Just when I thought I've heard it all ...
A nice 2-year pet puppy has owner concerned, snores and has stopped breathing several times. Wakes up fine. Owner suspected something like "sleep apnea" in humans. Her vet is ready to put the dog under tomorrow, possible surgery:

Vet "said it sounds like elongated soft palate, most common in bulldogs pugs etc. i think how he explained it is its a flap of skin that comes across throat in dogs to prevent food from getting into their lungs. on some dogs it is too long, and comes too close to epiglottis, thus obstructing their airway. he said the way amos is built, huge head, short thick neck, and the fact that he is such a snorer, one of the main signs, he thinks that is exactly what is going on."

Have any of you ever encountered something like this? I've asked her to hold off until we can research more. Thanks for any related input!

I have a 10 year old who has an elongated soft palate. Never have done surgery but do watch carefully when Kennel cough or uper respiratoey conditions occur. She is also a very loud snorer.

I have a 4 year old neutered male who, I swear, has sleep apnea! He sounds horrible and snorks, gags, stops breathing, grunts, take looooong pauses!! Sometimes I've actually gotten up and patted him a few times to get him out of REM sleep so he'll stop. I've never sought medical attention for him, he's 4 and is going strong. I've thought about a CPAP machine for him,just so my husband and I can get some sleep! (he sleeps in bed with us!).
If he wasn't a very healthy dog, or he suffered with respiratory problems, then I would probably take him in and have him treated. But! He's very healthy and doing great, so I'm not going to worry about him!

This is just my opinion, but I wouldn't be performing surgery on an otherwise healthy dog unless I had multiple opinions from veterinary specialists - and at that point I would have the surgery done by a specialist.

You wouldn't let your family doctor perform delicate ENT surgery on a family member, would you?

No way, no how is my first thought on this one.

I would get a second opinion before cutting.

Thanks, all, for your input. I hope the owner and vet will hold off until more information can be found. And/or, find a specialist.

If I had surgery done on all the dogs in our house that snored - I'd be in the poor house! JMO

Wondering if they can scope him to confirm this? I would get a second opinion prior to surgery too.

Maybe even a third opinion too.