Ace the 2026 PAVE Veterinary Exam – Unleash Your Inner Animal Doctor!

When a dog has an upper airway obstruction, airflow is hindered at the level where air should pass in, so the pattern of breathing is dominated by effort to overcome that blockage. This is described as an obstructive breathing pattern: air is drawn in through a narrowed passage, and the work of breathing increases as the animal tries to move air despite the blockage. You’ll typically see labored, possibly rapid inhalations and audible sounds as air struggles past the obstruction.

Normal breathing (eupnea) would not reflect any obstruction, and simply being fast (tachypnea) is not specific to where the problem lies. Paradoxical respiration refers to chest wall and abdominal movements that oppose one another and is not the typical descriptor for upper airway obstruction. The key idea is that the obstruction causes a flow-limiting pattern, hence the obstructive breathing pattern.