The American Beagler Forum

I have a 3 year old female that gets out of breath quick. She is not overweight she has not been run a lot but shouldnt be getting out of breath so quick in my opinion. She eats well hair has shine . I have not had a dog get tired so quick. I keep thinking its because she has just not gotten in real good condition.I have seen her lay down after a long run like she is totally exausted. Do you think heart worms could do this??

YES

That seems young to be taken down by heartworms. I had a couple do the same thing years ago, but they were over twice your hounds age, they didn't get out of breath, they were anemic and just wore out quick.

Have you had your dog on heartworm prevention?

Is she coughing, or just getting out of breath after a long run? The cough is more of a symptom of sever HW infestation, but in such a young dog that should have a good immune system, I doubt it's heartworms. If it were my dog, I'd take her to the Vet to check for a heart murmur. This is very easily done, and it should only cost you a Vet visit fee, no other tests really need to be done to diagnose a murmur. I have a pup w/ a murmur, and years ago had an adult dog with one, and you wouldn't notice any symptoms in most cases. Although if it's a bad one, you may be able to feel her heart banging in her chest like she's just run a mile even while resting. It's usually not life threatening, however a Vet visit is definitely in order here.

I would take your dog to a vet. There is a probabilty for heart worms and several other conditons,ie Congestive heart failure,kidney disease ect. I would not just assume that this is due to conditioning. Couple qiuck blood test are worth there wait in gold....Good luck