Is your dog breathing heavy at night?
I hear people often complain that their dogs are restless or panting at night. Unless your dog sleeps in a very warm room, this may be warning signal that your dog’s body is in a state of imbalance.
While there is no single cause, this problem is usually a combination of several factors.
Dogs have a general tendency for liver weakness or liver disease. This organ’s prime time of activity is usually around 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. If you notice that your dog pants around this time, start a liver cleanse by administering an initial 4 week cleanse with LiverTune and then ongoing for 1 week per month as part of preventive care.
Feeding your dog earlier in the day may also help. This will reduce the nighttime metabolic activity, your dog will produce less heat and will pant less. Feeding once a day is preferred. Your dog will get a natural mini fast, which is a more of a natural state for dogs.
It goes without saying that your dog should ideally be fed natural raw or cooked food and should get all-natural essential supplements. If you are not sure how to feed or formulate a proper balanced diet, make sure you sign up to get our free cooked and raw diet course and/or use our Recipe Maker.
There is one more thing to consider with respect to feeding a natural diet in dogs that pant. I also suggest not feeding red meat from large animals such as beef, buffalo or bison. These meats have a tendency to cause heat production. Fatty foods are also not recommended and you should be careful about feeding too much liver.
However, despite all these efforts, your dog may continue panting. In that case I suggest getting blood work and a thorough examination, if you have not done so already.
If all is good and no problems are found, you may try adding some cooling components to your dog’s diet such as Chlorophyll complex and check your dog for any signs of mercury, arsenic or lead by having a hair test analysis done. It is one of the most reliable and least expensive ways of making sure that there is nothing missing in your dog’s body.
In many ways, your dog’s body is a finely tuned machine that can’t be run on kibble and nutritional deficit. Night panting is one of the early warning signs.
The above protocol is a part of what I call The Healing Cycle - a natural process of detoxing, nourishing and balancing the body. Following these three simples steps will make a huge difference on average. It will likely stop your dog panting and keep him or her healthy and happy for years to come.
© Dr. Peter Dobias, DVM
