Cleft Palate Questions
 

Here is a link that I think will answer most of your questions! Hope this helps!
BIRTH DEFECTS IN DOGS: CLEFT PALATE WHY AND WHEN - Chinaroad Lowchens of Australia

site
 

I have always liked that site...

I find a cleft may happen and never again...it can be in a litter of perfectly normal, healthy siblings, who go on to produce perfectly healthy, normal puppies.
Many years ago I had one born and in the same month two friends had a cleft puppy also..all were from different sires and dams..we could find no common thread..diet, meds etc.. I have never had a female with a cleft, only tiny males..I recall 3 in 35yrs. When I rebred the bitches, none occured.

I tried to save the first one, and he cried for 3 days..the other two were put down at birth.

I have a yorkie who is 2.5 years old that has a cleft palate and a hair lip....and she is doing GREAT!!!! The vet mentioned doing surgery on her but since she is doing wonderful he sees no need at the moment.....he one concern was sinus infections but Lizzy has had none...She is a little hellion, normal in every way. Most people don't even know that she is a special need pup....unless she goes to kiss them and then her tongue comes out her nose...lol that usually freaks people out...hehehe If I can get hubby to post pictures tomorrow I will....

This was my moms first litter and our vet said we probably shouldn't breed her again because he told me that the cause of a cleft pallate isn't known....it could be that she got into a pesticide during pregnancy or just a gene problem....I asked the breeder of the mom is they had any problems but she said they didn't...(not sure if I believe her cause 2 of the moms litter mates died and they didn't give us an answer as to why)
Lizzie also had a brother and a sister and they are very healthy...they weigh about 7 or 8 pounds but Lizzie is only at 4.5 lbs.

cleft palate
 

I remember one time a breeder telling me to not use any pine cleaners when I had a bitch in whelp...........always use javex and sunlight dish soap mixed with hot water to clean up.......that is all I use to disinfect and clean.........I had a pup born with a cleft and had to put him down at 3 days......broke my heart and it sure takes it toll on your breeding practice as I was always sick with worry everytime I bred a litter but only had one and that was enough.....make sure they have a good diet with the right foods and vitamins and folic acid which they say is why cleft palates happen.........hope this helps...
gloria

I definalty don't have all the answers BUT I raised a cleft baby. She is a Chihuahua, not a yorkie. And I never bred her mom again. There were 4 pups in the litter and she was the only one born with a cleft.

It was a fight, but "we" made it :)

She'll be 2 in July and she's the love of my life :) Here are some pics to show you how much smaller she was from her littermates.

More pictures......

Look at that beautiful little face :) I can see why you are crazy about her!

Breny, she is so cute!! :p

cleft puppy
 

What a sweet little darling.........how is she doing.......do you have any problems and did you ever consider getting the cleft fixed or can it be fixed....
gloria

My daughter has a cleft palate puppy. He is 17 months old now and doing fine. Lots of breeders have them put down but most could be saved if someone takes the time to work with them. They can be corrected but the surgeries are complicated and expensive and the vets we've been to have said his would probably take at least 3 surgeries and there was no garantee it would work. The biggest danger is inhalation pneumonia. We looked at it this way. He's having a very spoiled wonderful life no matter how short it may be, at least he was given a chance

Thank you! Tia is doing great! She spits and sputters but doesn't have too huge of issues. She can only drink from a water bottle and eats hard dog food. At this point, I'm not planning on getting it fixed. She's good the way she is and I'd hate to complicate things and make her go through that.

If I HAD to, I'd do it if she had to have it but at this point, she is living fine with it and is very happy :)

We whelped her.
We are not sure if she got into anything...we don't remember putting anything on our lawn or garden during the time the mother was preggers....So I'm thinking maybe it was a genetic thing....especially cause we don't think the breeder was being very honest with us. We definitely will not be breeding the mother again even though our little Lizzie is one of the most wonderful things in our lives.....

My cleft palate puppy is now 9 months
 

I want to tell you my experiences with Bombo, a cleft palate puppy. This might give some people here more hope, as well as awareness of issues down the line


The vets who've seen Bombo have all expressed surprise that he is alive. He has a severe cleft palate. He's now 9 months and doing great. He is going to UC Davis Veterinary School on August 18 to have surgery to correct his cleft palate. This will be done by two oral surgeons with a gaggle of students looking on. We waited until his jaw had matured. With earlier surgeries there is risk that as the oral cavity grew, it would rip apart the newly repaired area.

Some basics of how I kept Bombo alive:

1. He was tube-fed colostrum for the first three weeks.
2. He transitioned to kitten kibble, which are around the size of tiny pellets. He swallowed those whole.
3. He gets water from a lixit bottle. On the road, he drinks from a dropper, syringe, or water bottle with a spout. The idea is to have his head tilted back as he drinks to avoid having it go into his nasal areas.
4. He is on hard kibble only. No pastes like Nutrical, no soft food, no thick liquids. Water only.
5. He takes antibiotics prophylactically. Before doing that, he had 4 or 5 sinus infections and one low-grade pneumonia episode. We compound azithromax into 7 mg beef tab. I coat that with a little olive oil and slip it down at the back of his throat. With green discharge, we add clavamox twice a day.
6. I suction when he has discharge in his nose, using a baby bulb syringe. In prior days, I had to suction several times a day and also at night. He could not eat when he was congested. These days, he's doing so well, he does not need suctioning.
7. Be on the lookout for hypoglycemia. In my guy, it started with shivering and then led to incoordination and falling over. I drop whole kibble down his throat to get him going again.

I hope these tips are helpful.

Good luck.
Amy

Thank you for sharing the information about your puppy. It is very interesting. We would love to see pictures of your baby. I pray your baby will have a successful surgery and a speedy recovery.

Bombo's cleft palate from 4 months to 9 months
 

Here is a link to a gallery of photos of Bombo. MobileMe Gallery

Some of the photos are not in order by date, but most have dates in the caption. There are some photos of him when he was fairly small, when he was quite ill. You can see also how tiny his nose was, adding to the congestion probalem. He often was so congested he would breathe through his mouth like fish blowing bubbles.

The cleft looks like it's gotten smaller. But it could also be that his mouth grew bigger, which then makes the cleft look smaller.

The other Yorkie in the photo --the lighter colored one--is Lilli, who is 12 years old. She loves to play with Bombo.

On the 18th, we go to UC Davis for an evaluation and if all goes well, he will have his surgery the following morning. Wish us luck!

Amy

I could not get the photo gallery to open it said it was restricted. I pray Bombo will have a successful surgery.

What a sweetheart Bombo is. And such a traveler! I am praying that his surgery will go well. He is a precious little guy...and I love Lilli, too! Please keep us updated.

I see most of the cleft babies described in this thread have not needed surgerical intervention to thrive and grow...leads me to believe the condition of the severity must be something to be considered.

Perhaps when Bombo is evaluated he won't need surgery afterall....seems he's come very far in his first year. If he does need surgery...I hope for much success and a speedy recovery.

Hmmm. The album is not restricted. It may be that you have a firewall that does not allow you to open these kind of pages from the web. You might changes your firewall preferences to allow this particular page to open.

Considerations for surgery on cleft palate palate puppies
 

I think most vets would recommend surgery even with a small cleft, since the danger of respiratory infection is always there, and in a small dog with little reserves, respiratory infections can turn into pneumonia. Even in humans with weakened immune systems, pneumonia can be difficult to overcome once it sets in.

The oral surgeons have already seen the photos, read the history I provided, and talked to the dental veterinarian who first evaluated his cleft, and all strongly recommend surgery, and in fact, are surprised he is still alive. One specialist had advised surgery at 5 months, which is when he first saw Bombo. The other recommended waiting until his permanent teeth were in--and they were late in coming in. The evaluation at UC Davis is only to see if he's healthy enough for surgery, to see the nature of the cleft (a full midline graded a 3, which is major) and to allow the veterinary students to see a dog with this type of deformity. We may be there for several hours and even half a day as they evaluate him. Then we must stay overnight and if all checks out with his heart, kidney function, and so forth, he will have the surgery the next day. He will stay another two days or more for recuperation.

I do think people may not want to attempt surgery if an experienced vet is not available. A veterinary dentist is one option, as is a veterinary surgeon who does only surgery. The failure rate of this surgery is around 40%--not to be confused with mortality, although there is some risk of that when the puppy is sick or does not take well to anesthesia over a long period. The failure rate is even higher with additional surgeries. I think the overall failure rate includes clefts that run from the hard palate through the soft palate, and thus, the additional potential failure for the repaired cleft, if wide and performed when the puppy is still quite, to tear apart as the puppy's mouth continues to grow. Contributing to that percentage is, I think, the number of surgeries on serious clefts attempted by vets who have never seen a cleft. From what I understand, the usual procedure is for the tissue on both sides of the cleft to be cut, "roughed up along the edges," and then laid over the opening and stitched together. If it later tears, there is also a chance that the cleft can be left even larger.

It goes without saying that surgery of any kind is very, very expensive. In the case of veterinary specialists, such as oral surgeons in urban areas such as ours, it runs into the thousands. We also have to pay for our travel and our stay in a hotel for several anxious days, and then post-care over the following month. I am guessing Bombo's surgery at UC Davis, which includes all kinds of advanced equipment, a special surgical unit, and lots of intensive post-care will cost somewhere around $5000 to $7500--if there are no complications.

Although we would do almost anything for our babies, I don't think we can expect people to run into enormous debt and thus sacrifice their family's welfare when there are still high risks that the surgery won't even succeed. I am fortunate that I can afford the surgery. That is why I chose to take on this special needs puppy. His breeder loves him very much and gave him her all for 4 months. She said I was the only one she would ever give him to, knowing I had the time 24 hours a day, the experience with very small yorkies, resources among a network of yorkie breeders, and the means to pay for whatever he needed. The cost has already added up to a lot -- about $1700 in vet bills for routine care, early evaluations, and emergencies.

I do think that it's possible to keep some cleft palate puppies alive if one can establish a careful regimen and willingness to take on a lot of worry and thus keep the puppy relatively healthy. There is a website created by a lab breeder, Hennwood, I think, who does not recommend surgery. She feels that many clefts will close down naturally and that the dogs do well on a regimen of dry food and water. Much of my information on care--such as antibiotics, feeding, and such-- come from that advice. I think, however, her experience comes from raising bigger dogs, like labs. However, I was happy to read that another Yorkie puppy, Joker, has remained healthy, in spite of a cleft that was not corrected So it is possible to do!

Good luck to all the Cleft Palate Puppies and their Loving Humans:animal36.

Cleft Palate
 

Recently a breeder friend of mind did have a Yorkie Puppy born with a full Cleft. I am posting a picture for your information and education. This puppy had to be euthanized as there was no direct connection to his stomach without putting in a stomach tube and his prognosis was at best guarded.

Most this affects more flat nosed breeds. Cause is unknown. Although there are many speculations.