Oh yes! These little dogs that I hear arriving as soon as they cross the threshold of the clinic door, not because they bark, but because they snore! Some stronger than others. These snores (we are talking here about snores of "anatomical" origin) are often seen in small dogs of brachycephalic breed (with a short, flattened nose) for example pugs, Pekingese, English, French, American bulldogs, etc.
Why are brachycephalic breeds more prone to snoring? Their upper airways, from the nostrils to the trachea, are shorter and narrower relative to their lung size than in long-nosed breeds. This creates airflow resistance, causing turbulence that makes soft tissues, like the soft palate, vibrate—resulting in snoring. The problem worsens if the dog is overweight!
Further, a brachycephalic dog is affected by "brachycephalic respiratory syndrome" when it has one or a combination of the following conditions:
- narrower (stenotic) nostrils;
- a longer soft palate;
- everted laryngeal saccules;
- a fall of the larynx.
These conditions further reduce the passage of air through the respiratory tract.
“Yes, but Doctor, it’s normal, he’s always done that, since he was little." It is not surprising that he has been snoring for a long time. But is this “normal”? No… It is not “normal” for a dog to snore, to have chronically restricted air intake.
Chronic resistance to breathing can develop into inflammation of the upper airways (especially the soft palate) leading to collapse and partial or complete paralysis of the larynx, dangerously compromising breathing. In some cases, the dog literally can't breathe anymore!!
Fortunately, we can help prevent these complications from a young age (adult dogs too, of course). For snoring puppies, we can take advantage of the opportunity, during their spaying/neutering procedure, to check and correct, if necessary, the opening of the nostrils and the length of a palate that is too long. These procedures are simple and quick. The dogs recover very well from these operations and their breathing is immediately improved!!
Do you know – or perhaps have – a snoring dog?