Why is my dog breathing fast and acting weird? Vet needed?

This is a quite concerning presentation. Differentials are many including pain/discomfort (which has to be quite pronounced) and cardiac and respiratory diseases. It is anyway a presentation that usually requires an immediate check up, so I would recommend to take Sammy to your vet asap.

If there are no other signs and you are not suspecting any intoxication you could monitor him at this stage for the next 2 hours and see if he settles down. If not a check up would be ideal to understand the underlying cause and treat appropriately. Unfortunately at this stage the presentation is quite generic and differentials are many.

If you are noticing a change in respiration, she needs to see the veterinarian quickly. Changes in respiration can indicate severe heart disease, fluid in the lungs, pneumonia, tumors in the chest or something impairing the movement in the diaphragm. She may not be laying down because she can't breath well in that position. Respiratory issues should always be checked out quickly. The veterinarian may need a chest x-ray to know whats going on. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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.

If Bells appears to be in any sort of respiratory distress, I must recommend that you get her to an ER right away to be stabilized. If she is simply panting due to some sort of stress or discomfort, this is not necessarily required. Regardless, it sounds like she is definitely experiencing some pretty severe discomfort. I'm not sure what they did for her at the clinic earlier, but it doesn't seem to have addressed whatever it is that is currently bothering her. If these sort of symptoms continue into the afternoon today, I would recommend getting her into a clinic for a follow up exam and diagnostics to assess the problem. If they believe she is in pain somewhere, perhaps imaging would be next best things in terms of diagnostics. Hope this makes sense.

Labored breathing and vomiting are very concerning signs. In an older, large-breed dog like your girl, I would be worried about bloat as a possible cause of her symptoms - this can be a life-threatening emergency, so needs to be treated right away. Many other things can also cause vomiting, including pancreatitis, liver or kidney disease, exposure to something toxic, or an intestinal obstruction. Based on your description, I would recommend taking her to the emergency vet tonight - she may have a serious problem that can't wait until morning.

He needs to be examined by a veterinarian right away. Your vet can take an x-ray of his chest to evaluate his lungs and airway. He could have pneumonia, asthma, heart disease, or fluids in his chest. Please call your vet immediately and schedule an appointment.