Poor Lil Guy ;-(

My lil snot dog had surgery yesterday.....he had what is known as an elongated palate which is explained below and also had to have his notrils widened and some cartiledge removed that was pressing on his esophagus. He was having a real hard time breathing during this hot weather and was tiring out much too soon for a dog his age. He also went through a bad bout with pnemonia from this so I finally decided to get the surgery done. I felt so bad about it but the vet called me last night and told me that all was fine and lil snot boy was breathing better already! I'm going to pick him up a little later.......my poor lil babeeee..... ;-)

(btw his name is not really Snot, it's just what some of my weird friends call him and it kinda stuck)....

One of the the most common forms of airway obstruction in Brachycephalic (short muzzled) breeds is due to an elongated soft palate. The soft palate is an extension of the hard palate which forms the roof of the mouth. The purpose of the soft palate is to serve as a mobile flap preventing food and water from entering the nasal passages during swallowing. A soft palate that is elongated will either hang in front of the airway or will fall into the larynx during inhalation. Dogs affected by chronic airway obstruction (CAO) tend to breathe rather noisily when excited. Mouth breathing, snoring and snorting are characteristics of this condition. These characteristics become even more pronounced when the dog is hot or during periods of exercise. The dogs frequently gag in an attempt to clear their airway and occasionally bring up foam and saliva while eating or drinking. The harder the dog breathes, the greater the swelling and elongation of the soft palate.

Peace