http://www.petsugar.com Girl's best friend. en http://www.petsugar.com/2550790 <a href="http://www.petsugar.com/2550790"><img width=107 height=160 src='http://media.onsugar.com/files/upl1/10/104166/48_2008/2a9bf2a3b5717b58_bulldog330.large.jpg'></div></a><p><span class="inline left"></span>Bulldogs, along with Boxers, Bostons, Persians, and Himalayans (to name a few), fall into a group I like to affectionately call <a href="http://www.petsugar.com/tag/smushed+faces" >smooshies</a> based on that unique face shape. They all have brachycephalic skulls – "brachy" means shortened and "cephalic" means head. This creates the wheezes, snores, and snorts commonly coming from their mouths, but also causes another unwelcome emission . . . gas. </p> <p>Along with narrower nostrils and wind pipes, it can take a greater effort for them to breathe through the nose. Then, when eating, dogs with smushed faces tend to inhale (literally), not chew their food, and typically suck in quite a bit of air in the process, which makes them rather gassy on the other end, too.</p> <p>What can you do about it? Pick up a bowl to help pets <a href="http://www.petsugar.com/1644039" >eat</a>, and <a href="http://www.petsugar.com/1875395" >drink</a>, slower and ingest less air.</p> <p><a href="http://www.gettyimages.com" target="_blank">Source</a><br /> <br clear=all></p> http://www.petsugar.com/2550790#comment health smushed faces brachycephalic Mon, 01 Dec 2008 07:30:47 -0800 PetSugar http://www.petsugar.com/2550790