Shih Tzu

[Ngaire Ingham]

I have a 12 week old puppy who has difficulty breathing - has anyone had a puppy with barcheycephalic syndrome - my vet think he may have an elongated palate.

 

[Mjosa]

If he is having difficulty breathing and your vet thinks he has an elongated palate, which is common in brachy breeds, get him to trim/laser some off, minor op. for your dogs health sake and also for his comfort.

[persephone]

Agree with Mjosa. 
Also , contact the breeder and let them know .

[Ngaire Ingham]

Mjosa - do you know a vet who does this op in South Aust please?

 

 

[RuralPug]

6 hours ago, Ngaire Ingham said:

Mjosa - do you know a vet who does this op in South Aust please?

 

 

The reverse is often the case - far too many vets will do palate and/or nares surgery on brachy breeds when it isn't really necessary. All breeds with extremely short muzzles have brachecephalic syndrome to one extreme or another and, yes, it will sometimes need surgery. But not as often as some vets claim.

Ethical breeders work had to ensure that the syndrome is moderate enough NOT to need surgery or impinge on the dog's lifestyle. Six months seem awfully young for such surgery unless it is a very extreme case. That is why a good breeder will want to be informed if one of their puppies us having problems with this.

If your vet does not think that surgery is necessary, it very likely isn't. But I'm sure that @Mjosa will know of an experienced trustworthy brachy vet from whom you can get a second opinion.

[persephone]

7 minutes ago, RuralPug said:

Six months seem awfully young for such surgery

12 weeks ?in OP 

[RuralPug]

13 minutes ago, persephone said:

12 weeks ?in OP 

OMG! I totally missed that! Dear Lord, even if it is a case necessitating eventual surgery you wouldn't do it that young!
Thanks, Perse - I can read things three times and STILL miss stuff! Dementia settling, in, probably.

Edited September 29, 2017 by RuralPug
fat finger typo

[Mjosa]

6 hours ago, Ngaire Ingham said:

Mjosa - do you know a vet who does this op in South Aust please?

 

 

Where abouts in SA do you live?

My vet is very good at doing this minor operation I am down south I also know of a good vet out north of Adelaide that does a lot with Frenchies.

I know where you are coming from Rural Pug and I agree with you, my vet will not do this if he does not think that a dog is not overly compromised, but this is a 12 week old puppy and as yet too young and seems to be having trouble already,  but from the OP it sounds pretty bad.

Ngaire Ingham I would suggest that you let the breeder know about this situation with your puppy, if I was the breeder I would definitely want to know and if it did happen to one of my puppies I would offer to pay half the vet bill as the puppy is so young and he would not have been gone from the breeder for more than four weeks.

 

[PANDI-GIRL]

@Ngaire Ingham

 Has your pup had the op on his palate, is he ok now , did you let the breeder know about this problem.

Edited December 12, 2017 by PANDI-GIRL