Cute Faces, Major Health Problems

If you own a Brussels Griffon, Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, Japanese Chin, Pekingese, Pug, Shih Tzu, or Yorkshire Terrier, you should understand the term brachycephalic.

It comes the from the Greek "brachy" meaning short and "cephalic" meaning head (bracky-suh-phalic).

Not every brachycephalic dog will develop respiratory problems but truth be told, most will to some degree or the other. In a mild case, you may not notice any problems beyond loud snoring. In major cases, your dog may need surgery.

These dogs are bred to have the rounded head, flat, squashed-in faces and prominent eyes and compact bodies that are so appealing in appearance.

The breeding decisions we've made over he years have resulted in dogs with these problems:

- very small nasal openings (stenotic nares) that limit breathingand cause wheezing or mouth breathing.

- overlong soft palate. The dog's short face has trouble housing the soft palate which separates the nasal passage from the oral cavity. The airway may be obstructed and cause snorting sounds.

- very narrow windpipe (trachea), which is one of the reasons why anesthesia is so dangerous for Toy breeds.

- vulnerable eyes. With their prominent eyes, they have such shallow eye sockets that a sharp blow to the back of the head can cause an eye to pop out of the socket.

- eyelid problems. Some eyes are so prominent, the dog can't close his lid all the way which causes dry eyes. Eye and eyelid problems require medical
treatment to avoid turning into a serious condition.

- teeth problems. Brachycephalic dogs have the normal 42 teeth but in a much smaller mouth than a full-size dog. Teeth can be crowded and grow at
odd angles which results in dental problems.

- heat stress and heat stroke because these dogs are not efficient panters, the only way dogs have to cool themselves.

Labs, for instance, are able to pass air quickly over their tongue through panting which causes the saliva on the tongue to evaporate. The blood in the
tongue is cooled and circulated back to cool the rest of the body.

For a brachycephalic dog, much extra work is required to move the same amount of air which causes airways to become inflamed and swollen.

Fortunately, these dogs learn to cope. That's why you may see a Pug holding his head a certain way