~Anne~

Wow, how frightening for you LM!! As you know, Monte has clusters. Sometimes the clusters can be so close in succession he is all but in status epilepticus. Following on from what Rappie said, we use valium and adminster it rectally. It is far easier putting a syringe (no needle of course) up a seizing dog's rectum than trying to give them a tablet and not choke them in the process as well. Injectable and rectally administered diazepam works far quicker than adminstering orally (within a few minutes, whereas oral can take up to 10-15 minutes to take affect). It only has a relatively short shelf life though so we only purchase small amounts each time. Is she only on Pb or is she also only Kbr? We also immediately turn on our air conditioner to cold (even in Winter) when Monte starts a cluster. After he has finished, we give him ice cream, yoghurt or sometimes a little jam on bread. The ice cream is best though as it has water for hydration, sugar for energy and it is cold and this helps their body temp drop. The biggest worry is how much their little hearts can handle when they have continous siezures.

The large "glob" in the middle that has the suture material looped around it is the soft palate. They are holding it with instruments. Her mouth is upside down as she is lying on her back on the operating table and the main pink long thing you see is her tongue which is pulled out as far as it can from her mouth. The "glob" is the excess soft palate and this would normally sit back a little at the back of the tongue and it would have been severely restricting her airway.

I'd take her back. If you don't like the Vet, go to another. I would speak to the first Vet again though. Perhaps let him know that you felt rushed and that you didn;t feel he spent enough time checking your dog. Vet's are human. They sometimes have bad days and sometimes they don't realise they have upset someone. Sometimes it may be that they are just not your kind of Vet.

The most experienced I know of in Sydney is Dr Tony Black of the Veterinary Specialist Centre in Nth Ryde. He also owns two Pugs and so he is also personaly familiar with the effect of brachy sydnrome. Whilst TOny has not done bracchy surgery on any of my rescues, he has helped with in others areas with Pugs and rescues. He is a fabulous guy. I can also highly recommend Chris Cole from St George Animal Hospital. Chris has done a few surgeries for me. She wqas formerly with the RSPCA in Yagoona. She charges a lot less than Tony too but then Tony is a specialist. It is possible that the palate was not resected enough. I have personaly know a little Pug that has had two lots of surgey to resect the palate. It can, as you said, also be everted saccules. Until they look I guess they won't really know. It may also be something similar to the little rescue Pug I currently have in. Here is a link to the pic of her palate being resected. Soft Palate Resection Thread Link My Vet reported that she is very fleshy behind the epiglottis but they were unable to reach the area safely to resect any and so it was left. Her breathing is very much improved but she can still sound a little congested at times as her saliva also builds up in this area. The Vets that did her surgery, and a number of others of mine, are David Croft and Keith Farrell from Ryde Veterinary Clinic.

What do you mean by 'enmeshed' relationship?

I'd print it out and take a copy to the Police, along with the details of where they can find her, and file a charge against her for using a comunication device/internet to threaten.

Sounds like he is doing really well. That's great. If you think his breathing sounds good now, wait to see how much more it improves when the swelling subsides and he has healed completely. The last little on e I had done is still with me and she is literally bouncing off the walls now! She has always loved chasing after a soft toy, having a little wrestle with me for it and then chasing it again when I throw it but she could only do this a couple of times and then she would have to rest. She also found it hard to breathe and hold the toy. Now I end up with a huge pile of toys at my feet as she constantly runs off to grab them wanting me to throw them. She can chase them all night long! She drives me spare with them now!!!!

They usually check all registries, or as many as they can till they find a match. ie if the first registry they check is a match they may not check any others.

I wouldn't bother him with the collar unless he licks. I have castrated and spayed many, many dogs as a rescuer and I have only ever had the rare dog that will lick the stitches to be honest. Elizabethan collars aren't exactly comfortable for them.

Low fat yoghurt (plain, not flavoured) is also a nice treat. The coolness helps it to go down too without hurting. I find that the majority do not want to eat the first day or so, and when they do they eat very gingerly, even yoghurt. I feed soft foods for the next 3 - 4 days and then gradually re-introduce harder more solid food. I feed raw though so it is easy for me to continue with the same food as I feed mince and pureed veges. I mix the mince with water to make it even easier to eat for a few days. You have to try and keep them quiet for a few days to ensure there isn't going to be any bleeding. Bleeding and swelling are the two things to be concerned about. Their throat will be sore and usually irritated by the tracheal tube as well so they do a fair bit of goosehonking, gagging and the like in the first few days. Every Pug I have ever had done has bounced back within days literally. In fact, the last 2 I had done were bouncing around as if nothing had been done to them that same day! It was very hard trying to keep them settled and quiet! As your little one has also been castrated, he will be a little sore around his nether regions. You may also notice bruising. Just ensure he doesn't lick his stitches. If he does, you may have to put an Elizabethan collar on him. Check the stitches daily for signs of weeping, licking, infection or loose stitches. Dogs are usually stoic little creatures. You'd be surpised how quickly they bounce back as if nothing had been done.

How did they all go?

Great googling work.

I agree it is very bizarre. I'd be inclined to question the Vet thoroughly.

I think I will cremate in future. What prices have people paid for cremation of their pets?

Stenotic nares are so common now they appear to be 'accepted' even in the show ring. To be honest, I don't know of any Vets that would willingly risk the issues associated with surgery, and in particular bracchy surgery, on a Pug. They have problems with anaesthetic and the surgery can be risky due to swelling and bleeding and I would think that any Vet would understnad this and only operate if needed? There are cowboys in any profession however I guess. Have a good chat to your Vet and, if you are still not happy, seek a second opinion. I was told that the little girl above "didn't need any surgery and just breathed like a normal Pug" by a Vet Nurse. It was obvious to even the most stupid that she had severe breathing issues. Both myself and the Pug Breeder who initially picked her up for me were horrified when we heard her and to think it was considered 'normal' was remarkable to say the least.

No, just raw and natural as much as possible. I am not sure how the 'inbreeding comment' is relevant to this, however, I agree that my breed in particular is far removed from the wolf but the basis that I feed them on is raw and natural is better than preservative and chemical filled products. I also feed my human family on a simialr philosophy ... just not so much is raw. As I run a rescue, I don't have the luxury of relying on natural products that may or may not be as effective as others. I use a product called Sentinel Spectrum. It covers them for fleas, worms and heartworm. Not my own adult dogs. I still vaccinate rescues as more often than not their history is unknown. I do not vaccinate my own dogs as I do not believe it is warranted. I believe they have ample immunity and are healthy. I may reconsider when they become geriatric or if their circumstances change enough to warrant re-vaccination.

Unless the palate is critically long, dogs under 12 months do not show many symptoms. The symptoms gradually build, in my experience, from the age of around 12 months onwards. I am yet to meet a Pug pup that has an obvious elongated palate but I can pick an adult Pug with palate problems a mile away. As you said, your Vet is the best one to advise. Given that the surgery can be risky I don't think they would do it if it wasn't neccessary.

As per your edit, without having them under a GA they can not adequately view the palate to determine if they need to be done. My advice, if it needs to be done, then doing it now will save a lot of money, heartache and misery down the track. Sometimes, the soft palate can be elongated to the point of near total obstruction, sometimes it can just be a tip of the palate that is in the way. Only your Vet will be able to advise if it needs to be done. Here is a pic of a girl I had done a few weeks ago. The soft palate was very elongated as you can see by the amount they are removing. All of that was blocking her airway. Yesterday, we took her for her first good walk since the op. She actually made it almost all of the way without me having to pick her up. When I did pick her up, she wanted to get back dwon again within a few minutes. She has gone from a dog that could only walk metres to one that can now walk a few hundred. In time, her fitness will pick up more and more.

Do you know if there have been any studies in this regard? Is the information you have come across showing a high incidence of hypoplastic tracheas in the toy?

You want to run that past me again. Your words: eta hmmm while I'm freaking out, as a lot of you know, my pug was diagnosed with a congenital abnormality (narrowing) of her trachea before 12 months of age. She doesnt goose honk. This thread makes me think it is indeed a possibility that she could have tracheal collapse down the track. At what age would I possibly see it? My pug is the result of a repeat mating. She doesnt have inherited problems but congenital. The statement above about your Pug is what I replied to. How bizarre.

Raz, why would I want to contact her? What on earth has your breeder got to do with anything? Sometimes, you are so confusing. I know who bred your Pug, you'd have to have had your head down a termite mound for the last 2 years to not know who bred Pancake. So what though? Why are you now saying it is a terrier and a he we are discussing? As for what to do - you said you'd rather take your Vets advice, I suggest you do just that.

Who said anything about blaming a breeder? Fact is, if you breed a Pug with brachy syndrome you increase your chances of producing offspring with brachy syndrome. Equally, if you breed a perfectly healthy Pug who shows no sign of any brachy syndrome issue (which quite frankly is rare), there is still a chance the off spring will be born with brachy syndrome. As I said, and you can choose to believe it or not at the risk of offending whomever you think it will offend, brachy syndrome is both congenital and inherited. I have said it before, Pug breeders are against the 8 ball from the beginning. It doesn't matter how good a breeder they are, how much knowledge they have, or how ethical they are. The facial structure of flat faced breeds means that many of the offspring WILL be born with brachy syndrome to varying degrees. A good Pug breeder recongises this and takes whatever steps are neccessary to negate the chances. A bad breeders denies that it occurs.

This is subjective. Brachy syndrome is inherited and also congenital. It is congenital in that the structure of the brachy breed lends itself to the various conditions that make up brachy syndrome and these conditions are also an inherited trait.

His hair will grow back. It is highly contagious to both human and animal so exercise strict hygiene until it clears.

Does she have any other brachy syndrome issues - stenotic nares, elongated palate, everted laryngeal saccules? It really will depend on a lot of things - her environment, how much she is forced to deal with high temperatures, how fit she is, how much weight she is carrying. If she hasn't already had surgery to open up her airways as much as possible, assuming there is other brachy syndrome issues, then I would recommend this be done while she is young. The younger they are, the better they deal with and recover from surgery of any kind, particularly brachy surgery. Best bet is to have a chat to your Vet about it.