New Adopted Rescue EB Puppy - Waiting for BOAS Surgery

[luluandbeansmom]

Our family recently adopted a rescue EB that we've named Bean. This sweet girl was surrendered to a local shelter, and it is believed that she is around 9-12 months old. The rescue noted that her nares were quite tiny, and we can definitely hear her snore and snurgle both awake and asleep. At her first check-up with our primary vet, they noted likely BOAS and referred us to the local bully specialist (who is a bit out of our area) for palate trim/nares procedures. We have an appointment for her BOAS consult in about 2 weeks, but had a scary episode today where she vomited up her food, and then was choking on phlegm for about 2-3 minutes. At one point, she seemed to "black out" but then was up and walking around. We did take her to the ER vet, however, she was fine when we arrived (about 20 mins later) and they referred us back to our primary. We are going to immediately start giving her less food per feeding in a raised bowl with a slow-feeder, but honestly, I'm really shaken up by what occurred. She seems just fine now, however, I did make an appt with her primary vet on Tuesday.

We have had our senior EB, Lulu, for almost 8 years, and have never experienced anything like this with her.

So that I can relax (hopefully) a bit until her BOAS surgery, what recommendations can the community give if this type of episode happens again? I've seen lemon mentioned to help break up the phlegm, are there any other home remedies?

**Nervous Mom in NorCal**

 

[Bulldog2001]

Our family recently adopted a rescue EB that we've named Bean. This sweet girl was surrendered to a local shelter, and it is believed that she is around 9-12 months old. The rescue noted that her nares were quite tiny, and we can definitely hear her snore and snurgle both awake and asleep. At her first check-up with our primary vet, they noted likely BOAS and referred us to the local bully specialist (who is a bit out of our area) for palate trim/nares procedures. We have an appointment for her BOAS consult in about 2 weeks, but had a scary episode today where she vomited up her food, and then was choking on phlegm for about 2-3 minutes. At one point, she seemed to "black out" but then was up and walking around. We did take her to the ER vet, however, she was fine when we arrived (about 20 mins later) and they referred us back to our primary. We are going to immediately start giving her less food per feeding in a raised bowl with a slow-feeder, but honestly, I'm really shaken up by what occurred. She seems just fine now, however, I did make an appt with her primary vet on Tuesday.

We have had our senior EB, Lulu, for almost 8 years, and have never experienced anything like this with her.

So that I can relax (hopefully) a bit until her BOAS surgery, what recommendations can the community give if this type of episode happens again? I've seen lemon mentioned to help break up the phlegm, are there any other home remedies?

**Nervous Mom in NorCal**

They are adorable!

It’s very common for bulldog and other short nosed breeds to need their soft palate and nostrils opened.
My French Bulldog had the surgery, he would choke/gag and cough and reverse sneeze after 2-5 minutes of play with my other dogs.

He was also snoring more(actually waking me up cause he was so loud), and even a walk, he couldn’t do a 5 minute walk. He was out of break and almost overheated.

Every dog is different for how severe their symptoms are and what symptoms they are having. For example my vet said they often making a gross gasping for air noise in their throat if it’s severe.

I was so worried while we waited for his surgery appointment, I didn’t let him play, Kept him calm, no walks(yes that doesn’t sound very good, but it was for his own health-sometimes they will fallover and collapse cause they can’t breathe properly which was my biggest fear and reason for not letting him play until surgery). Also if left untreated they can’t get much air in and also they can get aspiration pneumonia from the palate being so long. My dog also was vomiting way more too, and choking lots.
Also if left untreated it can cause trachea collapse(that I was also very worried about while waiting for his surgery).

Anyways, Surgery made a HUGE difference for my dog. For recovery, he needed soft food for 3-4 weeks while the throat heals so no kibble gets stuck in the stitches or irritating the palate more.
No exercise or play for 4-6 weeks my vet said, short walks but after 4 weeks and 6 weeks they can go back to play and running around(my vet said this and I followed that).

His symptoms are almost non -existent now. He had his surgery done November 2021. BUT sometimes it can grow back cause it’s soft tissue. Buts it’s 100% worth the surgery if you can and the sooner the better.


Maybe you just got lucky your other bulldog didn’t have these issues.

I would try to keep her calm, and try smaller more frequent meals(that also my vet had us do after surgery too), and the slow feeder raised dish should help.

It sounds like her episode today, could have been her palate blocking her ability to breathe and eat properly, that’s scary.

I would get her in for surgery ASAP if possible.


Yes lemon juice can help with phlegm, I’m not sure if it would help her now if it’s caused by the soft palate.

There is some things you can give her while you wait for surgery and also to give her while she is recovering from the surgery.

1 thing I did give him was Adored Beast brand Gut Soothe probiotic which helps soothe any inflammation from the mouth all the way down to the stomach. So I gave that to help prevent anymore vomiting and help soothe inflammation of the throat/soft palate(which I think helped, I also gave it after his surgery too until it was fully healed).

The other thing I gave him was CBD oil which helped with the inflammation, I also gave it until the palate healed after the surgery too, it’s helpful to any pain too(which can be a issue after surgery), but I think both these supplements helped with the inflammation. It’s a natural anti inflammatory and anti pain, without side effects like the vet medications(I actually didn’t give the anti inflammatory meds the vet gave me for the inflammation after his surgery as it causes more health issues), and I just gave these 2 products(CBD oil and Adored Beast Brand Gut Soothe probiotic anti inflammatory powder), and also a soft food(raw diet or home cooked, or canned).
What do you feed???
Some foods can cause inflammation which is something to avoid.

sorry for the long response, just wanted to give all the details, and the info on the supplements I gave him that I recommend you try.

Keep me updated on how the vet appointment goes.

 

[luluandbeansmom]

They are adorable!

It’s very common for bulldog and other short nosed breeds to need their soft palate and nostrils opened.
My French Bulldog had the surgery, he would choke/gag and cough and reverse sneeze after 2-5 minutes of play with my other dogs.

He was also snoring more(actually waking me up cause he was so loud), and even a walk, he couldn’t do a 5 minute walk. He was out of break and almost overheated.

Every dog is different for how severe their symptoms are and what symptoms they are having. For example my vet said they often making a gross gasping for air noise in their throat if it’s severe.

I was so worried while we waited for his surgery appointment, I didn’t let him play, Kept him calm, no walks(yes that doesn’t sound very good, but it was for his own health-sometimes they will fallover and collapse cause they can’t breathe properly which was my biggest fear and reason for not letting him play until surgery). Also if left untreated they can’t get much air in and also they can get aspiration pneumonia from the palate being so long. My dog also was vomiting way more too, and choking lots.
Also if left untreated it can cause trachea collapse(that I was also very worried about while waiting for his surgery).

Anyways, Surgery made a HUGE difference for my dog. For recovery, he needed soft food for 3-4 weeks while the throat heals so no kibble gets stuck in the stitches or irritating the palate more.
No exercise or play for 4-6 weeks my vet said, short walks but after 4 weeks and 6 weeks they can go back to play and running around(my vet said this and I followed that).

His symptoms are almost non -existent now. He had his surgery done November 2021. BUT sometimes it can grow back cause it’s soft tissue. Buts it’s 100% worth the surgery if you can and the sooner the better.


Maybe you just got lucky your other bulldog didn’t have these issues.

I would try to keep her calm, and try smaller more frequent meals(that also my vet had us do after surgery too), and the slow feeder raised dish should help.

It sounds like her episode today, could have been her palate blocking her ability to breathe and eat properly, that’s scary.

I would get her in for surgery ASAP if possible.


Yes lemon juice can help with phlegm, I’m not sure if it would help her now if it’s caused by the soft palate.

There is some things you can give her while you wait for surgery and also to give her while she is recovering from the surgery.

1 thing I did give him was Adored Beast brand Gut Soothe probiotic which helps soothe any inflammation from the mouth all the way down to the stomach. So I gave that to help prevent anymore vomiting and help soothe inflammation of the throat/soft palate(which I think helped, I also gave it after his surgery too until it was fully healed).

The other thing I gave him was CBD oil which helped with the inflammation, I also gave it until the palate healed after the surgery too, it’s helpful to any pain too(which can be a issue after surgery), but I think both these supplements helped with the inflammation. It’s a natural anti inflammatory and anti pain, without side effects like the vet medications(I actually didn’t give the anti inflammatory meds the vet gave me for the inflammation after his surgery as it causes more health issues), and I just gave these 2 products(CBD oil and Adored Beast Brand Gut Soothe probiotic anti inflammatory powder), and also a soft food(raw diet or home cooked, or canned).
What do you feed???
Some foods can cause inflammation which is something to avoid.

sorry for the long response, just wanted to give all the details, and the info on the supplements I gave him that I recommend you try.

Keep me updated on how the vet appointment goes.

Thank you! This is great information and definitely helpful. Her surgery consult is in a few weeks and hopefully we can get her in for the procedure quickly.

We just started her on Purina One with Probiotics - but I think a shift to a soft food might be a good move after today. Any recommendations?

 

[Bulldog2001]

Thank you! This is great information and definitely helpful. Her surgery consult is in a few weeks and hopefully we can get her in for the procedure quickly.

We just started her on Purina One with Probiotics - but I think a shift to a soft food might be a good move after today. Any recommendations?

I highly recommend getting her off the Purina as it’s all fillers with very little nutrients.

I recommend avoiding all these brands:

-Purina
-science diet
-hills
-Royal Canin
-eukanuba
-blue Buffalo
And also any food you can buy at your grocery store, all these foods are known to cause health issues and inflammation.

Corn, wheat, soy, ‘chicken by product’ or any By-Product(literally waste leftovers from the garbage bin) , corn gluten, animal fat(it can come from diseased animal they don’t have to name), brewers rice and added Colors are definitely to be avoided when checking the ingredients on any dog food.


Are you wanting canned food or raw food?? They both are soft food, raw is lower in carbs which lead to minimal inflammation.
But if you want canned food, I can recommend some good brands.

If you want to mix Canned food with kibble now for cost reason, there is higher quality kibble brands such as:

-Natures Logic- minimal processed and it has probiotics too, and no synthetic vitamins which is great.
Natures logic is low in carbs too which means minimal inflammation. The sardine recipe also has omega 3 too which again help with inflammation.

-Carna 4- it’s oven baked and has probiotics, but is a bit pricy. No synthetic vitamins either.

-N&D

-Fromm

Since canned food can be expensive sometimes, a good cost effective canned food is First Mate brand.

Natures logic, N&D, Fromm brands also have canned foods you can buy.

And fresh food is really good too(easy to eat and soft), if your in US, Farmers dog is a fresh food that gets delivered to your door, not sure if it’s pricy or not.

If your interested in raw food I can recommend some brands you can buy already done, where are you located?

Definitely recommend getting her on a better food, especially for the inflammation.

 

[luluandbeansmom]

Thanks again. I would like to look at some canned options as opposed to raw, at least initially, until she can have the surgery. You recommended a few, any specific proteins to select or avoid?

 

[Bulldog2001]

Thanks again. I would like to look at some canned options as opposed to raw, at least initially, until she can have the surgery. You recommended a few, any specific proteins to select or avoid?

Also all the natures logic cans have the probiotics in it too. Forgot to mention in the last response.

What protein is she On now??
Any allergies?

Those canned food brands I listed have lots of proteins to choose from.

We normally recommend avoiding chicken as some dogs are allergic to it(which is very common in bulldogs).

Turkey is good(it’s different than chicken, most dogs that I know are allergic to chicken but are good with Turkey), some other good proteins to choose are:

-Salmon-good for omega 3 and inflammation
-Sardine-also good for omega 3 and inflammation
-Beef
-Duck
-Lamb
-Pork
-Rabbit
-Turkey for some dogs.

I personally would avoid Chicken unless you know for sure she is good with it and isn’t allergic, but it’s still really good to rotate the proteins to prevent her from being picky and to prevent her from becoming allergic to what she eats every day.

 

[luluandbeansmom]

Thank you! I appreciate this info.

Also all the natures logic cans have the probiotics in it too. Forgot to mention in the last response.

What protein is she On now??
Any allergies?

Those canned food brands I listed have lots of proteins to choose from.

We normally recommend avoiding chicken as some dogs are allergic to it(which is very common in bulldogs).

Turkey is good(it’s different than chicken, most dogs that I know are allergic to chicken but are good with Turkey), some other good proteins to choose are:

-Salmon-good for omega 3 and inflammation
-Sardine-also good for omega 3 and inflammation
-Beef
-Duck
-Lamb
-Pork
-Rabbit
-Turkey for some dogs.

I personally would avoid Chicken unless you know for sure she is good with it and isn’t allergic, but it’s still really good to rotate the proteins to prevent her from being picky and to prevent her from becoming allergic to what she eats every day.

 

[Bulldog2001]

Thank you! I appreciate this info.

Your welcome!

Keep us updated. 😊

 

[2BullyMama]

Nothing more to add.... but thank you from rescuing her and giving her a chance at a wonderful new life.