Brachycephalic Dogs and extreme temps

Brachycephalic : A dog with a flat face with tiny nostrils, short snout, narrow trachea and a long soft palate.
Our Boston Terries face many challenges when it comes to living healthy in our environment. Having a brachycephalic head and not much fur, make them a target for extreme heat and cold. The unique structure of their face makes them sensitive to breathing difficulties, heat stroke, and hypothermia. Hypothermia is a medical emergency where the body loses heat faster than it can produce it. For these reasons, the Boston Terrier must be kept as an inside dog. Besides that, they are just too cute to not be with you all the time.
Exercise is an essential part of any dog’s life, both for their physical and mental health. Balancing activity and rest are important for their wellbeing. However, during periods where it is dangerously hot or cold, Boston Terriers should not be encouraged to engage in much outdoor athletics. Find playful games to entice them while inside the house.
Nobody knows your dog(s) as well as you do. Recognizing symptoms of impeding problems can save your dog’s life. Familiarize yourself with temperature related illnesses so you can act quickly to revers early signs. Any aberrations in their behavior should be dealt with rapidly.

Brachycephalic Airway Syndrome (BAS)

Boston Terriers and other flat-faced dogs do not pant efficiently. Dogs pant so that they can cool themselves. This type of dog is at a disadvantage when it comes to cooling their bodies in the heat. BAS is ineffective breathing and cooling in brachycephalic dogs. Evaporate cooling and good air flow struggle to work properly.

Although this is technical material, it is important to understand what is exactly going on inside your dog. They have tiny nostrils with which to inhale the air and much smaller compact bones in their noses than long-snouted dogs. To further complicate matters, they have a long soft palate that inhibits air flow to the trachea. Most brachycephalic dogs also have small, incomplete tracheas. It’s like a person with a completely stuffed up nose and severe tonsillitis. It’s challenging for them to breathe under the best of circumstances.

There are several surgical procedures available to improve air flow and breathing in these dogs: widening the nostrils, shortening the soft palate, and reducing the small bones inside the nose. As with any surgeries, the benefits must outweigh the cons and all dogs are not good surgical candidates.

BAS can lead to heatstroke. Boston Terriers and Bulldogs are more prone to it because of their upper respiratory make up.

Heatstroke

A healthy dog’s temperature runs from 101 to 102 degrees. An increase of even 3 degrees may lead a dog toward heatstroke. Early symptoms of heatstroke include dehydrations, heavy panting, increased salivating, deep breathing or hyperventilation and dry gums.

If these signs are ignored, serious conditions may prevail: weakness vomiting, diarrhea, paleness, breathing difficulties where respiration becomes shallower, seizures and possibly death.

Realizing what is happening early on with your dog can diminish the chances of a poor outcome. Get the dog inside to an air conditioned room or at least into the shade. If panting still occurs douse the dog first use faucet-cool water, Then you can slowly add some ice resulting in a cool icy bath. Wrapping the dog in cotton sheets and hosing them down is another alternative. Be aware that you do not want to cool the dog down too much either. Adding too much ice may make the water too cold and the dog's temperature can drop too fast.

Time is not on your side with heatstroke, Rust the dog to the Vet if symptoms do not subside quickly. It is much better to err on the side of caution in this case.

During warm weather always provide fresh cool water for your dog. Reducing their weight even by a few pounds can greatly improve their breathing. Be aware of conditions when thinking of flying your brachycephalic dog on an airplane. If they are too large to ride in the passenger area with you, know that most cargo areas are not temperature controlled. Lastly, NEVER leave your dog inside a car when it is even slightly warm outside. The interior of a car can become lethal very quickly.

Hypothermia

During the cold of winter, be conscious of how long your Boston Terrier is outside. This shouldn’t be an issue for most since they usually take care of business fast in frigid temps and are banging on the door to be let in. It’s the exceptions we need to worry about. It’s great idea to put a sweater or coat on them and boots if you’re lucky enough to have a dog that will leave them on.   Make an effort to gently clean their feet and dry them if they have been exposed to rock salt. Once inside ensure you dog is dry and comfortable. They will enjoy cuddling up to you on the couch with a soft fuzzy blanket.

References:
BostonTerrierForums.com
ExceptionalCanine.com
ThisisBully.com

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