Open mouth breathing Noisy, wet breathing Blue gums (normal gums are pink) Weakness Panting Coughing (may have a wet sound to it) Fever Lethargy

Chest x-rays Blood work Pulse oximetry, which measures the amount of oxygen in the blood

Oxygen therapy to raise low blood oxygen levels Medication to make breathing easier (‘bronchodilators’) Intravenous fluids to rehydrate your puppy Anti-vomiting medication

If obtaining a fluid sample wasn’t possible, your vet will probably prescribe a broad-spectrum antibiotic, which will target a wide range of disease-causing bacteria.

Do not stop antibiotic treatment if your puppy starts looking and feeling better. If you stop the treatment early, all the bacteria may not be killed. The surviving bacteria could multiply and become resistant to other antibiotics.

Have your puppy eat and drink in an upright position. Keep your puppy upright for 20–30 minutes after it finishes eating and drinking. Add water to your puppy’s dry food to help it go down the esophagus more easily. Give medications as prescribed by your vet.

Make sure no air bubbles are in the milk formula. Before inserting the feeding tube, measure it from your puppy’s mouth to its last rib. Place your puppy on its side to do the measuring. Slowly thread the tube over the puppy’s tongue and down the throat. Run your thumb and index finger along your puppy’s neck to make sure you can feel the trachea and the feeding tube. Do not hold your puppy by its abdomen after the tube feeding.

Hold your puppy’s head in your non-dominant hand and the syringe in your dominant hand. Place the syringe in your puppy’s mouth and angle it to the side. Do not angle it toward the back of the throat—the medication could end up in your puppy’s lungs. Slowly empty the syringe. Place just a few drops in your puppy’s mouth at a time, giving it time to swallow and breathe.

Surgery could also be needed if your puppy breathed a foreign object into its lungs. [14] X Research source If you decide on surgery, your vet will take special precautions to ensure your puppy does not accidentally breathe anything into its lungs before it has fully woken up from surgery. Surgery can be expensive. If you have financial concerns, discuss these with your vet when deciding on whether your puppy should have surgery.