~Anne~

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.

I wouldn't be too concerend with goosehonking. It is rare for a Pug to not goosehonk and not all suffer from such issues as collapsing tracheas.

Goosehonking and coughing are symptoms of tracheal collapse. They are also symptoms of many other illneses such as heart disease, and elongated palate and irritation of the palate and epiglottis. If your Vet is saying 'heyfever' then I would think he feels it is an irritation of the palate causing the dog to goose honk. A rescue bitch that I currently have in care, that had her palate resected a couple of weeks ago, goosehonked quite considerably after the surgery due to the irritation of her trachea and soft palate.

I have had two rescues in with partial tracheal collapse and a foster Pug that had brachy surgery after re-homing and suffered a tracheal collpase and had to have an emergency treacheostomy. One of my foster carers had their elderly Pug die from a total collpase after emergency brachy surgery to try and open up the airways. In my cases: Case one had fluid on the lungs and it was assumed it was heart disease. After a specialist consultation and further xrays it was discovered she had a hypoplastic trachea. She had surgery to resect her palate, remove the everted laryngeal saccules and her nares were widened. This was done to help ease the pressure on her respiratory system in the hope that this would ease the pressure on the trachea. She was 7 years old. Case two also had the palate resected to assit with easing the pressure off the trachea. The trachea walls were weakened due tot he pressure put on them with forced breathing over the years. She was 5 years old. Case three was a foster dog on behalf of another org. She was re-homed and within a few months had brachy surgery to correct her breathing. Her trachea, already weakend by the strain of breathing was weak and totally collapsed on the second day after surgery. She was raced back to hospital and underwent an emergency tracheostomy. This dog was 4-5 years. Case four is my foster carers Pug. He was adopted by them at a late age via a friend and suffered symptoms of brachy syndrome. I odfn;t know of any medical details other than he underwent brachy surgery to ease his breathing and he died within days after a tracheal collapse. He was around 10 years of age. Interestingly, I can not recall any of these dogs suffering from patella issues (not sure about the foster carers Pug though) although I wouldnt neccessarily rule them out. In my experience, the partial and full collpase has been as a direct result of brachy syndrome. Brachy syndrome also includes narrow and deformed tracheas.

They damn well should be if they aren't. That poor little Pug. Bindii - thank dog he has you. He may have ended up with an owner who didn't have the finances, knowledge or cared enough to help him and he would have lived a life of pain and misery and defnite total blindness. His eyes look good on that last pic. Hopefully, that will be the end of his worries. Bindii, what was causing the PK? Does he suffer dry eye too or was it exposure and irritation?

Seriously! ;)