Labrador becoming exhausted quickly

SeanA

Member
Hi All,

I was just wondering if anyone has any ideas on the problem Im having with my lab,he's 22months old. He is is good condition and full of energy however I am finding recently that when he goes out and runs about with other dogs he is absolutely knackered after 10 mins. I know it has been hot lately but he is still the same now that it has cooled down - I have seen him take about 40 mins to recover from a 10/15 min run around, lying on his side and panting excessively with his heart beating to very high levels. He is eating and drinking as normal and also he is playful as ever, just a bit concerned about how quickly he is tiring - he is regularly excercised.

Thanks for any advice
 
If you really want the best advice,,and that is my very very best opinion. go and have him looked at by Alistair Marks at Oak Tree Veterinary Centre near Barnton Junction in Edinburgh. Probably without a shadow of doubt the most knowledgeable Vet on Labradors in the UK.

he's not even that expensive, but his treatments and advice is absolutely second to none.
 
Thanks for the reply, Ive been thinking I will take him to my local vets but if Im still not happy with him I will see about the person you recommended, thanks again much appreciated :)
 
Mine get a bit knackered this time of yr they are fat as summer dogs are before the season starts but for the sake of a £25 consultation get him mot'd .
good luck hope it's nowt
norma
 
Hi

Thanks for the reply, phoned the vets just now and got him booked in for a check over tonight, hopefully everything is fine :)

Thanks again
 
Definitely get him checked out. When I was young my family lost our pet lab at 3 years old to an immune system disease that we first saw signs of when she wouldn't walk. Left the car as enthusiastically as ever, but after a mile or two started to lag behind. By 3 or 4 miles she was so done for my Dad had to leave us and bring the car back. She just wouldn't get up. The diagnosis took a while, as this is apparently not common.
I hope yours is nothing so awful, but it's well worth an early trip to the vet just in case. I'm sure there are plenty of other possible causes.
 
just remember, and I know this from vet friends...a lot of 'countryside' vets, and I can name a couple in the borders,,are very brief in their investigations and diagnosis'.. you might get a reply about diet, or exercise, or the heat, etc..when actually a full series of blood tests should be conducted, etc.

don't just take the answer from your vet as being the right one. I have seen a number of dogs be diagnosed with the usual 'oh, it's just this or that', and then a few months later the real undelying cause comes to the forefront and may not be treatable,,,when, if probably investigated by someone who doesn't spend 90% of their day with their arms up the backside of a cow, would have been perfectly treatable in time
 
PKL - vets can't win on this one. If I suggested bloods, ECG, scans and x-rays for every dog that presented as mildly unwell then I would waste a lot of owners money - but pick up a few things quicker. It's a real balancing act with few right answers.

I think a check over by the vet is wise, particularly a good listen to the heart.
 
I have a black lab and a golden lab, the black one this time of year I would not say tire but over heats a lot quicker than the gold dog, making her pant for a fair period of time especially after exercise, which I like to do more of in the late evening when the temperature cools a little. Come the cold weather she hardly breathes heavy even after a long days work or hard exercise.You also never stated if he was overweight or not as some labs tend to be. But as Apache stated if he was mine I would have a visit to the vet
 
Hi All, thanks for all the replys, he is booked in for a check up tonight so will find out then - dont think there will be anything wrong hopefully but need to put my mind to rest and to make sure hes ok, he aint overweight just weighed him the other day and hes 28k, hes a strong dog but just doesnt seem to have any stamina or quick recovery time. Fingers crossed everythings ok :).

Thanks again, will let you all know what the vet says
 
Hi,

He got on ok, vet had a good listen to his heart and checked him over, there were no obvious problems but we decided that if he keeps becoming as exhausted over the next couple of weeks then we are going to get him xray and blood tests, just need to keep the fingers crossed and hope everything is ok.

Thanks for everyones advice, much appreciated
 
Lots of other possibilities, myasthenia gravis, addisons, cushings, disorders of the haematopoetic system e.g immune mediated haemolytic anaemia, electrolyte disturbances, insulinoma, diabetes etc etc. I would suggest if he's not right start gathering more information
 
I had the same issues, worthless for months ...... of course, I'm not a dog (depending on who you ask), but we all have the same vital organs.....after the gauntlet of tests/doctors, had a stent put in to open a closed (95%) artery.... was like being reborn... don't know if there is a way to check that on a dog... Good luck...
 
My Weimaraner bitch was always sluggish compared to the dog becoming out of breath much quicker, but always got on ok. Age 5 years she was diagnosed with a heart murmur (leaky heart valve) this was not picked up at my vets but by use of specialist equipment at Liverpool vet hospital. At this stage she was ok but to be monitored. Age 6 she progressed into heart failure and as such tired much more easily. Age 6 1/2 she was dead.
Hope this is not the case with yours but diagnosis could be a long & expensive drawn out process
Wingy
 
I hope I am being the "worst case scenario" guy, but have your dog genetically tested for EIC (exercise induced collapse). This is a serious and possible life threatening genetic condition most commonly found in labs, especially those of good hunting/trial stock. As a lab breeder, we always test for this, because it is much more common than we like (one of the greatest recent sires 'Lean Mac' was a carrier and his genes are in probably 20% of all American and Canadian labs).
 
Hi All

Sorry for not replying - been offline for a few days now. The dog seems to be ok again now- not had any problems with him for a while now and hes been doing quite a lot of excercise - going to keep an eye on him but hoping that it had been just due to the heat we had been having, fingers crossed anyways :).

Thanks for all the replys
 
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