Many people tend to adore bulldogs, they even affectionately call them as the dog that snores, but few really know what this means, this is an animal that suffers from a strong disease known as brachiocephalic syndrome.
But what is brachiocephalic syndrome?
This syndrome is a consequence of pharyngeal and nasal abnormalities that are usually given by inheritance in this breed, but this not only usually affects this breed, it does so with all animals that have short heads, so the English bulldog, the pug, the Persian, can also be affected. the chow chow and the boxer, although it has also been seen in some cases in the Tibetan mastiff.
If we compare the roots of the different dogs we can realize that there is a big difference between those of the brachycephalic and among the other dogs. We can see that those with small heads they barely have a space for air to enter in his nose and this gives us an idea of what is happening, but not only what we can see on the outside but also that the internal anatomy of the nose is usually narrower and a little smaller than usual.
We are going to explain some situations that are usually seen in dogs of these breeds, one of them is the elongated soft palate and it is that in this situation the soft palate is much thicker and longer than in other breeds.
This is usually brought to flow at the moment of inspiration and can obstruct the dorsal part of the glottis.
On the other hand, the eversion of the lanryngeal saccules, this can lead to an obstruction in the glottis and it is in these cases that we can be associated with a laryngeal collapse.
In this case the breed usually has a tracheal hypoplasia and also in most cases it can present a very thick tongue, which will make the passage of air a little more complicated in these pets.
But what does this mean?
The truth is that this can cause a great difficulty breathing, the snoring that we usually hear is due to the vibration that occurs in the palate due to the resistance that is produced by the passage of air that will inflame the larynx, which will cause a worsening in the condition.
They are usually present syncopes and also these dogs usually have problems when exercising, since they can have collapses at the time of eating because it is going to produce a airway obstructionYou can also have strong vomiting and regurgitation, this will cause pneumonia due to aspiration.
How to solve the problem?
Surgery is the basis for the treatment of this condition, a resection in the soft palateThis means that a cut must be made in the palate area, this is done so that the epiglottis can contact the edge of this area.
The truffle plasty to achieve the widening of the nasal windows, carrying out an extirpation of the saccules, it is also necessary to have a strong dog weight control.
This brachiocephalic syndrome It is usually progressive, and it will worsen with age and if surgery is not performed in time, the percentage of improvement after the operation is usually optimal, but it should be mentioned that this will depend on the degree of tracheal collapse where it tends to decrease very successfully. It is important that owners of dogs with these breeds know that this problem can occur that these dogs are born with this condition and that snoring should not be something funny so it must be given importance.