Breathing issues after surgery

[Downzie87]

Hi,

I have a little brindle french bulldog, he is from show breeders and both parents are show dogs and have the classic look as does Bruno, my boy. On buying Bruno i new he was alittle tight in his breathing, as i have previously owned a frenchie who had perfect breathing but was pretty much backyard breed. I new surgeys were avaliable so i thought everything would be ok ( the breeders said he would be fine and didnt need surgery, after further investigation found that show people dont get surgery on their dogs otherwise they cant show them...)

Anyhow long story short, I have had his snares opened up wider, his tonsils removed and his pallet shortened, however, he has a small throat and the smallest of excersie causes him to become puffed and weesze, not to mention if he plays with other dogs he almost dies. He is the friendlist of dogs a really lovely little guy, loves other dogs, but i just dont know what to do now.

Is there medication for a small throat? or could this be exercise-induced asthma? it's getting to the stage he may have to be a stay home dog with no friends apart from me, which will destroy me and him, or maybe we need to start weighing up his quality of life and what the best option will be for himself. The vet is a specilist and we are going back to see him next week but i just feel really disheartened with him, he said that the bigger frenchy have alot of meat etc in the back of their throat, and seems to to fusted to fix him, plus he talked like yoda and is hard to understand.

Please help,

Ps i also have him on a all chicken diet as he is sensitive to other foods, the vet said his throw up may be causing inflammation of his throat, but I have had him on chicken breast for 2 months now with no throwing up but the his breathing has not got better, if anything worse as he is putting on weight..

I Just want him to be able to run and play for at least 10mins without out overheating, it really is quite bad.

 

[2bullymama]

Welcome to FBN! What a great looking little guy!

I had these surgeries done on my boy as well... he does great playing but starts to pant and over heat usually within 15-20 mins of playing. He is great at self regulation so I do not get to concerned and if I see him getting past a point I am comfortable with, I stop the play session and separate him and his brother till he calms down.

Unfortunately , this is part of the breed and in some case there is nothing medically to do, you just have to constantly monitor.. your boy could have a small trachea (I think that is what you mean by small throat), if that is the diagnosis, I do not believe there is any fix or medicine to help.
You should also look for a second opinion and ensure his palate was reduced enough and keep in mind, the palate is soft tissue and can grow back so the surgery may be needed again later in age. Cheli had his done twice (2 and 5 years of age)

 

[Downzie87]

Thanks for your reply, yes I think it is his trachea, the vet had concerns when he put the tube down his throat for his surgery, but hasn't said too much more regarding it even when pressed, like i said talks like yoda... annoying, he is the Queensland highly recommended specialist, so i dont know really where else to go without pay top dollar for someone who doesnt really know french bulldogs...

He almost had a heat stroke yesterday, I took him with me to a friends house, who has dogs, and other dogs/friends ended up arriving, he got so excited, and then I had to seprate him but he just couldnt get his breath back, started to throth at the mouth and his tounge when a blue color, i had to leave.

he ended up calming down, but weed and did a little poo in the car which is really out of the ordinary. today I have spent the day with him and we have been very calm, and we just go back from a walk and he seemed to keep himself really calm which was good, i think alot of it may be self enduced, he just loves to play with other dogs.

anyways finger cross there is still something I can do in regards to surgery/treatment to help him, otherwise, I just don't know if I can agree with keeping him alive struggling like he is or keeping him like a pet and not a family member as horrible as it is, hes my best friend.

 

[2bullymama]

Thanks for your reply, yes I think it is his trachea, the vet had concerns when he put the tube down his throat for his surgery, but hasn't said too much more regarding it even when pressed, like i said talks like yoda... annoying, he is the Queensland highly recommended specialist, so i dont know really where else to go without pay top dollar for someone who doesnt really know french bulldogs...

He almost had a heat stroke yesterday, I took him with me to a friends house, who has dogs, and other dogs/friends ended up arriving, he got so excited, and then I had to seprate him but he just couldnt get his breath back, started to throth at the mouth and his tounge when a blue color, i had to leave.

he ended up calming down, but weed and did a little poo in the car which is really out of the ordinary. today I have spent the day with him and we have been very calm, and we just go back from a walk and he seemed to keep himself really calm which was good, i think alot of it may be self enduced, he just loves to play with other dogs.

anyways finger cross there is still something I can do in regards to surgery/treatment to help him, otherwise, I just don't know if I can agree with keeping him alive struggling like he is or keeping him like a pet and not a family member as horrible as it is, hes my best friend.

Give it time... you will find the right balance. I had to do the same with Cheli for a period of time... Bruno will also find his balance and begin to regulate himself, if not you will see when to pull him back and have him take a break.. How old is Bruno?

 

[Downzie87]

He is 2 years old now, I hope so, he did seem to take it way easier tonight on our walk which was good, not pulling at parts where he always pulls ie walking to the front door. and he just regulated his breathing more, maybe the scare yesterday might have made him settle alittle. he is not de sex yet, so maybe that will help alittle

 

[Alice Kable]

I had an English Bulldog with an abnormally small trachea and it was really important to keep his weight down. We had pallet reduction surgery done when he was 1, but he could never be as active as our other Bulldogs.

 

[davidh]

Definitely will have to limit his play time for sure. After the surgery, he should have gotten better and not worse.

 

[Downzie87]

Ok so back from the specialist today, We are having him de sex and removing one side of his larynx, apparently, you can only remove one side or it will fall back in. The specialist said that due to the size of Brunos head he has alot of extra meat in the back of his throat which doesnt help when he has a small trachea, he said everything else has been done well, he had his pallet shortened twice as we had to go back in and remove his tonsils and the vet trimed the pallet again during that surgery, and there is no boaring out of is notrills as the front snares opening is all that they breath through, behind is just a cavity, and the snare has been done well.

I am just so happy that there is another surgery available, and I didn't want to have him de sex but if it calms him down then its worth it, the vet said he wouldn't lose much muscle due to his age, so happy about that also. Thank you for your help and comments after he over heated i was feeling really stressed out and didnt know which way to go, like i said im just so happy there is another option and finger cross this will improve and settle him down, his biggest issue is wanting to play with other dogs sooo much he works himself into the worst state almost imeddiatly, if he was a snob there would be so much less of a issue.

Anyway, after all of this, my recommendations are never buy from show people, until the standard is changed, it is just really cruel. The standard needs to be changed to increase the snout length even just marginally for the health of the dog, frenchies are beatiful natured dogs and have amazing personneltys, it sickens me to think there are dogs out there with serious breathing issues not being operated on and left struggling for air, i have asthma so i know what it is like to struggle for air during a asthma attack.. not nice at all.

So the best thing out of all this is that if your dog is still having breathing issues there is a larynx surgery available, once its all done ill post the results, I think Bruno will always have a bit of a breathing issues hence why im getting him de sexed. Once again thank you so much for your help Merry Xmas and happy new year

 

[2bullymama]

Sending lots of positive thoughts and prayers all goes well--- please keep us posted on your handsome boy.




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[Downzie87]

Bruno, unfortunately, passed away last weekend after a mildly warm day and a small run at the dog park.

I had multiple surgeries done on Bruno to help his breathing including nasal snare winding, soft pellet removal, tonsil removal and larynx trimming... The vet said it was because of his tracheal being small and that an artificial tracheal nay needs to be put in...

Since brunos death and my research, I have found a condition that mirrors brunos symptoms. Bruno never barked and if he did it was weak and unusual.

Bruno had in diagnosed larynx paralysis.

I am really annoyed at the vet for not identifying this and I am posting this, so others know of the condition

https://mobile.petcoach.co/amp/article/laryngeal-paralysis-in-dogs

 

[FroxerMom]

Bruno was very handsome! You showed so much dedication and love in his short life. He couldn't have had a more caring and concerned pet parent. I hope you are able to look at these photos someday and smile at your memories together.

 

[2bullymama]

Bruno, unfortunately, passed away last weekend after a mildly warm day and a small run at the dog park.

I had multiple surgeries done on Bruno to help his breathing including nasal snare winding, soft pellet removal, tonsil removal and larynx trimming... The vet said it was because of his tracheal being small and that an artificial tracheal nay needs to be put in...

Since brunos death and my research, I have found a condition that mirrors brunos symptoms. Bruno never barked and if he did it was weak and unusual.

Bruno had in diagnosed larynx paralysis.

I am really annoyed at the vet for not identifying this and I am posting this, so others know of the condition

https://mobile.petcoach.co/amp/article/laryngeal-paralysis-in-dogs

So incredibly sorry for the loss of your boy.. so young! You loved him so much and tired every thing to give him a great life.



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