b"The Frenchie Epidemicby Dr. Stephanie SabshinMeet Trace, a young adult Frenchie who was found running area of your tonsils, leaving access to your windpipe (trachea)around the streets of Tampa.Attempts to find his owners were unobstructed. In these animals, the soft palate is excessivelyunsuccessful, so he was adopted into long and covers the trachea. Becausea loving home well versed in the spe- of this, every time they breathe in,cial needs of French Bulldogs. Trace they have this bit of tissue blockingwas brought to Harmony Vet Care airflow. forsurgeryforhisBrachycephalic 3)Hypoplastictrachea:ThisisSyndrome. wheretheirwindpipeisexcessivelySowhatisBrachycephalic narrow.Imagine breathing throughSyndrome, and why does it require a straw.surgery? And why is this important 4)Evertedlaryngealsaccules:enough to write an article?laryngealsacculesarekindoflikeTheAmericanKennelClub your pockets in your jeans. They sitrecentlyannouncedthatFrench on either side of the trachea and areBulldogshavebecometheUnited usually tucked in. But when there isStates'mostprevalentdogbreed, excessivenegativepressurefromendingLabradorretrievers'record- strugglingtobreathethroughthebreaking 31 years at the top.And its hypoplastic trachea, past the elongat-clearwhy.Theyresmart,playful, edsoftpalate,andthroughthecompact, and oh-so cute!But they stenotic nares, that negative pressurealso come with a plethora of medical can suck these pockets out into theproblems,manyofwhichcanbe trachea. Thisresultsinevenmorepricey to maintain. They are prone to airway obstruction. When this hap-allergies,skininfections,earinfec- pens, this is usually a surgical emer-tions, cherry eyes, spinal deformities, gency, as the patient can no longerelbow dysplasia, as well as a host of breathe at all.respiratoryconditionsallgrouped Any of these upper airway abnor-intothetermBrachycephalic malities can cause increased airwaySyndrome. resistance,increasingtheeffortBrachycephalicsyndromehap- required to inhale. Most dogs withpensinflat-facedbreeds(English thissyndromebreathemoreeasilyBull Dogs, French Bulldogs, Boston throughtheirmouthsthantheirTerriers, Pugs, Pekingese, and Persian noses. The more abnormalities pres-cats). It includes multiple malforma- ent, the more severe the signs.tions that make breathing very diffi- Mildly affected dogs will have noisycult, including.breathing,especiallywithexercise,1) Stenotic Nares: This is the only part of the syndrome and most will snort when excited and snore when relaxed oryou can see from the outside. This is where their nostrils are asleep. Severely affected dogs have more pronounced airwayabnormallysquishedclosed.Severitycanrangefrommild noise, appear to tire easily with exercise, and may collapse ortosevere.Stenoticnarescancausenoisybreathing, faintafterexercise.Othersignsmayincludecoughing,particularly on inspiration (inhaling), exercise intolerance, and gagging, retching, and vomiting. Signs are often worse in hoteven fainting.orhumidweather;affecteddogsaremoreproneto2) Elongated soft palate: The soft palate is the soft part overheating, as the ability to pant to lower body temperaturein the back of the roof of your mouth. It should stop at the is compromised. 76 THE NEW BARKER www.TheNewBarker.com"