years, it is possible there is some pain from laying in the bed, or arthritis causing problems. if Milou checks out health, trying to find if there is a pattern to the "attacks" may be helpful- does it happen the same time every night? Same spot? Same triggers? Is the neighbor arriving home in a noisy car at that time, etc? This may help you figure out what is triggering it so you can make some adjustments- IE moving the bed somewhere quieter, making sure your dog is fast asleep prior to that time, getting out excess energy before bed, feeding a treat to keep the stomach from becoming too empty and causing growling/discomfort, etc. If you can't seem to find any pattern at all, taking a video of the even to bring to your vet or a local trainer may be helpful in better identifying what is going on, and finding a solution.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Noel. I do recommend that she sees a veterinarian today. She could be painful somewhere that was causing her to pant and pace. Neck and/or back pain are common in small breed dogs. If this is not the cause, nighttime anxiety can develop in older dogs. It is similar to the anxiety experienced by human Alzheimer's patients. It would be best to have her seen so you can both get some sleep to tonight. I hope this information helps!

I would recommend that you have Bella examined by a vet as soon as possible. Open mouth breathing in a dog that is in a cool, comfortable environment can be caused by heart disease, lung disease, anemia, severe pain, among a few others. Rapid heart rate can also be caused by these things. When you get to the vet, they will do a physical exam and may recommend x-rays to make a diagnosis.

No, this alone wouldn't indicate Cushing's, and would be odd for a puppy of this age. That said, exercise intolerance, fear/panic, stress, or underlying health issues can all cause what you are describing. I'd take Ann to your vet for a full workup just to rule out any serious health issues, and then from there see if you can find a behavioral trigger that may be causing stress or panic. Working on socialization and calming behaviors (focusing on a treat or toy, distracting with a game, moving to a quiet area to relax, etc) may help with stress triggers or panic triggers.

I can certainly see how this would be very alarming to witness. The symptoms you describe may be related to a disease process affecting an organ system (more often the neurologic (seizure event) or cardiac (heart event) systems). What i would recommend is a visit to your family veterinarian for a physical exam, to discuss the events, and to discuss additional testing (like bloodwork to rule out organ changes). It is also extremely helpful to get a video of an event so that your vet can watch it. Also, given the age of your pup, make sure there is nothing new in the environment that he could be snacking on that may be toxic to dogs (plants, etc.). I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

There isn't any first aid for difficulty breathing. In dogs, a change in respiratory rate or effort can be caused by heart issues, lung disease, anemia, infection, pain, some metabolic disorders, among many others. Pons needs to see a vet as soon as possible for evaluation and to determine the cause of the difficult breathing. The vet will do an examination and may recommend blood work and x-rays to fully evaluate internal organs and their function.