Sleep Apnea

[JoJo860]

Hi!
I have a wonderful Bully called Maggi who is 18 months old. She's a fantastic dog and has had no real health issues so far, however I am a bit worried she may be suffering from sleep apnea.

Her breathing is very noisy anyway so when she's sleeping, if she starts snoring you can imagine the volume!

Yesterday afternoon she woke up from a snooze and was shaking and her eyes were rolling. I shouted her and she looked at me but seemed very confused so I ran to her and started stroking her to see if I could calm her and stop the shaking. I got her a drink of milk to try and bring her round and noticed her tongue was quite blue (as it was a Sunday, we have no veterinary practices open on a Sunday evening in the UK). However she continued to drink and i kept rubbing her chest/throat area and she got the colour back in her tongue and gums. She stopped shaking and has been fine ever since (the whole episode lasted around 3 minutes max but felt like forever in the panic!). I have made her an appointment with the vet however i'm not sure how familiar they are with the English Bulldog breed so I wanted some advice from other owners!

Does this sound like sleep apnea? Has anyone else's bully suffered from this before? Is there anything I can do to help with it? I worry as she was woken by the sound of my husband doing DIY. If he hadn't woken her at that point - would her breathing ever have picked back up?

Thank you for your help!

 

[2BullyMama]

Hello and to EBN! Where are you located in England? We have many members there and maybe you live near one that has a good bully vet. You need to get his soft palate checked as it can be the cause of the issue

Apnea is very scary -- in most cases they will begin to breathe again, but it is very risky. I have a Frenchie that does this on occasion, I blow air in his face to get him to catch his breath.. it is not ideal, but it works.

 

[JoJo860]

Hi,

thanks for your reply! We are in Sheffield, England. Would be good if someone could recommend a good bully vet for us!

Maggi seems fine in herself today although her left eye is now swollen Hoping it's just an allergy but will get it checked at her vet appointment

x

 

[Davidh]

I would find a good bully vet, and have them check her nares and for an elongated palate, both can restrict their breathing, especially when they sleep. If she does have an elongated palate or narrow nares, the surgery is pretty common, and the recovery is quick.

 

[aprilemari]

I would find a good bully vet, and have them check her nares and for an elongated palate, both can restrict their breathing, especially when they sleep. If she does have an elongated palate or narrow nares, the surgery is pretty common, and the recovery is quick.

Yes, our Lola had an overheating episode where her tongue turned blue, and she's always been a loud sleeper with periods of no breathing. I was convinced that she had an elongated palate and our vet and our surgeon confirmed it. Lola had that surgery plus her nares widened at the same time and she can breathe SO MUCH BETTER. I'm still fearful of her not breathing especially at night. I've become a light sleeper and will give her a little nudge if I've thought she hasnt taken a breath in a while. Please get your little girl checked out, the surgery is totally worth the short recovery period and I know Lola has a much better quality of life now that its done. You may want to have it done after she's around 2 yrs old so that there is considerably less chance that the tissue will keep growing and require surgery again.

 

[2BullyMama]

Hi,

thanks for your reply! We are in Sheffield, England. Would be good if someone could recommend a good bully vet for us!

Maggi seems fine in herself today although her left eye is now swollen Hoping it's just an allergy but will get it checked at her vet appointment

x

i tagged two members that are in England... do not know if they are near you or not, but worth a shot

 

[JoJo860]

Thanks for your replies everyone. Maggi had her vets appointment yesterday evening and she does have an elongated soft palate. As above, the vet advised us to wait until she is 2-3 years for her surgery which we are going to do to ensure she has stopped growing.

They also said that the elongated soft palate is hereditary - is this correct? When we bought Maggi, we didn't see her mum as the breeder said they didn't have her (I know it's a big no no to buy a dog without seeing it's mother, but they had 13 bulldogs in tiny cages and I couldn't possibly have left her there!). I'm getting a bit concerned they were puppy farming and just mindlessly breeding the dogs without caring about the consequences

 

[jimmyjj]

[MENTION=12632]JoJo860[/MENTION] my friend either goes to a bully vet in Donny or Sheffield, i ll whats app her now and i ll get back to you asap....
however i am off on honeymoon in the morning and i am running about trying to drop 5 dogs off

 

[Leon van houkje]

[MENTION=6047]jimmyjj[/MENTION] i was Born in donny lol