u/munz_69

Hi everyone, I’m a bit worried about my puppy Kelly and would appreciate some advice.
On Saturday she was completely normal throughout the day. That night, she suddenly drank her entire bowl of water and started panting very heavily, which is unusual for her.
Since then, the excessive drinking has stopped and she’s back to drinking normally. She’s also eating normally, peeing normally, acting normally, and her abdomen is no longer swollen.
The main thing that has changed is her breathing. Before this, Kelly could exercise quite hard for 20–25 minutes without really panting. Now, after only around 5 minutes of light walking/exercise, she starts panting heavily. She also sometimes pants lightly while resting, which she never used to do.
It’s winter here, so it’s definitely not because of hot weather.
I’ve also noticed an occasional strange sound from her throat. It’s not a full cough or gag — more like she’s about to gag/retch or is clearing her throat, but she doesn’t actually vomit or bring anything up.
Her gums are naturally very dark, but she has some normal pink areas and those still look pink.
I’m wondering if she could possibly have swallowed something or irritated her throat, but I’m not sure if that would explain the change in breathing/exercise tolerance.
I’m planning on getting her checked by a vet, but has anyone experienced something similar with their puppy? What could cause a sudden change like this?

Hi everyone,
This is Kelly. She’s a 5-month-old Rottweiler, and I think I may have created a problem.
A bit of backstory:
I got Kelly when she was only 7 weeks old after being lied to by an unethical breeder about her age. The breeder was later shut down and the parents were confiscated by the SPCA.
Because she left her litter so early, she never properly learned bite inhibition from her mother or littermates. She was also the runt of a very large litter, so I suspect she had to compete hard for food.
When I first brought her home, she was terrified. For the first few weeks she barely ate, slept almost all day, and had no interest in toys or playing. She slowly came out of her shell, and I was honestly just relieved to see her acting like a normal puppy.
The problem is that when she finally started playing, all she wanted to do was wrestle and bite. I didn’t discourage it enough because I was just so happy she was finally enjoying herself after such a rough start.
Fast forward to today…
She is honestly an amazing dog.
Top of her puppy training class.
No signs of aggression.
No resource guarding.
Rarely barks (only when she’s excited).
Loves other dogs, cats, and strangers.
Very confident and social.
The only issue is her biting during play.
She bites hard, but only with me.
I’ve been working on it consistently for the last two months and nothing seems to stick. I’ve tried:
Redirecting onto toys.
Reverse time-outs (walking away when she bites).
Letting her play with other dogs at daycare in the hope she’d improve her bite inhibition.
Here’s the weird part…
She never bites anyone else.
She plays beautifully with other dogs, puppies, strangers, and even the trainers at puppy school. If another dog corrects her, she immediately backs off and keeps playing appropriately.
But with me? The land shark comes out. 😂
It’s almost like I’m her designated wrestling partner.
I’m not worried that she’s aggressive—I genuinely don’t think she is. I’m more concerned that if I don’t fix this now, she’ll be a 50 kg adult Rottweiler who still thinks biting me is part of the game.
Has anyone dealt with something similar?
Is it too late to improve bite inhibition at 5 months, or is there something I’m missing?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

I was told I was getting a Rottweiler puppy.

What I actually got was a baby shark with paws.

She attacks water bowls, bites ankles, sprints through the house like a torpedo, and makes shark-attack noises at 3am.

Bath time isn’t a bath.
It’s her returning to the ocean.

Should i continue with kibble or toss in a couple of lifeguards instead?