My bulldog

Question
Hi-
My bulldog had an enlarged soft palette, so we had the surgery done about a year ago.  I thought this was to prevent him from having any kind of respiratory infection again, as he would no longer aspirate food or water into his lungs.  He just had one 2 weeks ago, from lung aspiration.  How can I prevent this from happening again?

Answer
This is a tough one. The soft palette probably wasn't the whole problem. He probably has a very narrow airway too. There are "pockets" on both side of the throat (can't recall the offical name at the moment) that are often trimmed when the palette is resectioned. If this wasn't done, you'll still have the same problems. These pockets or flaps will become swollen when the dog pants or gets excited and the airway narrows considerably during this time. Of course, that's when the dog wants a drink. It's a vicious circle.  Once they have a serious upper respiratory infection, it never really goes away totally.

My best suggestion is to raise his food and water dishes off the floor by at least 6 inches. If you don't free feed the dog, it would be good to get him used to it so he doesn't gulp his food down. I wish I had more positive advice.