Panting while at rest...

I just went to pet a sleepy Barley, and when I pet him, he pants short and hard. His stomach heaves, even. He seems to be smiling, though, and his nose isn't stuffed or anything. Is he having breathing problems? Do dogs pant when they're happy, even if totally at rest? Am I paranoid? Although he's a chow mix, he has a long snout and shouldn't have sinus issues. Hmph.

Probably just a little warm.

Katie does that occassionaly when she's sleeping. Usually its accompanied by whimpering noises and sighs. I just think she's dreaming... its really cute actually when she makes those noises in her sleep.

Could be hot, Barley has a lot of fur.

i agree, when we leave the radiator on to hot poppy starts to pant, i just turned of the radiator and opened the window and in a few mins she was fine.

If it's not hot, it could be heart problems. I don't know your dog, but if Chip was lying down and was panting after no excercise or or heat ...it would be vet time.

If it's not overly hot and he hasn't been exercising, I'd be taking him to the vet too. Panting is a sign of heart problems among other things. Panting is also a sign of pain. Hope he's OK.

I just took my dog to the vet yesterday. He has been acting and looking like he doesn't feel well for several days. He's also been panting whenever he's in his crate, in the middle of the night. The vet said the panting was a sign of pain.

I have the book "How to Speak Dog" by Stanley Coren and he says that Panting and yawning can be a sign of stress. I know this is true as when Im grooming Madeline, she always starts panting and she yawns and yawns and yawns, if you put her in any stressful situation she will do this, its really funny as I have never noticed it in any other dogs I owned