bichon Breathing heavily

by grant

I have a 14 year old bichon frise she still acts like a puppy but has been breathing very hard and has trouble controlling her bladder.

i want to take her to the vet but recently lost my job so i cannot afford it at the moment. please help she is part of the family. Thank you Grant




Hi Grant
I'm sorry to hear that your dog is having problems, and it sounds to me as though these may be due to the fact that she's an 'old lady'.

The heavy breathing could be due to heart issues, and the difficulty with bladder control is another common age-related difficulty. Of course, there could be new, or underlying, health problems causing these symptoms too, and only a veterinarian can make an accurate diagnosis.

Even though money is tight I would strongly recommend that you have her examined by your vet. If these are simply age-appropriate conditions there may be no treatment needed, but your vet may be able to make some recommendations that will help. And if there IS a health issue that needs evaluation and treatment, the sooner it's diagnosed the quicker (and less costly) it will be to treat.

You obviously love your dog very much and she's depending on you to take care of her, so please get her to a vet for a check up. You may want to call around some local vets and see if any would be willing to allow you to set up a payment plan of some sort if she needs treatment, or call your local Humane Society and ask if there are any low-cost veterinary programs in your area.

I wish I could help more, but she does need to see a professional. I wish you the very best of luck.