Dog With Sleep Apnoea?

[brigie bear]

One of my dogs has been diagnosed with sleep apnoea... By 3 vets. He is a maltese x chihuahua rescue dog. The vet's had little information on the condition as it is (supposedly) very uncommon. There is also little info about it on the net from what I can find, and also no history of it in either breed which he is crossed.

The first time it happened it was VERY scary... he was making this weird snore noise so I nudged him to stop, when he didnt, I looked over at him and his eyes were rolled back and he then stopped breathing... and started again... I finally woke him u and took him to the vet. They held him and had a sleep specialist watch him and he was then diagnosed. I have since got other opinions from other vets who have said the same thing.

When he slips into it, he goes completely lifeless like he has no muscle or bones in his entire body - he's totally floppy. I have t shake him to wake him while supporting his neck as it just flopps around. The longest it had taken me to wake him is a few minuted and the shortest is around 30 seconds...

Sometimes he can go a month without an episode, but then can have 3 or more in one day. Its less scary now, but it still freaks me out.

Does anyone have any info on this? Or have ever experienced it?

[Muttaburra]

Owners of Pugs may be able to help you with information about elongated soft palate etc.

Here's a quick web-grab

http://petsurgery.com/surgicaldiseasesofairway.html

Now I don't know if this is the seat of the issue with your dog, can you recall the vet mentioning the soft palate etc.??

[brigie bear]

To be quite honest most of the stuff the vets said was a blur to me as I was so freaked out. I thought he had died and all that was on my mind was having him back and giving him a hug. Though the soft palette thing does ring a bell! Is this a common cause of apnoea?

i read through that page... and he has some, but not all of those things... and its not always and all together... sometimes he'll sleep with his mouth open... sometimes he'll snore, sometimes he'll do both etc...

[Muttaburra]

Whilst it is reasonably well recognised in BRACHYCEPHALIC breeds referring to dogs with shortened noses and mouths. Bulldogs, Pekingese, and Pugs, a similar condition may have occurred due to the crossing of two breeds as mentioned, the Maltese and Chi, and there could be another breed in there not known about.

The site I linked to is American, so it would be important to find some Australian references to treatment over here which may be different.

Also see if you can find a vet that concentrates on the brachycephalic breeds who can give you specific information as to exactly what is causing your dogs apnoea.

There are a few experienced Pug owners on Dol, you could try to PM them. Here is a link to PugrRescueSydney

http://www.dolforums.com.au/index.php?showuser=3413

Elongated Soft Palate

The soft palate in brachycephalic dogs can be too long for the length of the mouth. Clinical signs include snoring as the free end of the soft palate flaps during respiration. If the soft palate is long enough, it will hang down into the airway just in front of the opening to the trachea (windpipe) and prevent air from flowing normally. Of the three conditions affecting the upper airway of brachycephalic dogs, this is probably the most serious since airflow can be completely obstructed. The treatment for this condition is to surgically excise (remove) the excess palatine tissue. This procedure shortens the palate and prevents interference with the flow of air.

If your dog is in any way overweight then getting the dog down to normal weight might help a bit too. It is likely to be a combination of breeding, age? tissue gets more flaccid with age, and possibly overweight.

[brigie bear]

Hmmm... He is only one... will be 2 in december... his mother was a maltese and father a chi (i have met them both and all dogs were taken from the previous "owners").

He is the perfect weight.. this is one thing i had thought of, but he is healthy in every other way.

Its an odd situation because nothing seems to be wrong with him except this... None of the vets had any info for me... and I had a thought that it could be neurological? or would the vet have mentioned something about this?

[~Anne~]

Not only do I have Pugs but I also had two human children who suffered with sleep apnoea. Scary stuff indeed!

PM me if you'd like to chat. I must admit to not having heard of a dog with sleep apnoea. How did they test your dog for this? With human children and adults that connect them to heart, movement and oxygen saturation monitors.

I have a fair bit of experience with palates in dogs though, just not the apnoea part.

Edited May 4, 2008 by PugRescueSydney

[brigie bear]

i have PM'd you. Thanks so much!