Wednesday 1 June 2016

Pugs: some too scared to sleep at night




"There are tons of videos of dogs awaking with a start in the middle of the night, and owners laughing about it. Stupidly enough, people get a good giggle from these videos, because they think it’s 'cute' when their pug jolts out of their sleep and looks around confusedly. What they don’t know is that their dog nearly just died from suffocation. With the soft palate blocking the entrance of the trachea, the dogs stop breathing. Their oxygen levels drop and at some point the brain will send warning signals in order for the dog to wake up, hence the panicked and confused startle. For some dogs this even gets so bad, that they refuse to sleep at night, because they’re simply scared. Yeah, it’s that horrible. 
"In case your brachycephalic dog snores: that’s the soft palate hanging down into the airway and vibrating during expiration. No, it’s not cute. It’s a fucking airway obstruction!"

Read the rest here - written by Nadia Ayu who is studying to be a vet at the University of Leipzig in Germany.


12 comments:

  1. Oh gosh...

    Brachysephalic breeds are all (pugs, French Bulldogs, Bulldogs) becoming increasingly popular, worryingly so.

    I just... don't... can't... understand why.

    People like snorting, farting, wheezing dogs that can't handle heat, often dislike the cold, have bulging eyes and often suffer because of the way their face is?

    Why do people like it? Because they are shallow and want a dog because it is "cute"? That is just so selfish :(

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  2. Interesting article, thanks for the share!

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  3. What is happening regarding the petition aimed at veterinary professionals to lobby the KC and RSPCA regarding brachycephalic dogs? This needs to escalate as really, deliberately breeding these dogs with these extreme deformaties is akin to inflicting animal abuse. Human Beings have many psychological flaws that manifest as biases. This is a cognitive bias and an empathy shutdown by the people with vested interests, financially and emotionally - 'it is a breed standard, it is written down, the KC promote it therefore it is OK'. Something drastic needs to change and breeding extreme brachycephalic dogs must be preventable and punishable under animal welfare acts until we finally get our acts together as a species, who are after all supposed to love dogs, and start educating this at grass root level.

    Why can they not see that the animal in the video is basically f**&$d!?

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    1. You seem to blame the RSPCA and th BVA,for the actions of profit bred (no pun intended)breeders...seriously? Many "pedigree" dog owners do zero research when they buy their dog!!Tbh,they couldn't care less!!The RSPCA and the BVA,do their very best to promote responsible animal breeding.

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  4. Unbelievably sad. Sometimes I'm ashamed of my species ... most of the time, really.

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  5. https://www.facebook.com/twofrenchbulldogs/photos/a.125273057501906.16983.125272144168664/1302414216454445/?type=3&theater

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  6. Does this issue seem to be effecting Boxers??
    The majority of the issues being posted on the internet seem to point at the smaller brachycephalic dogs.
    It is sad to see this in any dog, a friend of mine has a less exaggerated pug than what is seen at shows and even that has the snorting, snoring and odd noises coming from it all day long

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    1. I'd say it depends. Boxers generally have a longer snout, and a much better proportioned body than an English Bulldog or Pug. They are known to snore and are sensitive to heat, but not terribly like the English Bulldog is. Heck, I had a pitbull mixed breed that snored, although now that I think about it his snout did have a little dip in it. Maybe he was part Boxer...?

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  7. After being involved in dogs for over a half century, and owned and bred both breeds with a proper muzzle and without, it seems the most logic thing in the world to give these without their muzzles back. A job that must start today. But what also makes me depressed is that this is only just the beginning for these brachy breeds, because besides designed with much deformed craniums what they have in common is that they also have quite a few other serious health and soundness problems, for example with reproduction. How will anyone get all this right?

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  8. Dog snoring! Some reason of them because they are overweight or obese to help stop you're dog to keep on snoring control the food that you give to your dog and help him to take a diet and every morning go to park and walk with your dog. & Don't forget you need to find the right food for the diet of your dog.

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    1. Melissa Lobo, these dogs tend to get overweight, due to the fact that the airway is obstructed by soft tissue and they cannot tolerate much exercise, because although humans can breed dogs without a muzzle they cannot breed them with less teeth and soft tissue, so this has to find room in a reduced space.
      If your dog is snoring because of a restricted airway, not being fat will help, but the best advise is to take them to a vet to investigate how restricted the dogs airway is and if the dog would benefit from surgery. You might just save your dog a lot of suffering and even their life.

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  9. They get overweight because they have silly owners thinking it's normal and that they should be overweight. As a pug owner I can tell you now that they don't get overweight from being unable to exercise. I have a rescue who's was morbidly obese. She's now 9 - has been with me a year and is more active than some of my client's dogs! One of mine does agility! They're not collapsing when they move!

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