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What To Know About Pneumonia In Dogs
Dogs can get pneumonia just like people. Your dog's lungs are affected when they have pneumonia. This leads to symptoms such as breathing problems and cough.
There are different forms of pneumonia in dogs. They have varying recovery times based on severity. Dogs usually recover after treatment.
The following causes can lead to pneumonia in dogs:
Dogs can also get pneumonia if they've been on a hospital ventilator.
Based on the causes of pneumonia in dogs, the disease is classified into these types:
Viral pneumonia. Typically, pneumonia is caused by a viral infection of the lower respiratory tract. Viruses such as canine distemper virus, adenovirus, and canine influenza virus can affect your dog's air passages.
Bacterial pneumonia. Bacterial lung infections can cause pneumonia in dogs. It can also be caught from other dogs. Sometimes, kennel cough, or infectious bronchitis due to bacterial infection, can lead to bacterial pneumonia in dogs. Aspiration or the entry of foreign bodies into the lung passages can also lead to bacterial pneumonia.
Highly infectious bacterial or viral pneumonia is called canine infectious pneumonia. It is often seen in dogs kept in overcrowded places like animal shelters, boarding kennels, or animal clinics. It starts in the respiratory tract and makes the dog's immune system weak, making them prone to other infections.
Aspiration pneumonia. This type of pneumonia develops when foreign material enters your dog's airways. Aspiration pneumonia in dogs can happen if their food, water, medicine, or saliva enters into the windpipe instead of the food pipe. It can also happen if your dog has continuous vomiting.
Fungal pneumonia. This develops when a fungal infection in your dog's lung causes pneumonia. Fungi like Aspergillus or Candida species can cause fungal pneumonia. Your dog can get fungal infections through the soil if their immune system is not functioning properly.
If your dog is suffering from infectious pneumonia, one or more of the following symptoms may appear:
A vet usually checks the medical history and conducts a physical exam to identify symptoms of pneumonia in dogs. The vet will try listening to your dog's lungs through a stethoscope. This can help them identify sounds like wheezing in the lungs.
The vet may check the body temperature of your dog and order blood tests to check for infection. They may also collect samples from your dog's air passages for lab tests. More commonly, X-rays are done to check the lungs.
The following treatments are used for pneumonia in dogs:
If your dog has severe pneumonia, they may need to be hospitalized. Your dog may have to be closely examined to avoid any complications.
The following tips are recommended for home care:
Dog pneumonia recovery time can vary depending on the severity and underlying cause. Typically, it can take anywhere from a few weeks to months for complete recovery.
If your dog has infectious pneumonia, keep them away from other pets. Wash their bowls, bedding, collar, and leash often to avoid spreading the infection. Keep your hands clean by washing after handling a dog with pneumonia.
Red, Irritated Skin Under Your Dog's Nose? Here's What It Could Be, According To A Vet
Red, Irritated Skin Under Your Dog's Nose? Here's What It Could Be, According to a Vet originally appeared on PetHelpful.
Q: "My dog has red, irritated skin under his nostrils and started getting scabs under his mouth in the winter, and I'm not sure why. The mouth scabs have healed, but his nose still looks really red, and I'm still wondering if it's just allergies or something else."
A: Without seeing the lesions in the mouth, it's hard to tell you exactly what's happening, but based on the photo, there are several problems that could cause those red lesions on the nose, listed below.
Related: Why Is My Dog's Skin Red All Over?
Potential Causes of Scabby Noses and Mouths in DogsPyoderma from dry skin: This is much more likely if the scabs on the mouth are on the lips and not on the pink skin inside the mouth, also if the lesions go away during the summer and then come back when it gets dry again during the winter. It is sometimes itchy after a secondary infection, but not always.
Ringworm: This is a type of fungal infection that can affect the muzzle as shown in the photo. It's usually only on one side, but it can't be ruled out.
Pemphigus: This is a type of autoimmune disease that causes lesions on the muzzle that are sometimes similar to the photo. It's not seasonal, but the lesions may come and go.
Leishmania: This parasite can cause those types of lesions in many places on the body, but we do see them on the face.
Rhinitis: This is usually just inflammation of the mucus membranes of the nose. There can be several causes, but it's usually a bacterial or viral infection of the nose. Besides the scabs like in the photo, dogs usually sneeze, may have a runny nose and sometimes even have breathing problems.
Sinusitis: Instead of just lesions on the nose, like with rhinitis, this can be an infection deeper into the dog's head, in the sinus cavities.
Once we complete the exam and look at the mouth to determine which of these is most likely, we would need to narrow it down by doing a biopsy of the scab or at least looking at the discharge or a scraping of the skin to see what kind of infection is causing this.
Some dogs will also need an exam with an endoscope to find out if there's a foreign object in the nose causing all of this.
A fungal infection is one of the most common causes, but if the scabs are just on the lips, I would be most worried about dry skin and a secondary infection.
How Can I Find Out Which of These Problems Is Causing These Scabs?Unfortunately, this isn't something that can be diagnosed over the internet. The only way to definitively diagnose this is by having an examination, and if the answer isn't clear during the exam, your dog will need to have the scab biopsied or scraped.
What Can You Do if No Veterinarian Is Available?If you are not able to take your dog to a veterinarian, you should try to treat it as pyoderma secondary to dry skin.
If this is a fungal infection, it will require medications. There are some things you can do at home to keep him more comfortable, but I want to emphasize that they will only help and not clear up the problem.
Some of the things you can do at home include:
Keep the skin on the nose moist: Check the skin on the underarms and on the back near the base of the tail. Those are the regions where we often see signs of dry skin, and if it looks like your dog has it, you should try a humidifier and some of the remedies for dry skin to help moisturize it.
Make sure you provide enough high-value calories: If your dog is eating dry food and has higher-than-normal caloric needs (like when healing from a disease), some extra calories will help. Just eating the regular food may not be enough, so providing liver or chicken hearts as treats can help a lot.
Keep the nose as clean as possible: If the scabs around the nose appear dirty in the mornings, or if your dog is outside digging and gets the area dirty, clean it off with a moist towel.
Apply coconut oil: This oil is a natural antibiotic and antifungal and will moisturize the skin around the nose. You can use a small amount, about 1 cc, and apply it to the scabs around the nose twice a day until they clear up. Do not use it in the mouth (it isn't toxic at all, but it's not going to moisturize there), but if you see the scabs coming back on the lips, it can be helpful there.
Hopefully, this will clear up during the summer if it's only dry skin, but if it continues to grow worse or any new lesions appear, you'll have to consult your local veterinarian so that your dog can be examined and the scabs can possibly be biopsied.
Best of luck.
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Related: Hot Spots but No Vet? Treat Your Dog at Home
SourcesAnderson JG. Canine oral lesions: a decision-tree approach to ulcers, leukoplakia, and pigmented lesions. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2023 Sep 16;261(S2):S62-S69. Doi: 10.2460/javma.23.05.0294. PMID: 37699542. https://pubmed.Ncbi.Nlm.Nih.Gov/37699542/
Red, Irritated Skin Under Your Dog's Nose? Here's What It Could Be, According to a Vet first appeared on PetHelpful on May 29, 2025
This story was originally reported by PetHelpful on May 29, 2025, where it first appeared.
High Fever In Dogs
You may have heard that you can tell whether your dog has a fever by feeling their nose -- cool and wet is good, hot and dry means fever -- but it's not true. In fact, dog fever often goes unrecognized or undetected.
One reason it can be difficult to detect fevers in dogs is that their normal body temperature is naturally higher than in humans.
The normal body temperature for dogs is between 101 and 102.5 F, compared to 97.6 to 99.6 F for humans. This means your dog may feel feverish to you even when their temperature is completely normal.
The word "fever" is typically used to describe elevated body temperature caused by infection or inflammation. A temperature of more than 103 F is considered a dog fever, although it can be 103 if a dog is very excited or stressed.
When dogs have high temperatures that are the result of hot external temperatures or excessive exercise in humid conditions, the condition is referred to as hyperthermia or heat stroke. When temperatures reach 106 F, serious and fatal complications can occur.
Although there are no definite signs, some symptoms that might indicate illness and fever in dogs include:
The only accurate way to tell if your dog has an increased body temperature is to take their rectal temperature. Experts recommend using a digital thermometer specifically designed for rectal use in dogs. Most thermometers intended for use in human ears do not work well for this purpose.
To take your dog's temperature, first coat the thermometer with a lubricant such as petroleum gel or baby oil. Next, gently insert the thermometer about one inch into your dog's anus and wait for results. Most thermometers sold for this purpose will take less than 60 seconds to register.
A variety of illnesses and conditions may make your dog run a fever. These include:
There are times when the cause of dog fever cannot be readily determined; this is called "fever of unknown origin," or FUO. The most likely causes for dog fever of unknown origin are disorders of the immune system, bone marrow problems, undiagnosed infections, and cancer.
If your dog has a temperature greater than 103 F, you should call your veterinarian. Fevers above 106 F are emergencies that must be treated promptly.
If your dog has a temperature above 105 F, you can help bring their body temperature down by applying cool water to their fur, especially around the ears and feet. Using a fan on the damp fur will help lower the temperature. Be sure to monitor your dog's rectal temperature as you do this, and stop the cooling procedure once it reaches 103 F. You don't want to bring down the temperature too fast.
If your dog has a fever, try to see that they drink small amounts of water on a regular basis to stay hydrated, but don't force it. And never give your dog any human medicines intended to lower fever, such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, as they can be poisonous to dogs and cause severe injury or death.
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