my puppy stops breathing when sleeping

by sophie
(swindon, uk)

my puppy often when sleeping makes noises as if he trying to drink with his tongue hanging out and 2 times now he has stopped breathing and went lifeless after doing so.

but after picking him up quickly he had a drink and seems ok the only odd thing i have noticed within the last 2 weeks i have had him is that he has a strange and hiccups quite often what could this mean ??






Hi Sophie
Puppies often breathe very quickly or erratically when sleeping, and tend to twitch, whine, wriggle or even bark in their sleep. This is normal.

However, what you're describing sounds a bit more than that, so I'd recommend you have your puppy examined by your veterinarian to make sure that there's not an underlying health problem causing his odd breathing. He shouldn't really 'go limp' as you describe, but it's very difficult to really judge what's happening without actually seeing it.

Your vet will be able to examine him and figure out if there's a problem or not. As he also seems to be acting a bit strangely during the daytime I think it's definitely better to get him evaluated to be safe.

Hope this helps, best of luck with your pup.