Well, today was quite a roller coaster of highs and lows with regard to my emotions.
My day started at 3 o’clock this morning to the sound of Murphy choking. At first, I wasn’t too concerned because he frequently makes weird noises, including choking, coughing, yacking, and hacking, but, after a couple of minutes, his choking didn’t stop, so I flipped on the light to see what was going on. Immediately, I could see that Murphy was freaked out and uncomfortable, so I panicked and woke up Mal.
Once Mal was awake, we spent the next 30 minutes comforting Murphy and waiting for the choking to pass. Eventually, the three of us fell asleep and slept until about 5:30 when Murphy had another choking fit. At this point, Mal and I decided that we should take him to the emergency vet.
We spent the nextĀ twoĀ hours at the vetāāĀ one and a halfĀ of those hours sitting in a room with a choking dog waiting to be seen.
When the vet finally saw us, she examined Murphy and explained that he likely had Brachycephalic Syndrome, which is pretty common in short-nosed dogs. Basically, because of Murphy’s squishy face, he was having trouble breathingāā most likely due to an inflamed soft palate, which could have been aggravated by the recent warm weather, eating rawhide, or excessive panting from playing with his doggie friends yesterday afternoon.
Long story short, the vet said to wait for the inflammation to go down on its own and sent us home.
On the drive home, Mal and I stopped by Marylou’s for iced coffees.
At this point, Murphy was feeling much betterāā so was Mal.
Breakfast
For breakfast, I ate three bowls of cereal with banana slices and almond milk. Cereal has no chance around me!
I spent the rest of the morning icing my knee and working. It was a beautiful day today, so this was especially lame.
Lunch
Around noon, I snacked on some crackers with veggie hummus and then made lunch a couple of hours later. I had a ham and Swiss cheese sandwich on an everything Bagel Thin with honey mustard and kale chips on the side.
After lunch, I headed to Dancing Crow Yoga for a 90-minute Slow Flow Hatha Yoga class, which made my knee feel a million times better. Leaving class, it didn’t hurt at all walking down the two flights of stairs to the parking lot. It was a miracle! (It’s sore again now, but not nearly as bad as it was this morning!)
Dinner
When I returned home from yoga, dinner was waiting for me: Homestyle Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. Ooooh, yes, it was, and I was psyched!
The ingredients are absolutely disgusting, but I love fake, bright orange cheese, so enjoying this meal every once in awhile is totally worth it to me. It tasted amazingāā super cheesy, thick, creamy, and sort of sweet. If you’re okay with eating āĖfake’ food on occasion, this is definitely one to try!
Over the course of the day, Murphy’s condition didn’t get any betterāāin fact, it seemed to get worseāā so Mal and I took him back to the vet.
Two hours, an x-ray, and $350 later, the vet told us the exact same thing we heard the morning: Brachycephalic Syndrome. All that for nothing! (I can’t even imagine the two of us with children. We’re going to freak out over everything!)
Ok, well, the second trip to the vet was worth it simply for the peace of mind. Mal and I really started to worry that Murphy had something stuck in his throat. Thankfully, the x-ray showed a clear digestive track, so now we just need to wait for the swelling to go down in Murphy’s soft pallet.Ā The pugĀ isĀ actually acting like his old self again, so, hopefully, he’s feeling better now.
After all that, thankfully, the day ended on a high note!
Good night, guys! The Hauperts are exhausted!
117 Comments
Poor Murphy! I hope he’s better soon. I don’t have any pets (just a kid!) but I imagine it’s hard because he cannot communicate with you. That makes it even scarier.
Aw, I’m so glad Murphy is ok!
Awww poor Murphy!!! We’ve definitely spent hundreds of dollars on our little guy because we thought something was wrong, only to find out it was nothing. You can’t put a price on these little guys. They are truly like our children. Hope Murphy gets better soon!
I am so happy to hear he is ok! I was worried when I saw your tweets!
Good that you did go back to vet and get an xray, better to be safe!
Ice cream is a good way to end your day!
xoxo
Glad to hear your dog is going to be alright š I know that that’s a stressful situation.
I would’ve been the same way had it been my dog. Sometimes you just need that peace of mind from an expert. I hope he’s feeling better!
So glad Murphy is okay! xoxo
Aww, poor Murphy. It’s so hard to see pets suffer and not be able to do anything about it… I would’ve definitely done the same thing (brought him back to the vet again) with my cats.
And that list of ingredients is NUTS!! I used to eat that stuff all the time back in the day when it was all I knew how to cook… ahh the good old days š
I have a boston terrier (so another short nosed dog) and this happens all the time and is quite scary. Someone told me a trick that does help. When he starts chocking press on the diaphram (or on the bottom of his chest where the last ribs are-in the soft spot right below) another this i do is massage my dogs throar when she ‘chokes’. I have been to the mergency vet many a times so I feel your pain
I am so sorry to hear about Murphy, but glad he is getting better. Oh, so scary!!! My husband and I have two pugs and we wondered if he is allergic to something? Have you tried giving him a half of a benadryl? We don’t do this often, but when the need comes this helps our pugs. Keep us updated!
Awwww….too bad! Glad you had some good things in there too! I hear you on the occasional “fake food”…that mac and cheese looks yummy!
I can totally relate. Our new puppy Roscoe got ahold of a bone in the yard (we have gross neighbors) and we worried that he ate part of it and when he started gagging the next day, we rushed him to the ER….it was nothing….it’s called a reverse sneeze and wheatens do it all the time. $250 later…
Poor Murphy ;( Our dog Luna has been all out of ‘wack’ for the past two days- I wonder if it also has to do with the increase in pollen?
Either way- I hope Murphy is better this morning. Those early morning wake up calls are the worst!!
@Meg: ps. those emergency vet trips are KILLER on the wallet!
@Meg: Oh my gosh, YES! I feel so broke this morning!
Aww poor Murphy! Its so upsetting when pets are sick are injured because you just want to communicate with them and make it better but the fact that you can’t ‘talk’ to each other makes it frustrating. Poor guy, glad its nothing serious though.
Poor Murphy! I am far too familiar with those late night emergency vet visits that result in a huge bill. My husband and I are a little better about not freaking over every vomit but are still totally worriers. We are gonna be nuts with kids too!
Aww, so glad he is okay! We are the same way with our dog-babies! We had a Lhasa Apso who occasionally would do the same thing. Never knew it had a name though! Hope he is feeling much better today.
Tina, I don’t blame you & Mal for being extra cautious because we all love are dogs way too much & I would freak out too š
Poor Murphy! At least the day ended with a car ride with open windows-what do dogs love more than that?
Aww, I hope Murphy will be ok! I would get nervous too if I had a pet making choking noises. At least it’s nothing serious.
Fake cheese is yummy. I love the Annie’s brand š
peanut butter cup ice cream?! What a great way to end the day.
Oh poor Murphy š
There seems to be a lot of trouble with short nosed dogs eh?
My friends brought over their English bulldog to visit our cockerspanial and they were telling us all about potential health problems he could face because of his squished in face. IT’s crazy.
Once our pug Snuggles had played outside all day long at a family event. The pollen was heavy that year, like any pug she had her nose sniffing along on the ground. Later that night she started wheezing and had difficulty breathing. I got her up and walked her around and she seemed to breath easier. It happened a couple of more times in the middle of the night. The next morning we took her to the vet. It turned out that she had springtime allergies. Which happens sometimes with shortnosed dogs. That is just one of a few other trips that he have had to make with her. One other time she was sniffing along the ground and got her nose in a wasp nest that was made in the ground. She shook her head and then flopped. I rushed her to the vets, she got better. They are funny dogs, but we love our Snuggles.
Aww poor Murphy! I would have been freaking out too. I’m glad he’s okay though. š
SO glad Murphy is ok! I would be the same way…better to be safe than sorry! Although you’ll feel it in your wallet now…
So sorry about poor Murph, but so glad he’s okay!
I love Hatha yoga – I think it’s my favorite style. Totally helped my tight back and hamstrings.
I tried that mac and cheese also and thoroughly enjoyed it š
I am SO sorry to hear about Murphy. It is the absolute worst feeling when they’re not feeling well and there’s nothing you can do to make them feel better.
When Gus injured his back a couple of months ago, we moved our mattress to the floor. So we know all about being a paranoid dog parent. Get well soon, Murphy!
I have a boston terrier and she has struggled with the same thing. It got particularly bad a few months ago and seemed to be allergy related. A baby benadryl for a few days did the trick. My vet friend told me that these episodes can sometimes be compared to a ‘reverse sneeze’ and they get confused which way to breath so blowing in their face or using a fan can help stop the “choking”.
Glad Murphy is ok… that would definitely be scary!
Oh no! Poor Murphy! I would’ve freaked out too though. Poor thing. I hate to see any animal suffer. š
Sorry to hear Murphy has been having trouble! Hope he is doing better. Just so you know, if his condition continues or worsens, there is a surgical procedure that can often alleviate or improve the problem. They shorten the soft palate so they aren’t choking on it so much and open the nose and airway a bit. This is a really common problem for Pugs!
P.S. I am a vet š
So glad to hear that Murphy is OK. I can just imagine your worry. We’ve made a couple emergency vet visits with our one dog, and it’s the worst feeling in the world not knowing if you’re pup is going to be alright. Take care of yourself and your little man š
That sad face in the first photo is really pulling at my heart strings!
I hope he’s back to 110% soon!
Aw poor Murph! Glad to hear he (and you and Mal) are all ok after such an ordeal. Talk about stress!
I’m so sorry to hear that. My best friend is a vet and this was the exact reason she said that I shouldn’t get a pug (which makes me so sad). She said that almost all of them eventually have to get a surgery to help them breath. They are just not “bred” to breath, she said. Which is crazy! So sorry… I would be freaking out as well. I seriously adore pugs!
YIKES!! Hopefully Murph is feeling much better today!
How scary! I hate the sound of Winston choking in the middle of the night. It freaks me out, but I wouldn’t want it any other way. I love his squishy face!
I’m thinking about Murphy and hope he’s doing better today.
I had to make a trip to the emergency vet this weekend, too! Ugh. Not what I had envisioned, but they did make Pepper feel all better!
This happens to our pug every once in a while. It is so scary because it sounds like they can’t breathe. Our vet to said to put your fingers in their mouth to help open their airway and just sit with them calmly while you do it so they start to realize that they infact can breathe. I guess it is a bit mind over matter for pug a lugs too!
I feel for you guys! Murphy’s your baby and I think just about any of us would do the same thing. Hope you, Mal and Murph are on the mend! Love that pug!
Aw poor baby! I’m glad that Murphy is doing well now. I, too, freak out when my dog is acting even a little out of the ordinary; I think that’s only natural. My boyfriend and I have taken our dog to the emergency vet on several occasions, mainly due to skin issues he had as a puppy. I just hate to know that my dog is EVER uncomfortable. Peace of mind — and a healthy dog — is well worth the expense.
So sorry to hear about that unnerving episode. All the best to Murphy!
Oh no, poor Murphy! I would have absolutely gone back to the vet a second time. I hope he feels better!
I’m so lucky to have a vet cousin. we talk to her all the time; are you close with your vet?
Poor Murphy! There’s nothing worse than a sick pet, since they can’t really tell you what’s wrong š This time of year is very hard for dogs with everything in bloom causing allergies and the warmer weather. I hope he recovers quickly.
We had to take Alouysius the wonder pug in to the vet’s last weekend because he was having digestive issues, so I definitely feel your pain. It’s funny that I don’t even bat an eyelash anymore as long as the vet bill is less than $200 because we’ve had him in so many times. He scares me so badly when he chokes or wheezes or whatever the heck it is that he does, and I’ve taken to patting his back between his shoulder blades very gently while also massaging just below his rib cage. I don’t know if it helps him (he does tend to stop once I do it) or just me, but at least I freak out less.
I hope Murphy feels better soon. XOXOXO.
Oh! What a relief! I am so glad that Murphy is ok.
As I read your post, my heart was beating so fast. It reminded me of when my dog had similiar issues. She is 15 years old, and one of the valves in her throat/esophagus (?) was not closing properly so when she ate, food would go into her airway and she would wheeze/hack/choke. It was a heartbreaking sound. There is no cure, except surgery- but she is too old for that. She still has it, which is why my Mom prepares all her food from scratch from fresh ingredients and mashes it up so it goes down easily.
So I feel your anxiety/panic. Yay, Murphy! Hope you’re feeling better today, boy. š
OH, my goodness, poor Murphy!! I am so glad he’s better now… Flora has had the same types of issues before–it’s really freaky, though.
Flora actually fractured her hip a couple of years ago, and even though she was X-rayed immediately, the regular vet never caught the fracture, just sent us home with an anti-inflammatory. Long story short, Flora ended up needing hip surgery after we returned from Europe (we were traveling right after she got hurt). It’s always better to err on the side of caution and go to the doggy ER or see a specialist right away! You guys weren’t being overly cautious, just loving. We definitely feel the same about our dogs.
Feel better Murphy! I had to visit the emergency vet with my guy once and after a bunch of tests and an overnight stay everything was ok. But it is beyond stressful because the animal can’t “tell” you what is ailing them. That for me was the worst part.
I have a 13 year old Boston Terrier with the same syndrome. We considered doing surgery to have the part of his soft palate that was causing airway blockage removed, but ultimately decided against it because of his old age. We also use some of the same tools to prevent him from choking that you do (i.e., putting a ball in his bowl so he doesn’t eat to fast). It can be tough having smushy-faced dogs, but so worth it!
Tina- We have two pugs, and our Murphy who is in better shape than our other pug Bosco has this problem too! Its allergies. So when he has these episodes we give him a Benadryl. Within an hour it’s gone. It is very scary though!! The first time it happened we brought him to the vet and $400 later they said he was fine. Hope this helps!