Any Min Pin or Other Miniature Breed Moms?

[KK812]

I have an almost 2 year old miniature pinscher who has what seems to be asthma. Anytime she is running or playing for more than a few minutes she begins wheezing. When I see this happening I pick her up and try to calm her down. It doesn't last very long but it worries me.

Unless it's just a trait of the breed, the only thing I can think of is this. She is the runt of her litter, so now, full grown, she is only 5 pounds. When she was a pup we took her for her 6 month shots, I believe. Well, I guess the vet hadn't had much experience with such small dogs (she was 3 pounds at the time), and he must have given her too much of something because her face swelled up and she started having breathing problems within 5-10 minutes of leaving the vet. We took her back and he gave her a shot of benedryl and some sort of steroid to help with her breathing. I hadn't noticed the breathing problems before this, but we had only had her for 3-4 months.

I guess my question is, does anyone else's min pin have breathing problems? Obviously there is nothing I can do about it, but I'd at least like to know if it's a trait of the breed or the fault of the vet.

[lbs27]

Hi!

I'm so sorry that you have to go through this. It must be so scary to see your pup have breathing issues. I have an ~ 5 yr old min pin (rescue so I don't know exactly how old) and she doesn't seem to have any breathing issues. I've read a bunch on min pins and don't remember seeing anything about asthma. My guess is that it's partly due to her size and being the runt of the litter (my little girl is about 14 pounds which is just about right). I can't comment on whether or not it's a vet related issue or not, I just don't know. There are some very knowledgable doggie owners around here, as well as at least one vet, jesvet who may know more about it. You may want to put something about breathing issues in the title of the thread to attract them. :) I hope your pup is ok!

[beakersmom]

I have a chihuahua-the smallest of the small, but she's never had breathing problems. I know some smaller breeds have had trachea problems, but I've never heard of asthma.?.?:confused: Some dogs do have reactions to shots though.....I just had an appointment(grooming) where the puppy had a reaction in the way of breathing problems....I'm not an expert though.

[Peppy]

KK812, I don't have a dog, but I wanted to let you know that I think that you should take yours to a vet. If he has asthma, there may be something you can do. The vet thought my cat had asthma, so they gave her an x-ray. The x-ray showed she might have asthma, but was inconclusive, so the vet gave me medication to give to her if she ever has an attack.

If your guy has asthma you will want to know so that you can regulate his activity and so that you can give him medication if needed. I would recommend going to a vet who has more familiarity with smaller breeds of dogs, however, since that seems to have been a problem in the past.

[KK812]

Thanks for the responses, guys. I guess I should have made the title more specific. :cool:

I've brought the breathing issues up with two vets(the one who gave the shots and my current one), and they didn't seem to think much of it. Guess that probably means it's time to get a new vet!

[honeygirl]

We have an Italian Greyhound (9 lbs) who wheezes at times too. It's usually when he's been running hard or getting too excited. He makes a asthma type noise (cough/wheeze) but is quickly okay. We just figured it's b/c he's a little guy (who gets too excited).

The vets have never been concerned. He's almost 3yrs old now btw.