Brachycephalic dogs

Brachycephalic breeds feel the heat more than other breeds and with the weather getting warmer we wanted to get in early with some helpful advice.

What is a brachycephalic breed? A brachycephalic breed is one whose skull is shortened, causing their face to seem pushed in. We love them because in general, they have wonderful temperaments. However, with that shortened skull comes some problems, specifically breathing problems.

The trouble is the explanation as to why and what to do is fairly long so we will give you two versions the short one and the long one. You choose which one you want to read.

Short version

If your dog shows any one of the following signs it indicates there is a degree of respiratory obstruction. Dogs don't sweat, so they use breathing to cool them down so dogs with breathing problems can get overheated. If he/she

• snores
• makes a noise when breathing normally
• has decreased activity when it is hot
• can't exercise without getting puffed
• snuffles most of the time
• gags or brings up fluid
• drools  excessively
• breaths mostly through the mouth much of the time  

ring me and we will talk about making your pet  more comfortable now, before the warmer weather.

Long version

Brachycephalic animals are animals with squashed in faces like Bulldogs, Boxers, Pugs, and Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. All the normal structures in the head are there, they are just squashed into a smaller space, unfortunately, it's the airways that make way for this compression. So, brachycephalic animals are born with narrower airways and this can be a problem. Veterinarians call it brachycephalic airway syndrome generally a mixture of stenotic nares (narrow nostrils), long soft palate, narrow airways and laryngeal narrowing.

The amount of effort that a brachycephalic breed has to put into breathing is greater than other animals. For a demonstration try taking a deep breath in through a straw, notice how difficult it is and how the straw wants to collapse in on itself. That is exactly what happens with the airways of brachycephalic animals because of the increased respiratory effort their airways have extra pressure put on them to fall inward. The high negative airway pressures means that the soft tissues of the airways, with time, will enlarge and elongate as they are sucked into the airways This produces secondary changes and means that surgery to correct the airway problems often needs to be repeated through their life.

How do you tell if your pet has any of the problems we are talking about? Well look at the list above. Take particular note of your pet not being as active during hot weather because dogs and cats use their respiratory tracts as radiators to get rid of heat. If this isn't working well then they need to find a cool spot and lie down when it is hot. Their activity level will tell you how much they are feeling the heat.

Brachycephalic animals need a proper assessment of their respiratory tract and this will often need to be done under anaesthetic. The good news though is that many of them will benefit enormously from the simple procedure of opening up their nostrils slightly, which is a 10 minute procedure and mostly only needs 4 stitches and can be done at the same time as the anaesthetic for assessment. Some will need more extensive solutions, but these can be discussed at the time and generally will increase the quality of life enormously.

In warm weather provide plenty of shade, cool using wet towels or bedding, keep a children's wading pool in the yard and supply plenty of cool water. Keep exercise to the cool parts of the day and the  weight under control. If over heating occurs, bathe  in room temperature water not cold water as it will constrict the blood vessels in the skin and make cooling less effective. If the breathing doesn't settle in 10-15 minutes seek veterinary attention. Heat stroke can be rapidly fatal and if they survive there can be permanent damage done to internal organs.

People often say "that's the way this breed breaths so it's OK". If they are showing the signs listed above they are having trouble breathing, and if we work together we can make life a little easier for them.






This is a Boston terrier half way through an operation for stenotic nares. You can see his right side (left to us) has been done and is much more open that his left side, which is virtually closed. The tread you can see are the two sutures used to closed the wound left after a wedge of tissue is taken out of the wing of the nose.