Do pug puppies need special vet care when undergoing anesthesia?

If there is tartar on your pug's teeth, and a bad odor coming from the mouth, he should have a dental cleaning under anesthesia. Dental cleaning without anesthesia is necessary as a lot of the tartar and bacteria are under the gum line causing severe gingivitis and the bacteria to enter the blood stream. I have not met a dog yet that lets us remove tartar under the gum line voluntarily, ie without anesthesia. During the procedure your dog will be intubated to keep water and debris from entering the windpipe and to enable us to deliver the anesthetic gas and oxygen directly to the lungs. So the nose problems do not influence the ability to breathe during gas anesthesia. Brachycephalic dogs such as pugs have a slightly higher anesthetic risk than other dogs, but overall the risk is very low nowadays. Once the teeth have been cleaned you should brush them regularly with a soft brush and enzymatic tooth paste to delay the formation of new tartar. It is not possible to remove existing tartar by way of brushing teeth which is why brushing teeth is useful only after the tartar is removed.

It is always best to spay your dog when they are young if you are not planning to breed. Yes, brachycephalic need special care with anesthesia but vets know this and take special precautions. If you don't spay her you are risking her gettting mammary (breast) cancer and/or pyometra (life threatening uterine infection). It is much worse to have to put her under anesthesia later when she is sick rather than now when she is young and healthy. https://www.petcoach.co/article/spaying-ovariohysterectomy-the-benefits-in-dogs/

Unfortunately pugs are extremely brachycephalic dogs and it is not rare that they cannot breathe properly and fall unconscious due to lack of oxygen. You will need to take your dog to a veterinarian for assessment and an exam. The extremely flat face and nose causes two problems: the opening of the nose is often obstructed and can be surgically enlarged to help with breathing. Also the soft palate is often way to big as there is no snout, and often obstructs the larynx, cutting off the air flow. This can be surgically adjusted. Both these conditions can also cause heart failure. Please take your dog to a veterinarian or veterinary surgeon for an exam soon.

Chow chows have the same anesthetic risk as other breeds. It is a well known phenomenon that every breeder thinks that his breed has other requirements than other breeds. Anesthesia is tailored to the individual dog's needs depending on age, history, clinical exam, test results, if available, type of anesthesia available and co-morbidities. So every dog gets the anesthesia that is safest for him or her. Of course there are risk with anesthesia as with any procedure, but we are doing everything possible to minimize those risks. Nowadays anesthesia is far safer than it ever was. No veterinarian (or doctor) wants to lose a patient, so we do our best not to.

She would need to be thoroughly examined by a vet. Most dogs that are otherwise stable (as in living day to day without any issues) can undergo anesthesia without complications. The vet may want to take a few extra precautions if they have concern that she could regurgitate during or after anesthesia.

Poor Lincoln! It sounds as though your vet is most likely concerned about a cruciate ligament tear, patellar luxation, or the onset of arthritis from a possible prior injury. English Bulldogs are inherently more risky to put under anesthesia simply due to the conformation of their head and airways, but your vet is aware of these possibilities and should be prepared with proper monitoring equipment and oxygen supplementation. I always recommend pre-anesthetic blood testing whenever possible. Most anesthetics are broken by the liver and kidneys (which these tests will assess), which allows the animal to wake up after the procedure. I hope that all goes well for Lincoln!

It is never safe to do a non-anesthetic dental, and it should never be preformed on a dog. I can understand your concern, but Daisy does need that loose tooth removed and her teeth cleaned. PetCoach has a great article about why you should never chose non-anesthetic dentals that discusses if anesthesia is safe, and what happens when a pet's mouth is cleaned under anesthesia. I will link the article below so hopefully some of your concerns will be alleviated. As for her breathing, dogs who have a short snout typically breathe better with an ET tube (endotracheal tube) which is used during a dental procedure. I would recommend having it done if your vet feels it's safe, as it will make Daisy so much more comfortable. https://www.petcoach.co/article/what-s-the-deal-with-anesthesia-free-dental-cleanings/0