Snoring can be one of the worst things, especially if you share the same bed with someone that snores. It can keep you up all night and can even make you sleep somewhere else to get away from the sound. Like us humans, dogs can snore as well. However, it could be a more severe problem. Let’s go through why and how you can prevent it in dogs.
Your dog could be snoring due to several factors, such as the anatomy of your dog’s mouth, allergies, and being overweight. Snoring happens when the air cant move freely through the nose and throat when your dog is asleep, causing the surrounding tissue to vibrate, making the snoring sound.
3 Expected reasons (Snoring)
Below are the three most common reasons for snoring in dogs. To prevent snoring, check the three below first. You will understand why your dog snores and how you can control it.
#1 Anatomy
This isn’t something you can control or resolve, and unfortunately, it’s a breed-specific problem. Dog breeds prone to snoring are usually the ones that have a pushed-in face. However, you can reduce it and control the snoring by not letting your dog get overweight, as this would close the gap of the nose and throat, resulting in more vibrations and louder snoring.
Brachycephalic meaning
Brachycephalic means a type of anatomy of a dogs head. Brachy means short, and Cephalic means directed towards or situated on or near the head if you break it up into two parts. Brachycephalic dog breeds are much more prone to snoring. Due to the short nasal passage, they also sadly develop breathing problems—especially in old age.
Dog breeds likely to snore (Brachycephalic breeds)
- Boston Terriers
- Boxers
- Chow Chow
- English Bulldog
- French Bulldog
- Japenese Chin
- Pekingese
- Pugs
- Shih Tzu
Prevention
If you have any of the above breeds, snoring is regular for them. However, you can help them as much as you can by feeding them good quality dog food and not letting them gain much weight. Keeping your dog fit and healthy will reduce snoring. Otherwise, some earplugs might be in order.
#2 Allergies
Like us humans, dogs can have allergies too. When your dog has allergies, the membrane lining in your dog’s nose and throat can become inflamed. When this happens, the air is not moving freely, which will cause vibrations resulting in snoring sounds.
How to help a dog with allergies to stop snoring
- Air purifiers will cleanse the air and can help with dogs that snore from allergies.
- Avoid walking your dog in the early morning or late afternoon due to the pollen levels being high at these times.
- Change your dog’s diet. You must seek veterinary help to do this.
- Change your dog’s shampoo, and bathe them more. Washing more will wash away any allergens on your dog.
- Check for fleas, and prevent them: it’s very common for dogs to be allergic to fleas.
- Dog bed materials, check for materials such as polyurethane foam, which has chemicals such as, Formaldehyde or Chlorine. If these are in your dog bed, change it for a blanket or perhaps a natural latex bed.
- Scented candles, check that your candles that you are using don’t contain paraffin wax or uses a lead wick or synthetic oil. It would be best if you chose wax candles and unbleached 100% cotton wick candles instead.
- Speak to your vet as there are medicines to help a dog with allergies, just like humans.
If you can follow the above as much as you can, you should see a change in your dog snoring patterns, it may take a while to figure out precisely the root cause of the allergy, but eventually, you could have a snore-free dog.
#3 Weight
Not only do we have weight problems, and for it to be unhealthy, it’s also very harmful to your dog. An overweight dog can lead to many health problems, such as diabetes, poor posture, especially in breeds like the dachshund or corgies. These particular dog breeds should not gain weight to protect their backs. The weight will affect the dog’s throat and nose, causing a tighter airway gap when it comes to snoring.
Dog breeds prone to gain weight (Snoring)
- Basset Hound
- Beagle
- Boxer
- Bulldogs
- Corgies
- Dachshund
- Golden Retriever
- Labradors
- Pug
- Rottweilers
- Scottish Terrier
Improve your dog’s wellbeing, and weight loss will follow.
Improve your dog’s weight to stop snoring (Prevention)
Cut down on overfeeding your dog, do not give your dog table scraps. Feeding a dog table scraps comes with many other health risks, not just gaining weight. Such as pancreatitis, and not all human foods are safe for dogs to consume. Change your dog’s diet altogether and op for higher quality dog food. Don’t choose the dog foods that have been bulked out with ingredients that don’t benefit your dog’s health and wellbeing. Check the ingredients!
Recap to aid weight loss for your dog
- Change to a better quality dog food
- Choose low-calorie dog treats, like carrots, or homemade dog treats
- Do not feed your dog table scraps
- Do not overfeed your dog
- More exercise where possible
Each breed of dog has an ideal weight, and you should research the perfect weight and aim for the target as much as you can, within reason and by not causing distress to your dog. No one likes being on a diet, including your dog. It could take many months for a dog to achieve its ideal healthy weight. But eventually, it will pay off, and a snore-free dog is a strong possibility.
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3 Rare Reasons (Snoring)
#1 Canine respiratory infections
Your dog could be suffering from a bacterial infection, such as kennel cough or pneumonia. These diseases infect the windpipe and can range from moderate to severe. Both of these will cause your dog to snore.
upper respiratory infections symptoms will include:
- Breathing difficulties
- Coughing
- Discharge from eyes and nose
- Gagging
- Lethargic
- Loss of appetite
- Sneezing
- Snoring
- Snorting
Suppose your dog has been soring suddenly out of the blue. In that case, it could be very likely of an upper respiratory infection, especially if your dog shows any of the other symptoms listed above. You must seek a professional veterinarian immediately.
#2 Objects in throat
Foreign objects, such as bones, toys, and parts of their dog bed, could be stuck, especially if they are a profound chewer. These objects can become lodged in the back of the mouth or nose, triggering snoring, coughing, breathing difficulties, and anxious behaviour. If you believe this to be the case, calmly take your dog to the vets to remove the object from the throat or nose.
#3 Tumours
It’s sad that our beloved pets also suffer from similar health issues to humans, such as tumours. It’s a rare possibility that your dog could have a tumour that is pushing on the nose and throat area or within the oral cavity or sinus area. Please note that this is very rare. However, it is always possible and needs to be ruled out, especially as dog’s age. They are much more prone to illnesses such as these. A trip to the vets will confirm this.
Conclusion
Depending on your dog’s behaviour and the dog’s breed will depend upon your actions. All in all, if you aim to keep your dog healthy through good food and exercise, this would be the best cure of all. I hope the above is something that you can work with on resolving your dog’s snoring problem.
Good luck!
Happy dog parenting to a snorer!
