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Sleep Apnea: Dogs
Sleep Apnea in dogs surgery... makes sense, but it didn't occur to me that dogs were actually having these procedures done: "Sleep Apnea is most common in flat-faced breeds, referred to as brachycephalic. (Brachy, pronounced "brakey," is Greek for short, and cephalic means head.) English bulldogs, pugs and Boston terriers are examples of brachycephalic breeds.
These dogs have tiny nostrils, an overly long soft palate, eversion of small sacs in the throat so they protrude into the airway and an underdeveloped trachea, or windpipe.
Sleep apnea also occurs in overweight dogs, because internal fat partially collapses the airways during sleep.
If your dog is overweight, help him lose enough weight that he is on the lean side of the normal range.
The standard treatment for sleep apnea is to surgically correct the dog's abnormal anatomy. Your veterinarian can give you an idea about cost and refer you to a specialist if you decide to pursue surgery.
If not, tell your veterinarian about your dog's sleep apnea. If chronic breathing problems have swollen his air passages, your vet can prescribe anti-inflammatory medication to bring down the swelling, enlarging his airway. If allergies are a factor, an antihistamine might help.
Finally, warm, humid weather makes it more difficult for dogs to breathe, so be sure it's cool where your dog sleeps. An air conditioner can help during the warmer months."
These dogs have tiny nostrils, an overly long soft palate, eversion of small sacs in the throat so they protrude into the airway and an underdeveloped trachea, or windpipe.
Sleep apnea also occurs in overweight dogs, because internal fat partially collapses the airways during sleep.
If your dog is overweight, help him lose enough weight that he is on the lean side of the normal range.
The standard treatment for sleep apnea is to surgically correct the dog's abnormal anatomy. Your veterinarian can give you an idea about cost and refer you to a specialist if you decide to pursue surgery.
If not, tell your veterinarian about your dog's sleep apnea. If chronic breathing problems have swollen his air passages, your vet can prescribe anti-inflammatory medication to bring down the swelling, enlarging his airway. If allergies are a factor, an antihistamine might help.
Finally, warm, humid weather makes it more difficult for dogs to breathe, so be sure it's cool where your dog sleeps. An air conditioner can help during the warmer months."
Views: 15652
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by RockRpsgt on
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My dog has apnea, and REM behavior disorder. Jake's anatomy is the opposite of the dogs that were mentioned. He has a long snout. I wonder if being a mixed breed adds to is breathing problems.
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Permalink Reply by Sonia S. on
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Wonder if flat faced cats with small short nose, like the Persian breed, can have the same problem. Beside breathing problems they also tend to have eye problems.
I known a couple of normal looking, domestic short hair cat, with breathing problem--their breathing sounds loud, almost like snoring. Maybe it's caused by a problem with the airway.
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Permalink Reply by Mack D Jones, MD, SAAN on
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I may have mentioned this before. Cats have sleep apnea (SA) like dogs. As Mike mentioned, it's usually the flat faced animals, but some of the larger dogs with long snouts have it too. My suspicion is that SA eventually leads to canine and feline "cognitive dysfunction syndrome" (equivalent to Alzheimer's in humans). We need some smart vet to develop a PAP machine for our pets.
By the way, I was watching the animal channel recently and learned all about the Great Dane. I was surprised to learn that their life expectancy was only seven years. I couldn't help but wonder if SA played a role.
What about the rest of the animal kingdom? Are there any other candidates. You can bet there are many examples, but I haven't seen or heard of any (yet).
Sonia S. said:Wonder if flat faced cats with small short nose, like the Persian breed, can have the same problem. Beside breathing problems they also tend to have eye problems.
I known a couple of normal looking, domestic short hair cat, with breathing problem--their breathing sounds loud, almost like snoring. Maybe it's caused by a problem with the airway.
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Permalink Reply by sleepycarol on
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I know my son owned a Mastiff (the largest breed of this dog). Him and his wife treated that dog like a kid. They have a short life span as well. Vet said their average life span is around 7 years as well. I wonder if that is typical of larger breeds.
I don't know if their dog had sleep apnea though.
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Permalink Reply by Victoria Castro on
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My dearest Blackie (Chihuahua) was diagnosed with Sleep Apnea...for course there is a relation of heart disease and sleep apnea. He was diagnosed with a hear murmur and in return his heart enlarged and this caused a disruption of his breathing because his heart kept on hitting his windpipe. I did get his weight under control and he slept ok for a while until his heart problems took a turn for the worst. And eventually he was put down a couple weeks ago because he was struggling to breathe due to his congestive heart failure. And he's resting peacefully now and I brought him home yesterday in a small cedar box. I'm adjusting to the changes and my cat (Elizabeth) is back to being my buddy again as she was prior to Blackie moving in. Last night she climbed onto my bed and headed under the covers, turned around and layed her head on my arm. These are behaviors that Elizabeth my cat shared with me prior to Blackie moving in. But I believe as it is in us humans that if you are overweight there's a chance that you will probably be affected with OSA/SA. And probably the same for any breed of dog. Dogs and Cats get cancer, diabetes, heart problems, etc...
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Permalink Reply by BeeAsleep on
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Very timely discussion. I am making an appt today to take our little Alaskan Klee Kai to the teaching hospital at Colorado State University, where Lance Armstrong took his dog. They are experts at diagnosing.
Little Rose snores, wheezes, coughs and has a hard time breathing sometimes. She sleeps under the bed and wakes me up with her snoring. I was told that she has allergies, but the allergy medication is not working. So off we go to spend the day in Fort Collins at CSU vet services to see what the problem is and what we need to do to fix it.
Thanks for the discussion Mike. b
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Permalink Reply by Melinda Hertel on
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So interesting! I had no idea they were treating this in dogs! We know they have apnea, but this is the first time I have heard of treating it! So cool! ;)
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Permalink Reply by bonesigh on
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I have a little Shih Tzu (properly pronounced Sheed-Zoo), sorry folks but it bugs me when people say Shit Zu. It's 2 words and the first one does not end with "t". She, Tangerine, is now 10 and has been snoring loudly for the past couple of years. Tangerine sleeps with me and it just breaks my heart to watch her, sometimes she stops breathing for a bit. I can't imagine torturing her with surgery, that would be so painful, and it really doesn't work that well with humans. I can't imagine a machine either...they nap so much you'd have to follow them around all day. I love her dearly and will cherish my time with her however long that may be.
Victoria...I'm so sorry to hear about Blackie ): I have lost several pets in my lifetime and it can really hurt. My cat, Mewsette, was 21 when I had to have her put down. She is with us still in her box with her nameplate with a kitty clock above her.
Again, I'm so sorry.
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Sorry to hear about your loss Victoria. I would be crushed if something happened to my Jake. Truly crushed.
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Permalink Reply by 99 on
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a year in a dogs life is not 365 days like us humans
i think that a year in a dogs life is something like four years that is 1*4
so a four year old dog is sixteen years of age
or a seven year old dog is 28 years old
Mack D Jones, MD, SAAN said:I may have mentioned this before. Cats have sleep apnea (SA) like dogs. As Mike mentioned, it's usually the flat faced animals, but some of the larger dogs with long snouts have it too. My suspicion is that SA eventually leads to canine and feline "cognitive dysfunction syndrome" (equivalent to Alzheimer's in humans). We need some smart vet to develop a PAP machine for our pets.
By the way, I was watching the animal channel recently and learned all about the Great Dane. I was surprised to learn that their life expectancy was only seven years. I couldn't help but wonder if SA played a role.
What about the rest of the animal kingdom? Are there any other candidates. You can bet there are many examples, but I haven't seen or heard of any (yet).
Sonia S. said:Wonder if flat faced cats with small short nose, like the Persian breed, can have the same problem. Beside breathing problems they also tend to have eye problems.
I known a couple of normal looking, domestic short hair cat, with breathing problem--their breathing sounds loud, almost like snoring. Maybe it's caused by a problem with the airway.
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Permalink Reply by amott1973 on
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We've often commented that our dog Abbey has sleep apnea and needs a cpap. She snores so loud that guests usually think it's a person that's fallen asleep. She's a mix between a rottweiler and something hound-ish, maybe a beagle? Not brachycephalic, but she is also overweight.
I think there's a direct correlation between breed sizes and lifespans. The larger the dog, the shorter the expected/average lifespan. We were looking at wolfhounds once and their estimated lifespan was something like 4 years. Much too short!
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Permalink Reply by birdshell on
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Please remember that Colin Sullivan did his first CPAP/apnea research on dogs. He briefly mentions this in the first paragraph: http://www.sleepapnea.org/resources/pubs/pioneer.html
Also, there definitely is a tendency for smaller dogs to live longer, and for larger ones to live a shorter life. However, good care and appropriate genetic tendencies, can help. This is just as true for other animals as for human animals.
Our Dobermans both lived at least 14 years, which is pretty good for a larger breed. I believe their expected longevity is 10 years. There is some effort to breed Dobies, at least, for longevity: http://www.dpca.org/Longevty/longevity/
In the case of any dog, it is always too soon for the human to see the canine die, but...that does allow us room for some other canine to live in our homes, lives, and hearts. Of course, there is ALWAYS room in the heart for another dog, in my opinion. It is those other factors that adversely affect the quality of life of the dog that limit the number.
Karen
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