Are old dog lungs normal for a 9-year-old Yorkie? Should I be worried?

With her age I recommend letting a veterinarian listen to her lungs. It can be heart or respiratory. If she has a murmur you may want to consider taking her to a cardiologist to have her heart evaluated. If her heart sounds fine I would talk to your veterinarian about tracheal collapse or respiratory diseases. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

A cough can be caused by respiratory issues including lower airway disease or upper airway disease like a collapsing trachea. It can also be a sign of heart disease. Teddie needs to be assessed by a veterinarian to determine the cause of the cough and for recommendations to be made about what could benefit him from a medical perspective. They may want to perform x-rays to assess his heart and lungs.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Increased resting respiratory rate is always a concern. It could be caused by heart problems or lungs disease (infection, inflammation, lung mass etc). Sometimes faster respiration is due to collapsed trachea and upper airways infection (common in Yorkies) or abdominal pathology. Please, get in touch with your vet as Bella should be checked over. Your vet may recommend chest x-ray, heart scan or abdominal ultrasound to make the final diagnosis.

Older large breed dogs can sometimes get a condition known as laryngeal paralysis. The voice doesn't completely go away, but it can definitely become quieter or more hoarse. She could also have infectious tracheobronchitis, known also as kennel cough, as this can make the voice more hoarse. If she does not stop coughing in the next 1 - 2 days, or gets worse, I would take her right back in. Sometimes x-rays can look normal even when serious problems, such as pneumonia, are brewing.

Poor girl. Heavy breathing that just starts in an older dog is highly suspicious of things like heart disease, a primary lung disease or even cancer. The next best step here would be to get Lady to your local vet for an x-ray of her chest. This is a great diagnostic tool to help up definitively say what is causing her breathing issues so that we know how to proceed with Lady and get her breathing as normal as possible again. I hope that you are able to get Lady checked out soon! Best of luck and take care.

She is very cute! If she has had the dark spots for 8 years and they haven't changed then it is likely just normal pigmentation. She could be slowing down with age and may have a harder time after exercise, but if it gets worse then she really should be evaluated by a vet for a chest x-ray to make sure she doesn't have heart or lung disease.

Given Bella's age, my first thought on this cough is that it may be due to heart disease. That can be common in older dogs, and it would get worse over time. I would take her into the vet in the morning for a physical exam, and possibly blood work, a urinalysis, and chest x-rays. If she does have heart disease, the vet can prescribe medications for her symptoms. Unfortunately it's not curable, but it can be managed with medication. I hope this helps!