I guess it comes down to the experience of the doc doing the procedure. If he/she is very aware that this dog has already had a palate trim once in his life, he should understand that there should be no more than two done total. Bulldog heads (skulls)can grow until 2 or even 3yrs old and I agree that this surgery should be postponed if at all possible until the dog is at least one year old, preferably two...but that is not always the best decision for the individual dog, especially if its Springtime and the dog is already suffering from a combination of warm weather/humidity/breathing difficulties accompanied by frequent vomiting (which brings on a chance of inhalation pneumonia from inhaling vomit). Ah, if it were only a one-size-fits-all decision!

First of all, Thank you!! You have helped me quite a bit with my pups from last Dec. As to the palate question, I had a friend have this procedure done twice and I have a hardtime to believe
that the palate keeps growing after a certain age. In other words maybe this procedure should be done after a certain age UNLESS that it is sooo bad at a young age that the dog is not getting the normal daily oxygen amount. When I bring it up with vets I get the same answer " when doing the procedure it is better to be conservative on how much we take off." Got any other info on this?

Javier

Thanks so much for the suggestions! I will speak with my vet!

and I mean no insult with these, Lori. I would seem initially that Spike, no matter how sweet and loving, has a mess of very poor quality genes since he's having so many problems in his young life. Have you had him examined by more than one veterinarian and was that "other doc" from another office and known to have many years of bulldog-experience. Seems like you are being asked to fund a new wing of your vet's establishment!

How much surgery is "reasonable" would seem to be a valid question? How much can you ask a dog to undergo to correct these birth deficiencies? I've not heard of any bulldog that has had/needed more than two corrective palate surgeries. As for the anal glands, yes they rarely do need to be removed, but this is not only a risky surgery (nerve/muscle damage that could end up with him being crippled or incontenent)but it would be quite painful in the healing period. Therefore my question, a paraphrase of an old saying...Are you (or your vet) trying to make a silk purse out of a sow's ear???

And good luck with Spike. I know how hard this is for you.

My thought on his anal glands,s ince I never had a problem until recently, was that he was having too much fiber in his diet, and his stool was soft, not hard enough to expell them as needed.????

but not the tonsils. Thanks Jacinda. By the way Congrats on Trace!

Spike's breeder asked me to return him, and I had had him for about two months by then, I told her that I would keep him and give him a good life. I took him to a bulldog vet who then said that he needed to have his palate trimmed, Spike would walk along the wall to support himself all the time, after the first surgery, the specialist that did it told me that his trach wasn't too small and that this should help him. His nares weren't done at the time, since they felt it wasn't necessary. Well about 10 months went by and they must have been very conservative with his first surgery, because we had to do it again, along with cherry eye and neuter. He was so much better, he runs around, plays with the other dog, but lately I have noticed that he has phlegm that he is trying to bring up, so I asked about the palate trim, not the vet. I am pretty anal about my dogs. The other problem not to be funny, is his anal glands, they lately have been bloody, he has been on two courses of antibiotics and they still smell. so I took him back to the bulldog vet that is about 45 mins away from me and he mentioned the surgery to remove his glands. The vet hat I use in town here said they wanted to put him under (which I wasn't eager to do) and flush them out really well,so there is where I am at. I don't think that my vet se dollar sign with me they just know that I want the best for my dogs. I am not by any way insulted Ela1ne by anything that you say, I appreciate the input.

It's possible your Vet was very conservative during the other surgeries and did not remove enough of the palate. Or, maybe his problems are caused by the small trachea.

I'm so sorry that Spike is going through all of this. Prayers for your sweet boy.

and I laugh a bit with this "title" to the message...

if his stools are soft its not customarily from a high fiber diet but rather from a high intake of oils, either that the food he is eating is high calorie (and some of those calories are in the form of animal fats) or perhaps its an additive you are feeding such as fish oil capsules?, or treats that are oily such as cheese?, or that he has a bit of a nervous stomach and the food passes thru quickly?

I understand more of your concerns now that you've described (again) about his narrow trachea (windpipe)and earlier surgery and concerns about using any anesthesia. I think those are valid concerns. I would personally, however, consent to a careful and thorough flushing of the anal glands before I would consent to their removal. Can the vet use any type of local injected pain-blocker along with a mild tranquilizer to flush them? And there still needs to be vigilent observation while he awakens from this tranquilization but you can do that, keeping him on his stomach so that he can cough if needed, even allowing you access to give his ribcage a good thumping or two if he begins to cough but cannot fully move a plug of phlegm. I am always concerned about a bulldog with restricted breathing lying on his side for any period of time while recovering...they really need to be positioned so that they can 'cough up/out' anything that collects in their throat, and putting the dog on his stomach is the best way IMHO, ideally with a rolled towel placed under his "armpits" so that the chest is somewhat suspended a bit off the ground, giving room for expansion/deeper breaths. These can be the little helpful things that make anesthesia recovery less dangerous.