2015 Pan Pacific Veterinary Conference

Breathlessness is a negative experience relating to respiration, which has the potential to compromise animal welfare. The aims of this presentation are to briefly explain the physiology of breathlessness as it is currently understood in human medicine and to apply this understanding to an evaluation of the ways in which brachycephalic obstructive airway syndrome may cause breathlessness and related welfare compromise in brachycephalic dogs (BDs). The three main qualities of breathlessness, i.e. respiratory effort, air hunger and chest tightness, are considered; air hunger is reported to be the most unpleasant of these. Any time BDs exhibit noisy breathing while awake, they will be experiencing an increased sense of respiratory effort. Exercise intolerance, which is common in BDs, reflects a greatly increased effort required to increase ventilation during exertion and the progressive development of air hunger in dogs that are unable to do so effectively. Severely affected individuals may experience chronic air hunger, even at rest. We conclude that breathlessness in individual BDs can be both severe in intensity and chronic in duration, and usually increases with age. These physical problems are compounded by a lack of recognition of respiratory distress by many owners of brachycephalic animals, who see such behaviour as ‘normal for the breed’.