Hi! I'm brand new to this forum! We just rescued a husky mix puppy a couple of weeks ago. He was dropped off at a race trac and told our neighbor they weren't leaving with him and the owners of the trac said puppies are a liability and they were going to kill him. I couldn't let that happen so I told my neighbor bring him here. He is 8 weeks old now. We went to the vet and had him checked the next morning and had his first vaccinations and treated for worms, parvo test, all the good stuff. I noticed the first few days he got hot easily and did some research and bought him a cooling mat. He loves it and sleeps on it all the time.

My question is this. Every time he sleeps, whether is be a short nap, long nap or at night, he starts breathing hard and panting. He doesn't do it until he is already asleep and it doesn't seem to be dreaming. He was lying on his cooling mat next to me on the couch just now and started and I woke him up and gave him some ice (he loves ice) and he settled down some. We also keep the temps cool in here. Is this normal? I have asked the vet and she seems to shrug it off, also did that with my older dog when I took her a couple of weeks ago with a medical problem. She isn't our normal vet but I haven't been able to to get to them due to them being farther away and I wanted to get him seem and started on puppy treatments as soon as possible. Could this just be because he has husky in him ( we were told he was mixed with either german shephard or great pyranees).

Thanks so much!

I seem to do this a lot ... A bit of an idea about where you are might help. Honestly, probably not but it might.  It *would* also help if you'd define "cool" - cool to me is in the mid 80's while others would consider that hot, so it helps if we have some basis to go by. (( I have a friend in Houston who insists 68° is too warm to be comfortable ... go figure ))

I haven't had a Husky pup but I do have two adults (11 years each, so ...)  and I do live in a slightly warm climate - the desert of southwest Texas, just outside Big Bend National Park (we only got into the low 90's today).  So heat, per se, isn't a major problem with these dogs, they tend to adapt quickly.  The biggest problem with heat is sometimes, depending on where you are, the humidity that goes along with it. Dogs cool themselves, primarily, by evaporation - the air flow over their tongue - when the heat is up and the humidity is as well, evaporation doesn't work as well and it takes more effort to cool off.

However, little puppies tend to be unable to regulate their own internal heat as a full grown would ... but this should have "cleared up" by now, it's much more common with neonatal pups (so Google says.)  Since he was dropped of (someone should be shot!) I'm guessing his early care was bad to non-existent and he may be late developing his ability to control his internal temp.

Tempting fate, I'd be inclined to continue dong what you are, helping him stay cooler when it's needed. He'll probably grow out of it in time (a few months at most?)

Story time ... my Alaskan sleeps on the floor beside me and I'll reach out to pet him occasionally overnight (comfort for both of us) sometimes, I begin to wonder if he's breathing at all, then he'll take a deep breath; at other times and in his case it's dream related, he'll be breathing like he'd just run a race.

Keep in touch and let us know how he's doing, please.

We usually keep our house around 68 or 69 degrees. So I’m not sure if that is cool to you! Ha! But we also keep a fan close to his crate at night when he sleeps (he sleeps in our bedroom).

He wasn’t in awful shape but not in the best shape either. He had scabs all over him from dog lice and we picked over him with a flea comb and tweezers while he slept for the first few days to get the live ones off of him ( this was after we took him to the vet to get treatment for it). He’s almost completely healed up from that now. It breaks my heart to see them like that! And we had him treated for worms since he had that too.
He is very active and playful and super smart. He has already learned when he has to go to the bathroom to go to the door and let us know. And he has learned sit, shake and working on stay. So I’m just hoping he will grow out of it! Thank you for your reply and I welcome any advice anyone has! I want him to have the best life possible!

68° isn't cool, it's plain cold! Sounds like he's off to a good start at having a good life with you, thanks for taking him when he needed it.

If you've never had a Husky in your life before, be prepared for a dog who knows what they want and will make you work to provide it. In my opinion, they're definitely smarter than the average dog.
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With the forum as slow as it has been, you'll probably see some replies in the morning. I'm retired and for one reason or another live at a keyboard.

Here is one pic from the day we got him and now, the others are just how cute he is!

He's one cute little ball of fur and it helps that he's photogenic!

Love that top one "Hey, man, gimme five!!"

I'm thinking that all the regulars are out celebrating the holiday weekend ... either hiking up some little hill or in their gardens.

More specifically pulling nails out of used lumber while i get howled at.

Super cute and what type of track? So with the breathing issue it might just be him or it may have been related to parasites or the treatment.

Because i have to say it for 2 reasons...68 is HOT and now the reason.. if he is half great pyr they are prone to overheating and dont handle heat very well.... and also 40 is nice.. 68 is hot, ask my dogs.. if it goes above 60 they wont go out if its sunny.

Oh goodness, so cute. It will take time to acclimate to being inside and the temperatures that come with it if he was outside all the time before, but for the most part he can be expected to pant at above 65 temperatures. We keep our house at 68 and my female pants all the time. It's not a huge deal as long as no heart issues are being detected. I would get either a Wisdom or Embark DNA panel run so you have a good idea what is in his mix. Knowing breeds can help you through future things such as his potential for Hip Dysplasia or overheating prevalence. How his coat develops will also make a difference. My higher quality female has the standard double coat and while she pants she actually tolerates high temperatures in the 90s perfectly fine, while by low quality male doesn't have as tight of a double coat and he suffers over 75 degrees.

Lostmaniac wrote:

More specifically pulling nails out of used lumber while i get howled at.

Super cute and what type of track?  So with the breathing issue it might just be him or it may have been related to parasites or the treatment.

Because i have to say it for 2 reasons...68 is HOT and now the reason.. if he is half great pyr they are prone to overheating and dont handle heat very well.... and also 40 is nice.. 68 is hot, ask my dogs.. if it goes above 60 they wont go out if its sunny.

It was a race trac...I believe motor bikes.  

We have him a cooling pad and his own personal fan now so he can cool off if he gets too hot!  It's just foreign to me because we have always had dogs that seem to be cold and my instinct is to make them warm and comfortable so we are learning how to make him cool and comfortable!  Ha!

TwisterII wrote:

Oh goodness, so cute. It will take time to acclimate to being inside and the temperatures that come with it if he was outside all the time before, but for the most part he can be expected to pant at above 65 temperatures. We keep our house at 68 and my female pants all the time. It's not a huge deal as long as no heart issues are being detected. I would get either a Wisdom or Embark DNA panel run so you have a good idea what is in his mix. Knowing breeds can help you through future things such as his potential for Hip Dysplasia or overheating prevalence. How his coat develops will also make a difference. My higher quality female has the standard double coat and while she pants she actually tolerates high temperatures in the 90s perfectly fine, while by low quality male doesn't have as tight of a double coat and he suffers over 75 degrees.

Yes, We are looking into ordering the DNA panels! Thank you for making me feel better that panting is normal and doesn't mean he is not okay for sure. Vet checked him out and said he looks good so hoping he will acclimate well!

My 9 year old made him a puppy pop...just froze water on toothpicks. He's only allowed to have it when we are holding it so no risk of him eating a toothpick, but she wanted to make him something for when he gets hot. He's not rotten at all.

I apologize the pic is sideways. I don't know how to fix that!!

Mine go to town on ice cubes.