Shih Tzu Soft Palate Surgery

One reason the sweet natured Shih Tzu is so popular is because of the shape of its face, with a pushed in nose. However, this adorable teddy bear face sometimes comes at a price. If your Shih Tzu has breathing problems because of the shape of its nose and face, you may have to consider soft palate surgery at your vet’s advice. This surgery corrects a problem with an elongated soft palate. Normally, the soft palate, which is a flap that keeps food from going into your dog’s lungs when it is eating, will just barely go over the edge of the dog’s epiglottis, which is the opening to its airway. When the flap is elongated, it covers the epiglottis much further and stops air from flowing into your dog’s lungs as easily.

Palate surgery can help correct this problem and stop heavy snoring and breathing problems. The surgery is common with snub nosed dogs and some veterinarians recommend it for almost all dogs that have this face shape. However, the surgery is not always necessary. If your vet wants you to agree to palate surgery and your dog doesn’t snore or struggle to breathe, you may want to get a second opinion.

An important thing for you to consider if you have a young Shih Tzu puppy that snores and snuffles is that many dogs will snore less as they mature. Before you have the surgery done on a puppy, you should ask your veterinarian if the condition is serious enough to be fatal or if your pup is just a bit of a noisy sleeper. If the snoring and snuffling is not serious, you really should consider waiting until your puppy is a year old to see if the condition clears up as it matures.

Of course, you should continue to monitor the situation as your puppy grows up and if the snoring gets worse, you may want to ask your veterinarian to review the puppy’s development. If your pup can’t seem to keep its food down right or spits up frequently, make sure you mention this to your vet, as these can be signs that surgery is necessary for your puppy.