My dog is breathing fast, is it an emergency?

The University of Missouri's veterinary cardiology service gives a simple method. Watch your dog while it is sleeping or resting comfortably in a room that is neither hot nor cold. Count the breaths in 15 seconds, where one breath is the chest rising and falling once, and multiply by four to get breaths per minute. It says the normal sleeping rate should stay below 30 to 35 breaths a minute.

For a dog already being watched for heart disease, the same service asks owners to call if the resting rate rises 20 to 30 percent or more above its usual level for three days in a row, or stays above 35 a minute. You do not need a heart diagnosis to use the method: knowing your dog's normal sleeping rate on a calm day gives you and your vet a baseline to compare against. Note it on your phone with the date. One number is never a diagnosis, though: Merck warns that breathing rate also changes with stress and fear.

Dogs lose heat mainly by panting, and the RSPCA counts dogs with breathing problems, puppies and older dogs among those most at risk of heatstroke. In a humid Indian May or a monsoon week, panting works less well, so a dog left in a hot flat during a power cut, or walked at noon, can move from normal panting to heatstroke quickly. Merck adds that short-nosed dogs can overheat from excitement or stress even on cool days.

Two other Indian patterns matter. Tick fever is common, and TroCCAP lists pale gums and profound weakness among the signs of babesiosis, a parasite of the red blood cells: a dull dog that breathes fast after a tick season needs a blood test, not a wait. And during Diwali the RSPCA's signs of fear, excessive panting and yawning, will look like a breathing problem in many dogs. Fear panting usually eases in a quiet room; fast breathing that carries on after the noise stops does not.

If you are travelling, a Petym sitter follows your written plan and, in an emergency, calls you and takes your dog to the nearest 24-hour vet on the city's list.