~Anne~

PM me your email address. I am always willing to share Ellz, besides, I don't own the material.

She's doing wonderful now. Still a little congested but this is purely due to swelling after the surgery. The difference in her breathing is quite noticeable already. I have met many Pugs over the years who have no real issue with their breathing. It does pay to choose wisely though and speak at length with your breeder about the issue. Brachy breeds are prone to these issues, regardless of how well bred they are simply due to their skull structure. A good breeder recognises this and implements strategies to keep elongated palates and other brachy sydnrome issues to a minimum. A bad breeder claims it rarely exists.

I guess it depends on how you measure 'common'. In my view, it is more common than what I am comfortable with. In having said that, I have had 2 rescues in this year who have had a palate resection, and approximately another 6 in total that were either diagnosed and we chose not to operate or were suspected but not officially diagnosed.

Catching up some reading I gather. Very old and mute point by now, but I guess, we all know what you think and that is important.

Yes, huge isn't it. She is still a little choked up and snuffly but this is mainly swelling as the sugery was only done Monday. The biggest issue with the little doofus is trying to stop her running and playing like a fruticake already. I will forever be amazed at how quickly dogs bounce back from surgery! Now, we just need to get her bladder stones and UTI sorted and she'll be ready to find her forever home.

I just love that my Vet takes pics for me to see these things.

This is a pic taken of a little rescue Pug that I currently have in seconds before her elongated palate was resected. I am horrified as to the amount of flesh that had to be removed to open up her airways but so happy the surgery is now done and I look forward to the improvement in her health. The bulb type part is the excess flesh of the palate that is about to be resected to open up her airways. It is huge!

I have been told that fleas are not a problem in the ACT? It could be FBD though. They only need 1 flea to jump on them, bite them, and then jump back off to develop the reaction. It could also be that she is developing an allergy to something or it could be mites. The area affected though doesn't suggest mites. To be completely sure, I'd take her to the Vet to have a scrape and to have it looked at.

Great advice, thank you. Its very similar to my vets, which we did embark on until the fractured leg. They suggested chicken though. I like your idea of trying something that she has had no previous exposure to, that makes heaps of sense. Can't feed horse though, I'd feel a turncoat to my own equine charges. It has to be something she has never been exposed to before...not sure why your Vets suggested chicken??? The basis of dietary related allergens starts in the dog's first few years when the protein soruces the dog is normally fed creates an immune response. It is thought that the immune response will be triggered only by protein soruces the dog has already been exposed to within the first few years. Hence why you have to offer a protein source that is completely new (aka novel). I feed goats meat as it is locally available although it is not neccessarily the cheapest option. Horse and rabbit may be cheaper. If your dog is large then cheaper is better. Goats meat is usually around $10 per kilo and I buy it already diced. Most turk and leb butchers will sell it in abundance as it is a popular meat for them...... and I will add, goats meat is lovely to eat.

Agree with stormie. You really need to do an elimination diet to determine 'if' a food source is actually the issue. You are just chasing your tail otherwise. Most diet related allergies are linked to protein. Most kibbles contain protein. It is a phurphy that the allergen is usally grains. Most often it is the beef or chicken content of the kibble that causes the problems. Remove all food sources. That includes any nibbles, chews and snacks and treats. Find a protein source that your dog has never had before. With the Pugs, I use goats meat. Add a carb source such as sweet potato. Feed that and nothing else for 12 weeks. If the allergy clears, add the normal diet back in one thing at a time and watch for a reaction. If the allergy doesn't completely clear, but improves, it can be assumed that there is more than 1 allergen. Many dogs suffer from both dietary related and atopic. If the allergy doesn't clear at all then it is considered that it is not diet related. More tests are then needed to find otu what in the environment is the problem. This can be anything from dust mites to pollens and everything in between.

What makes you think the allergen is diet related?

Could you sen to me as well please Puggles? My brother bought a pup from a 'breeder' who desexes all pups at 6 weeks. I'm a tad concerned. Ta. Email me as I don't have your email address. [email protected]

Yes, I realise this now. As I said, I made a simple comment without really putting a lot of thought into it.

Household bleach is not actually strong enough to my knowledge. You need real bleach. Better still, call your Vet and ask if you can buy some Trigene from him.

I had a rescue with a prolapse. It had been out for 2 days! The optic nerve was dry it had been out for so long. Pumba responded very well to the surgery though and he actually regained vision in the eye. It looked a bit yuko for a few days but soon settled. This is Pumba and his eye is perfect now.

I currently have a rescue in that has had stones removed twice now through surgery. It is now strongly believed that it is the infection that causes the high alkaline PH levels and the crystals to form. Most Vets routinely put dog on anitbiotics (clavulox I think is the most common) without doing a urine culture. The antibiotics do not clear the infection and it returns. Sometimes it may only be low grade and so you won't notice a lot of symptoms but those crystals are forming and they will form into stones. Insist your Vet does a urine culture to ensure that the bitch is on the right antibiotics in the first place. An easy test for crystals is to get the dog to urinate on a clean sheet of plain paper. Let the paper dry in the sun and you will see the crystals left if she has them.

One recently that 'got my goat' was a Pug breeder who re-homed a bitch to a woman who was on my list. She re-homed the bitch "at a reduced rate because she was such a good quality dog who had won ribbons..." as the new owner proudly told me. The bitch was 5 years of age and was sold undesexed and without her papers. That is the kind of situation I think of when I think of adult dogs being sold. As I said, I obviously hadn't contemplated the other reasons that would exist where it would be not suitable to desex the dog. (edited to add the word 'not')

I made a simple comment without putting much thought into it to be honest. When I think of mature dogs on DOL, I think of dogs that are no longer needed by a breeder for showing or breeding. 'Ex-stock' as such. I've seen many of these in the Pug world and many are being re-homed entire to pet homes. I hadn't really contemplated other reasons.

Should mature dogs only be allowed to be advertised on DOL if they're desexed? I'd say yes.

Yes will do. From a welfare perspective, I'd still be advocating desexing pups but from a breeding perspective - no way. Even the welfare perspective is a fine line in trying to determine the risks either way to be honest.

I've got say, after reading a document sent to me recently, I agree with everything blackdog has said above. Early age desexing has a lot of negatives.

It is not likely that she picked it up at the DOL meet as the time frame is too long. Incubation is anywhere from 3 - 10 days. If she is C3 vaccinated then she is not vaccinated against parainfluenza or bordetella.

Determine, if possible, the source of the allergen and then minimise risk of exposure or undergo desensitisation injections.

Dogs with KC cough all the time regardless of activity. They may also become depressed and go off their food. If it is KC, then a simple child's cough suppressant will help alleviate the cough. Rest and plenty of fluids is also warranted. Incidently, I have never had a Vet prescribe antibiotics for KC.

There are also many heart related conditions where a cough is a symptom. Best to have it Vet checked.