Panting

OK, here I go again - a new staffy owner, having had only dobermans before, puzzling (just a little bit).

I know that dogs like pugs, pekinese etc that have been bred with un-naturally short muzzles will pant excessively - they can't breathe properly, poor things. Fortunately, Staffs have not been bred to have these fore-shortened muzzles (have they?)

Before we got our lovely Kuchar, the only experience I had really had with a staff was when I looked after my son's friend's dog for the night, and I was alarmed at how much he panted. He was a somewhat overweight, and I put it down to that.

Now we have our Kuchar, nearly 10 months old. He pants whenever he gets excited (and being a Staff, he is easily excited!). He is as fit as a flea - no excess weight nor thin either. But by gosh he pants.

He pants when it is hot (not unexpectedly), but also when on a walk on the lead and especially when he sees another dog/human (exciteability). If (and on the rare occasions, when he allowed to by the other dog's owner) he can play with another dog off lead, he will after a few minutes sink onto his stomach panting (although ready to go play again at a moment's notice). He is wacked out when he gets home though, and will lie down for quite a long time (hooray). If in the evening (it doesn't happen much during the day) he is "hyper", I will chuck a toy about for him to play with. Fortunately I have quite a large living room so he can run up and down and bounce off the walls for about 5 minutes, then he is wacked out again, panting, and has a little lie down.

Is this just another Staffy "thing"? I'd love to hear your opinons/experiences.

My Alfie is 4 years old and still pants at the drop of a hat! I think it's just ultra excitement and at the end of the day he does have a big body to run around on those little legs! Just enjoy it and laugh

Many Staffies do have long soft palets which can cause problems with their breathing because it partly blocks the airways. This is very easy to solve by shortening the soft pallet. As a dog gets older the soft pallet relaxes and lengthens which can cause problems with the lanryx.

I fostered a lovely Staffie called Ellie, ended up keeping her, she had been used as a breeding bitch then kicked out when she needed help. She had to have a tracheotomy in, this is Ellie's story http://tracheotomy-in-dogs.yolasite.com/ If she had been treated properly when she needed it her story would have been very different.

Loki hardly ever pants, only when he's hot or he's been running around non-stop like a loon but I can only think of a few occasions that he's panted.

Oh dear

cyril baby you mention long soft palates. I have spent a little time this evening after your post looking this up on the internet and amongst the breeds that you expect to see there with seriously "squished" muzzles (more shame on the breeders) is listed Staffordshire Bull Terriers.

To be honest, I would never have expected Staffies to have been listed there as having fore-shortened muzzles and therefore breathing difficulties. Their muzzles look to be normal length for their overall head shape to me.

Worrying.

Compared to most breeds Staffies do have a shorter muzzle but not the exagerated shortness of several breeds. I had Cyril's soft pallet checked when he had his bottom canine teeth taken out, he broke both of the jumping up at door handles, his soft pallet is fine.

I suspected there was something wrong with Ellie when she was spayed, she was stuggling to breath the first night, I sat up with her all night. I phoned the vet the following morning and took her back to have her chest sounded. I took her to my own vets, the rescue had spayed her, they had a really good look at her chest but found nothing, it was only when she had 4 lumps taken off and they nearly lost her because she couldn't breath that they discovered what it was.

Other symptoms to watch for is excessive snoring.

I wouldn't worry with a young dog or a dog that I have had all their lives, if I did notice that there was excessive panting or snoring I would ask for the soft pallet to be checked just for my peace of mind.

Tilly pants a lot , especially during the warmer weather and if she's a little anxious if we are leaving her or in the car etc , Tommy never pants . I am aware it can be health related . weight etc but also its a simple case of some do and some dont , another reason to love our dogs because they are all individuals

I have heard of this before with dogs that have the very short muzzles like the pug as mentioned before. I would not have previously thought it would have been an issue with our lovely Staffies though, until I read the posts as above. There you go you learn something everyday. Thankfully Rocky is a Staffy cross and hopefully will not have this problem will keep my ears open more now for the snoring noises though.

It was a worrying surprise to me to learn that Staffies have a tendency to have this soft palate trouble. Fortunately Kuchar only snores occasionally, and then only softly, but it is something I will now watch for as he grows up.

I will also have him checked at the vet's for an elongated soft palate (I'm guessing the vet can tell through an oral inspection whilst still conscious - the dog that is ) before he finallly gets to be "desexed". I would hate to go through the nightmare Cyril baby went through with Ellie.

Thank you everyone for your input.

My girl will pant thru excitement or stress, ages a very alert staffy, very nervous but friendly, panting is a sign of many things, excitement, anxiousness, tiredness etc