A recent study points to the possibility that owners of brachycephalic breeds (dogs with “pushed in” faces) mistake significant breathing difficulties in their pets for normal respiratory sounds.
The Royal Veterinary College at the University of London conducted a survey of the owners of 285 dogs who brought their pets to the Queen Mother Hospital for Animals for various reasons during a five-month period.
Thirty-one of the 285 dogs, including Boston terriers, bulldogs, Cavalier King Charles spaniels, French bulldogs, Pekingese and pugs, had been diagnosed with brachycephalic airway syndrome.
Brachycephalic airway syndrome describes a number of upper respiratory problems affecting the nose, mouth and throat of dogs (and some cats) as a result of abnormal skull structure.
What surprised the Royal Veterinary College researchers was the fact that despite the dogs’ owners reporting significant respiratory symptoms, they did not believe their pets had breathing problems.
Breathing Difficulties Assumed to Be Normal
Short-muzzled dogs, or “brachys,” have constricted upper jaws, which causes the soft tissue to be compressed within the skull. Many of these dogs develop brachycephalic airway syndrome. Signs of the condition include noisy or labored breathing, gagging, choking, problems breathing with even minor physical exertion, and a tendency to overheat.
Every owner of a brachy said their dog snored – some even while awake – compared with fewer than two percent of non-brachycephalic dogs. But well over half the owners did not believe their pet had breathing difficulties, even though the majority of dogs had problems during exercise.
According to researchers, this indicates many owners of pets with brachycephalic airway syndrome don’t realize a problem exists and don’t seek help from a veterinarian. According to Rowena Packer of the Royal Veterinary College and one of the study researchers:
“Our study clearly shows that owners of brachycephalic dogs often dismiss the signs of this potentially severe breathing disorder as normal and are prepared to tolerate a high degree of respiratory compromise in their pets before seeking help. It may require a particularly acute attack, such as the dog losing consciousness, for owners to perceive a problem.”
Many owners who were surveyed seemed to believe breathing difficulties aren’t really a problem if the dog is short-muzzled. One owner’s comment: “No to breathing problem – other than being a Bulldog.”
Dr. Charlotte Burn, lead researcher, warns that while short muzzles may be appealing-looking, owners of brachy breeds need to be aware the cute appearance often comes at a serious price to the dog. “Just because a problem is common, that doesn’t make it less of a problem for the individuals who suffer it,” says Burn.
Helping Your Brachy Breathe Better
Breathing difficulties can prevent your pet from being able to enjoy the very simplest things dogs naturally love to do, like eating, sleeping, play and exercise.
Dogs with severe brachycephalic airway syndrome can have almost continuous difficulty getting enough air. It’s not unusual for these dogs to collapse from lack of oxygen.
Left untreated, the problems tend to progress over time, with worsening symptoms.
The Royal Veterinary College researchers encourage parents of brachycephalic breeds to learn the difference between normal and abnormal breathing sounds in their dogs, and to make an appointment with a vet if they notice any unusual breathing or other signs of respiratory distress.
Unfortunately, surgery is often the only option to resolve significant breathing difficulties resulting from brachycephalic airway syndrome. The treatment goal is to surgically remove the tissues or structures causing airway obstruction.
Things you can do as the owner of a brachy include keeping your dog fit and trim. Overweight and obese dogs have much more serious respiratory difficulties than pets who are kept at an ideal weight.
Keeping your dog out of hot, humid environments is also important to support normal respiration and prevent overheating.
And since stress exacerbates virtually every health problem, especially breathing difficulties, keeping your dog’s life as stress-free as possible is also recommended to support your pet’s health and quality of life.
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Without reducing consumption, more than one in five children will be obese by 2020
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The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has set a goal of reducing the childhood obesity rate to 14.6 percent by 2020, and to do so children aged 2 to 19 would need to eliminate an average of 64 calories a day.
Without this reduction in calorie intake, the average child or teen would be nearly 4 pounds heavier in 2020 than a child of the same age in 2007. In addition, more than 20 percent of youth would be obese, up from 16.9 percent currently.
The last time the childhood obesity rate in the United States was 14.6 percent was in 2002.
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Mystery sapovirus strikes nursing homes, new tests reveal
Dr. Charles Humphrey, CDC
Sapovirus, previously regarded as rare, is showing up more often as the nasty culprit between outbreaks gastrointestinal illness in nursing homes.
By JoNel Aleccia
For sheer misery, few germs can cause the chaos of norovirus in a nursing home. The gut bug can spread rapidly through food, on surfaces or person-to-person, afflicting victims with violent diarrhea, vomiting and stomach pain.
About 20 million people suffer from acute norovirus infections in the U.S. each year, health officials say, but new research suggests that the nasty germ has an equally cruddy but little-known cousin: sapovirus.
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By Robert Bazell Chief Science and Medical Correspondent NBC News
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Research out Wednesday from Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston demonstrates very precisely the way fighting the body’s natural sleep patterns can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes, the most common form of the disease.
More than 21 million Americans are “shift workers,” according to U.S. Census figures. That is, they labor during the hours that most of us set aside for rest or sleep, either all or part of the time. That number is increasing 3 percent a year because of the nature of our service economy and the need for ever more people to take whatever work they can.
The sleep research team at Brigham and Women’s, under the direction of Dr. Charles Czeisler, has spent decades documenting how shift work can lead to increased obesity, heart disease, diabetes and many other health problems. In this latest research in their sleep lab they show how one mechanism creates the risk….
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Troubled or labored breathing is medically referred to as dyspnea, and excessively rapid breathing is medically referred to as tachypnea (also, polypnea). The respiratory system has many parts, including the nose, throat (pharynx and larynx), windpipe, and lungs. Air comes in through the nose and is then carried down into the lungs, through a process referred to as inspiration. In the lungs, the oxygen is transferred to the red blood cells. The red blood cells then carry the oxygen to other organs in the body. This is all part of the physical process of a healthy body.
While oxygen is being transferred to the red blood cells, carbon dioxide is transferred from the red blood cells into the lungs. It is then carried out through the nose through a process referred to as expiration. This cyclic motion of breathing is controlled by the respiratory center in the brain and nerves in the chest. Diseases that affect the respiratory system, or the respiratory center in the brain, can bring about breathing difficulties. Troubled or labored breathing is medically referred to as dyspnea, and excessively rapid breathing is medically referred to as tachypnea (also, polypnea).
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You are probably aware of the fact that fleas are the most common (and annoying) type of pest, responsible for the discomfort of our dogs and cats (and us). But did you know that there are over 2,000 species of fleas that exist around the world, and that there are more than 300 of these varieties that live in North America alone?
These small, wingless, blood-sucking insects belong to the order Siphonaptera, so named because of their siphon-like mouthparts. All variations of flea species tend to live in their own groups, and do not mix or breed outside of their species.
The different species all have a particular kind of host animal that they prefer to feed from over all others. However, while they may prefer a dog to a cat, most fleas will take blood from any animal that’s available (even a human) if they can’t find their preferred meal. Here we will discuss some of the most common flea species that you may find feeding from your pet.
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