A cleft palate is a physical birth defect caused by incomplete fusing of the two halves of the palate during neonatal development. The palate is the roof of the mouth.

The hard palate is the front part of the roof of the mouth, between the teeth, and separates the oral cavity from the nose. The soft palate extends from the back of the hard palate to the throat (pharynx) and is made of softer, fleshier tissue. When an animal swallows, the back of its soft palate normally swings up against the top of its throat, blocking the movement of air and food into the nasal cavity.

Some authorities classify cleft palates into two categories: 1) primary cleft palates, which involve the upper lip and/or the most frontal part of the hard palate; and 2) secondary cleft palates, which involve the middle to back parts of the hard and/or soft palates. A cleft lip is a congenital defect in which the two sides of the upper lip do not properly fuse in an unborn puppy. In the above classification scheme, a cleft lip is included within the definition of a primary cleft palate. Another name for this particular defect is harelip.

Causes of Cleft Palate
Cleft palates are caused by something that disturbs the normal processes that form the face and jaw during fetal development. There is a failure of fusion of certain paired structures in utero. The hard palate, soft palate or both can be affected. Most authorities think that there is a genetic cause; mating a male and a female that both have cleft palates reportedly results in more than 40% of their offspring also being affected with the condition.

Poor maternal nutrition, viral infection of the bitch during pregnancy, exposure of the pregnant female to toxic drugs, chemicals or other substances, metabolic disorders and physical or mechanical interference with the fetus during development have all been implicated as potential causes of cleft palates in dogs. Administration of corticosteroids to the female during pregnancy has also been associated with cleft palates in her puppies.

Prevention of Cleft Palate

There appears to be a significant hereditary component to cleft palates in domestic dogs. One of the best ways to prevent this defect is to spay or neuter affected animals – or at least to remove them from the breeding population. Authorities recommend that corticosteroids or other drugs that can potentially cause birth defects not be given to bitches during pregnancy.

Symptoms of Cleft Palate in Dogs
Owners of dogs with cleft palates may notice one or more of the following things, especially in very young puppies:
Nasal congestion
Difficulty nursing or inability to suckle (caused by a physical inability to create enough suction or negative pressure to nurse properly)
  Chronic nasal discharge (milk, mucus and/or pus dripping out of one or both nostrils of a newborn puppy)
  Coughing
  Gagging
  Sneezing
  Difficulty eating (dysphagia)
  Difficulty breathing (dyspnea; respiratory distress; labored breathing; caused by aspiration/inhalation of milk, water or food)
  Poor body condition; ill-thrift
  Obvious “split upper lip”

Dogs at Increased Risk
Cleft palates occur sporadically in all breeds and mixed breeds, in dogs of either sex. However, they reportedly are more common in Beagles, Boston Terriers, Brittany Spaniels, Bulldogs (English and French), Cocker Spaniels, Dachshunds, German Shepherd Dogs, Labrador Retrievers, Pekingese, Pointers, Schnauzers, Shetland Sheepdogs and Shih Tzus. Brachycephalic breeds – those with broad skulls and short, flat faces - are predisposed to developing cleft palates.

How Cleft Palate is Diagnosed
Any newborn that is not thriving will be given a thorough physical examination by the attending veterinarian, who also will take a good history of the health of the bitch and of all of the litter-mates. A cursory examination of the upper lip and oral cavity by a veterinarian or knowledgeable breeder usually reveals a cleft palate, with the occasional exception being if the midline defect is isolated far back in the soft palate. This is not especially common in companion dogs. The normal initial database of blood work (a complete blood count and serum biochemistry profile) and a urinalysis may or may not be abnormal. If the puppy develops aspiration pneumonia as a result of a cleft palate, the preliminary blood work may identify an infection. Thoracic radiographs (chest X-rays) may be recommended if the puppy is showing signs of respiratory distress.

The best way to definitively diagnose a cleft palate is to conduct a thorough oral examination under general anesthesia. During that procedure, the veterinarian will be able to get a good look at the puppy’s hard and soft palates and evaluate the precise nature and extent of the defect.
Treatment Options

The goals of treating a cleft palate are to:

1) provide sufficient nutritional support until the puppy is old enough and healthy enough to survive surgery;

2) treat and resolve aspiration pneumonia or other associated respiratory disorders, if present;

3) close the anatomical defect surgically if possible; and

4) restore the dog’s ability to eat, drink and live normally, healthily and happily.

Intensive supportive care is usually necessary for any puppy with a cleft palate. The puppy’s physical inability to create enough suction to nurse normally usually requires that it be fed by hand. This involves carefully passing a flexible rubber tube down the dog’s esophagus (throat) directly into its stomach, and feeding either bitches’ milk or a milk-replacer formula through the tube, to ensure the puppy’s daily nutritional and caloric intake. This is not a particularly difficult procedure and most owners can be taught to tube feed their puppies at home. However, it is essential that the tube not be inserted down the trachea (wind pipe). Unfortunately, no matter how careful the person feeding the puppy is, puppies with cleft palates often develop aspiration pneumonia. Many of them simply do not thrive and die young.

Pneumonia must be treated and resolved before surgery is a realistic option. Antibiotic therapy may be necessary to manage secondary bacterial respiratory tract infections. Once the puppy is stable, surgical correction may be an option, especially if the palate defect is small. Reconstructive surgery is usually done at between 2 and 4 months of age, shortly after weaning. There are a number of different surgical techniques to rebuild a cleft palate, depending upon its location, but each of them is complex and should be performed only by a veterinarian experienced in the procedure. Multiple surgeries may be necessary to achieve successful correction, if that is even possible.

Medication to manage pain is extremely important after any surgical procedure to correct a cleft palate. Opioids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are often recommended. Nutritional support post-operative will require liquid or very soft food for up to 4 weeks or more, with no dog biscuits or hard chew toys during the recovery period.

Attempts at surgical correction of cleft palates historically have had a fairly high complication or failure rate. However, newer techniques are improving the success rate in domestic dogs. Because most cases of cleft palate are thought to have a hereditary component, there is an ethical issue surrounding keeping affected dogs intact and using them for breeding. Most authorities recommend that if a cleft palate is corrected surgically, the dog should be spayed or neutered, or at a bare minimum securely removed from any breeding program.

Euthanasia is an option that owners may need to consider for very young puppies diagnosed with a cleft palate, depending upon its location and severity. The puppy’s veterinarian is the best one to discuss all possible treatment choices with its owner.
Prognosis

Without surgical repair and reconstruction, the prognosis for puppies with cleft palates is poor. However, if surgery is done and post-operative management is well-handled, the prognosis for recovery is fair to good. The best chance for success is on the first attempted surgical repair procedure. If more than one surgery is necessary, the prognosis worsens. The prognosis for puppies that develop respiratory disease from aspirating milk or food because of a cleft palate is poor to grave. If there is significant soft palate involvement, especially if most of the soft palate is absent, the prognosis is also grave. With or without treatment, many affected puppies die at a young age.

Recently, for no obvious reason, one of my adopted Bostons started exhibiting a new behavior, moreover, not a good one. Doing what many busy people are guilty of doing, I ignored it. Thinking it would just go away as it came.

That was until I noticed this new negative behavior developing into a serious problem. “What brought that on?“

 Realizing that I needed to address this behavior that I could no longer ignore, I started reading up on this behavior. Before I reacted, I would need to understand; why it developed and the best way to deal with it. I am so glad I took the time.  In the past I would have dealt with this problem differently. This was different, this was inside an established pack. Not a temporary foster arrangement. What was the disturbing behavior that caught my attention?

Resource guarding! 

Resource guarding covers a variety of behaviors, but also a wide range of seriousness. Considered a normal dog behavior to warn another dog away with a look or a lip curl and sometimes a warning growl. This socially appropriate response should normally cause the other dog to abandon the attempt to get hold of the guarded item. If the two dogs generally get along well and such encounters never, or only very rarely, escalate even as far as a quick scuffle, there is no call for humans to intervene.

However, this warning off was escalating to include me too! The tones of the growls were beginning to sound very serious. Now that was not something we could allow. What to do about this?
When I first decided to modify the behavior, I was thinking this should be easy, just find the trigger and remove it. However, when I started reading what trainers and behaviorists had written, I discovered it might not be as simple as I had thought. I also discovered that it was a good thing I had not waited much longer to correct the problem. It takes far longer to repair problem behavior than it does to instil desirable behavior in the first place.

There were warnings too. "Working on an existing guarding problem can be dangerous. To avoid getting bitten, don't do any of these exercises without the guidance of a skilled dog behaviorist or trainer." I sure did not like the sound of this... And this one also caught my attention.

"Resource guarding is a major cause of aggression toward children. Children, especially small children, carry around toys and food where the dog can reach them. Children are less likely to understand the importance of respecting the dog’s possessions and are likely to grab for them. Finally, their height means that bites to children often occur on the face or upper body, resulting in more serious injuries"

Unlike what was suggested by one writer that many people might feel offended with their pets negative reaction, trying to guard their resource (food in this case), from the very one that was feeding them. That was not my thoughts.

What was going on that would create the atmosphere that the dog would suddenly develop the need to guard food.

My thoughts were more like someone could get hurt, and it might be me.

Something had changed the dynamics of how the pack (4 dogs) operated, and not for the betterment of any one of us.  I may never know what caused the change, but I sure better get working on modifying the behavior of this one dog.  The more I watch, the more I am convinced there is more going on.. Not sure yet, but it looks like there is a second dog that is pushing the issue... This is getting quite complicated..
Due to the mistakes we make, we often create conflicting situations, which increases our dog’s possessiveness, which is one of the sources of resource guarding behavior problems.

While working on a course of action I have decided to feed this dog away from the rest of the dogs. (Talk about sulking, she is not interested in eating alone, she prefers to eat with the others or not at all. Hmm, wonder what this is all about? Is she becoming a Diva?)

The main trigger seems to hinge around her guarding the homemade treats we recently have made. Should I take that as a complement?
 It is suggested to either stop giving them or give them only under carefully controlled circumstances. Since she only gets them in controlled conditions, we may just have to stop them all together. Especially since I think there is some competition going on with the other dog who is more part of this problem than I first realized.  I guess that will cut down on how often I bring out the homemade treats.

OTHER SUGGESTIONS GIVEN WERE:

• Remove potentially guard-able items when the dogs are together. (Done)
• Your dog may begin to see you as someone who is always taking good stuff away. He comes to view you more as a threat than a provider (you've got to turn this thinking around).
• Dog food aggression. It just does not seem to make sense that your dog would consider you a threat to his/her food resource. I mean you gave him the food in the first place!    Interesting as the mystery is, although I can see that this might be a part of the issue, but this behavior is only seen when the homemade treats are out.
• Dog food aggression can be part of the general confusion regarding who the leader is in your owner-dog relationship.
• It is possible that your dog does not even understand that his dog food aggression is an unacceptable behavior. In such cases, there is an obvious communication breakdown between human and dog.

So odd, the only time I see the aggressive food guarding behavior, is if these homemade chicken treats are out. Any other time there are no signs of guarding. They seem to all be, if not best friends then, very acceptable of each other. Sharing the same beds, passing by each other, eating in the same area.  But I will keep watching. And those treats are all put up for now. Sad because I really enjoy making them.

ANYONE KNOW OF A GOOD BEHAVIORIST?.. I AM GOING TO NEED ONE..

What should I do if my dog starts having what looks like a seizure?

• Stay calm. If your dog is near something that could hurt him, like a piece of furniture or the stairs, gently slide him away.

• Stay away from your dog’s mouth and head; he could bite you. Don’t put anything in his mouth. Dogs cannot choke on their tongues.

• If you can, time it. If your dog has a seizure that lasts more than 5 minutes or if he has several in a row while he's unconscious, take him to a vet as soon as possible. The longer a seizure goes on, the higher a dog’s body temperature can rise, and he may have problems breathing. This can raise his risk of brain damage.

• If the seizure lasts for more than a couple of minutes, your dog is at risk of overheating. Turn a fan on your dog and put cold water on his paws to cool him down.

• Talk to your dog softly and gently touch him to assure him.

• Call your vet when the seizure ends.

 Unexpected happenings.

Recently my mom's 8 year old male neutered Jack Russell, started having seizures. Her active dog suddenly stopped in his tracks, a glaze went over his eyes and he was unsteady and confused. He had uncontrollable muscle twitching. Mom said he looked dazed, staring off into space. But after having been told about a 2nd seizure within a month, we took the dog to our local vet. We assumed he was having a seizure which was confirmed by our vet.

What was going on? What are the symptoms of Seizures?

Seizure symptoms can include collapsing, jerking, stiffening, muscle twitching, loss of consciousness, drooling, chomping, tongue chewing, or foaming at the mouth. Dogs can fall to the side and make paddling motions with their legs. They sometimes poop or pee during the seizure. Some dogs may look dazed, seem unsteady or confused, or stare off into space before a seizure. Afterward, your dog may be disoriented, wobbly, or temporarily blind. He may walk in circles and bump into things. He might have a lot of drool on his chin and could be bleeding in his mouth if he bit himself. He may try to hide.

Why is this happening?

If this is happening to your dog he may have a seizure disorder. Another name for a mystery disorder most commonly called epilepsy.
Abnormal, uncontrolled bursts of electrical activity in your dog’s brain causes seizures, affecting how he looks and how he behaves. Seizures can look like a twitch or uncontrollable shaking and can last from less than a minute to several minutes.
Our vet did tell us that, "A dog may seizure for any number of reasons. Just because a dog has a seizure does not mean that the dog has epilepsy."  Somehow that was not really reassuring, especially when he went on to tell us, "Currently no tests to determine if a dog has epilepsy", which might be inherited, or caused by something else like a trauma event.

So How do you figure out a diagnosis to help a dog!

To determine whether a dog has epilepsy or something else, a veterinarian or neurologist arrives at their diagnosis by a process of elimination. They determine what it is not. And then, hopefully, come to a logical conclusion as to what it is. Here is a list of some conditions which can cause seizures in dogs:

Brain tumor, Head injury, Lyme Disease and Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Distemper Environment - toxins, Epilepsy, hyper' and hypo' Conditions, Hyperglycemia or Hypoglycemia, Hypoxia or Hypoxemia, Hepatic Encephalopathy or Liver Disease, Renal (kidney) disease, Hyperkalemia, Hyperlipoproteinemia, "garbage" (poisoning), Tick Bites, Toxoplamosis (Toxo), Lissencephay.

How does this condition effect a dogs health and life?

Some believe that  seizures can shorten your dog's life significantly, damaging after-effects on essential immune systems, neurological systems, and the vital organs.

What Are the Types of Seizures?

The most common kind is the generalized seizure, also called a grand-mal seizure. A dog can lose consciousness and convulse. The abnormal electrical activity happens throughout the brain. Generalized seizures usually last from a few seconds to a few minutes. With a focal seizure, abnormal electrical activity happens in only part of the brain. Focal seizures can cause unusual movements in one limb or one side of the body. Seizures from unknown causes are called idiopathic epilepsy.  They usually happen in dogs between 6 months and 6 years old. Although any dog can have a seizure, idiopathic epilepsy is more common in border collies, Australian shepherds, Labrador retrievers, beagles, Belgian Tervurens, collies, and German shepherds.¹

What Should I Expect When I Take My Dog to the Vet?

Your vet will want to do a thorough physical exam, and get some lab work to look for the causes of your dog’s seizures. Your vet may prescribe medicines to control seizures, like phenobarbital or potassium bromide. You can give your dog phenobarbital twice a day, but over time it can damage his liver. Dogs that take phenobarbital need blood tests about every 6 months. Potassium bromide doesn’t work its way through the liver, making it a better choice for young dogs that need medicine for life.
Always follow your vet’s instructions when you give your dog medicine. Don’t let him miss a dose.

Seizures themselves are very unlikely to kill a dog, but it does sometimes happen as well. So the question is, when are the seizures severe enough or frequent enough to absolutely warrant treatment?

That is where your vet will try to make an educated guess as to what is best for each dog.
 The traditional guidelines in veterinary medicine have been seizures that last for longer than 5 minutes (actual seizure activity) or seizures that are occurring more than once a month, would be a candidate for treatment. If it seems pretty apparent that the seizures are going to continue to get closer and closer, your vet may suggest a treatment now even if they are still more than a month apart.

 Did you know that antihistamines can lower seizure threshold? I didn't!!

What does this mean... These drugs might become a trigger to cause your dog to have a seizure more often, or harder, or longer etc.

When your dog is on seizure medications be sure and talk with your vet about using any other drug, especially antihistamines... You know the ones that we often given to our dogs for various reasons. Here is a list of Drugs that may lower seizure threshold:

Aspirin, IB Profen, Advil, Excederin or Motrin

If your pets are taking any Anti-Epileptic Drug, consult with your vet first before you give any OTC (over the counter) cold medication(s). (This also applies to any OTC medications, Herbal Supplements including Vitamins.)

WHY?

 One of the most frequently prescribed medications for dogs with epilepsy is Phenobarbital. Epileptic seizures can be effectively managed with Phenobarbital, in fact it can be used to treat many different canine seizure disorders. Phenobarbital dosage is prescribed based on the dog's weight. Typically it is prescribed at the lower end of the dosing scale and progressively moved up until the effective dosing is reached. When treatment is first begun, it typically takes 1 to 2 weeks to reach a stable level in the blood system. Until that time has passed, Phenobarbital is unreliable at controlling seizure activity. At first, the levels in the bloodstream should be monitored every 2 weeks until stabilized. Once stabilized, the Phenobarbital levels should be monitored every 6 months in addition to checking the liver function.
 While Phenobarbital can potentially impact your dog's liver function, it is an effective treatment against the potential harm caused by continual seizure activity. When dosage is adjusted to an appropriate level, Phenobarbital is a safe and effective method controlling the varying levels of epileptic seizure activity. ²

¹http://pets.webmd.com

²Epilepsy.com