Breathing Problems in High Altitude
Submitted by carol on April 22, 2011 - 7:35pmI have a ten year old female bulldog who will travel with me across the Rocky Mtns in May/June. I know she will have difficulty with the lack of oxygen in the higher altitudes as she already has experienced a lot of panting as we drove through the Smokey Mtns and they are significantly lower than the Rockies. Does anyone have any suggestions of things I can do to help her during the crossing.
Minimize stress for her, keep
Minimize stress for her, keep her cool (A/C cranked), maybe give her some Benadryl to keep her airways open, only make her walk as far as she needs at potty stops, address any breathing issues she might have early before it gets too far along, make a list of Vets along your route so if she does have a problem you can quickly place a call instead of loosing valuable time searching for a Vet.
Hope other people can add to this -
my ideas
Take along some lemon juice in the squirt bottle, benadryl in case of bug bite (get the proper dose for her weight from your vet) benadryl will not open up an airway if overheated, it will only help a little if she is having an allergic reaction causing potential for airway to swell.Still take to vet in that case.
Take a cooling coat and cooling mat. Start off with lots of water from your home in case water in a different area upsets her tummy, and lots of ice which can be replenished along the way.
Perhaps a general vet check up before you go may be a good idea, and ask the vet himself for any ideas he can think of.
Don`t forget a first aid kit with all the usual "bully" stuff.
I just know I will think of more stuff after I post this, but others will also help you.
Traveling across the mountains
Try to travel during the coolest part of the day. Make sure your car is in good mechanical condition so you can have the A/C on high.
follow what the others have said it's great advise. Have a safe trip.
Jo Ann
Thank you
for your suggestion. Every idea helps as we plan this trip.
Rockies!
Where are you going through at? My bullies live at 6500ft real close to the Rockies. I think i should take our little snorefests to the ocean and then they would breathe and run like crazy?
Altitude
We are travelling west on Highway 90 til we get to a highway that swings down to Portland - before you get to Spokane. After Portland we are heading out on 84 to Salt Lake City, Denver and then east back to Ontario Canada. I will take all the precautions others have suggested and will hope that she manages fairly well. Good to hear that yours do well at that elevation. Thanks.