Lightning strikes twice

My pup, Buddy, is showing me that he is birdy, handles to the front naturally, and wants to please. But when running him in Montana over the past couple of weeks  he seemed to be tiring sooner than normal and when tired his breathing was labored. After a cursory exam in the field I took him to Dr. Marcos Puiggari, DVM at Alpine Veterinary in Missoula.

Marcos confirmed that Buddy had Elongated Soft Palette (ESP) -- the same problem that was effecting L.J. (see an earlier post on this subject). Here is what Marcos found...

Before surgical correction - note the constricted airway that the pointer is indicating.

Note the much improved airway after corrective surgery...

In earlier conversations with Terry Turlep, DVM, who has done quite a few ESP corrections on sporting dogs, ESP occurs more often than is commonly recognized. He also indicated that the condition is most common in breeds with pug noses - pugs, bulldogs, etc., but can occur in all breeds and the genetics are not understood.