Is your Great Dane snoring when they are asleep, keeping you awake all night? There are many reasons that they may be snoring, and there are many things that you can do to correct these problems.
Why Do Great Danes Snore?
- Allergies
- Obesity
- Dental Problems
- Fungal Disease
- Mass or Tumor
- Foreign Object
- Common Cold
- Secondhand Smoke
- Medication
- Age
If your Great Dane is snoring, there are a few lifestyle changes that you can make to help stop the snoring so you and your Great Dane can return to a peaceful night of sleep.
Reasons why your Great Dane Might be Snoring
There are many things that can cause your Great Dane to snore.
If the snoring is suddenly, talk to your vet to make sure that there is not an underlying condition causing your Great Dane to Snore.
Allergies (Sinusitis)
Dogs can have allergies, just like people do!
Many Great Danes can be allergic to dust, pollen, perfumes, other animals in the house, and dander, which can make it hard for them to breathe.
When these allergens enter the nasal passage, it can cause inflammation leading to a condition called sinusitis.
While there are certain allergy medications that you can give to your Great Dane to help with these allergies, there also are some things that you can also do around your house to alleviate them.
- Changing the air filter and dusting just a little more often can help decrease the allergens in your house and stop your Great Dane from snoring.
- Washing your Great Danes feed when they come inside and bathing them with an allergy shampoo
- Wiping them down with a damp cloth
All of these steps can help reduce the effects of most allergies.
Obesity
If your Great Dane is overweight, this will cause more tissue to be around the throat area.
This will mean that there is a greater chance that it can constrict airways. This can be a very dangerous problem, especially if this causes the trachea to become closed. Obesity causes many more problems than just your Great Dane snoring.
The extra weight is not good for their bones and joint and all your Great Danes other organs.
Dental Issue
Your Great Dane may have a tooth abscess or another growth in their mouth or sinuses. This can block their airways and make them suddenly start to snore at night.
The tooth problem can be very painful, and your Great Dane may not be eating as much. If you think that your Great Dane is snoring because of a dental problem, you need to take them to a vet as soon as possible.
This infection in their mouth can easily and quickly spread throughout their bodies. Dental problems need to be seen as quickly as possible to make sure that your Great Dane stays healthy.
You can usually look in your Great Danes mouth and see an infected tooth or another type of growth in their mouth that would warrant a trip to the vet.
Fungal disease: Aspergillosis
Aspergillosis is a common fungal disease that can live inside your dog’s nose. They can easily pick this up by inhaling mold spores that can be found in hay, grass, and compost piles.
This fungus enters the body through the lining of the nose and causes irritation. This is most commonly seen in farm dogs or dogs that spend a lot of their time outside.
The symptoms usually seen with this type of fungal infection are sneezing, swelling, nasal discharge, and snoring. Aspergillosis can be very serious if not treated. This will usually clear up with a course of antifungal medicine.
Foreign object in their nose
When your Great Dane is playing in the back yard, they can easily inhale a piece of grass that get stuck in the nose.
Your Great Dane will usually be sneezing with this type of foreign object stuck in their nose but will also be snoring due to the inflammation that the grass can cause.
Your Great Dane can also have another foreign object stuck in their nose. Just like with children, a Great Dane can get almost anything stuck up their nose.
Your vet can look in your dog’s nose and remove any foreign object that they find in their nose.
Mass or Tumor in their Nose
Your Great Dane can have a growth or mass in their nose. These masses may be cancerous but can just be a benign growth.
Many times, if your Great Dane has a mass in their nose you will notice a swollen side of one side of their nose.
Other signs that you may see are sneezing, blood coming from the nose, and snoring.
Your vet can take x rays of your dog’s head and see if there is a mass growing in their nose and take a biopsy to see what is causing this growth.
Depending on the biopsy report, your Great Dane may need chemotherapy or radiation to shrink this growth.
The Common Cold
Great Danes can catch a cold, just like people. These upper respiratory infections are known as rhinitis and can cause your Great Dane to snore.
Your dog may runny and stuffy nose that causes the mucus membranes that line the inside of the nose to become inflamed. You will notice them sneezing more often and even may notice the breathing a little harder.
This inflammation causes the nasal passage to become narrowed and may make it a little hard for them to breathe. When they sleep, they will often snore to help get more air through their nose.
If your Great Dane does have a cold, they may need antibiotics to treat any secondary bacterial infection that they may have.
Other things that will help your dog’s sinus infection is to use a humidifier to add more moisture to the air. This will help create a more comfortable breathing environment for your Great Dane.
Secondhand Smoke
If someone in your house smokes around your Great Dane, there is a chance that this is causes irritation to their nasal passage. This can cause your Great Dane to snore more.
Limiting the amount of time that you expose your Great Dane to secondhand smoke will quickly help stop your Great Dane from snoring.
Secondhand smoke can cause many health problems for your Great Dane, just like it does with people.
Medications
There are certain medications that may cause your Great Dane to snore. Usually, when your pet stops taking these medications, their snoring also stops.
If you think that a particular medication might be part of the issue, you can often check its label to see if snoring is listed as a common side effect. Also, don’t hesitate to reach out to your veterinarian to run it by them as well.
Age of your Great Dane
As your Great Dane ages, the muscles in their throat will weaken.
This can cause them to snore a lot more. Unfortunately, there is usually nothing that you can do to stop your older Great Dane from snoring.
Do Great Danes Snore A lot?
No, Great Danes typically do not snore a lot.
If your Great Dane is snoring, it may be best to see your vet to make sure that there is nothing wrong with them, causing them to snore, especially if this is a new and sudden development.
It is best to have your Great Dane checked out before their condition worsens.
Is it normal for your Great Dane to Snore?
Like people, you Great Dane snores because the airflow in their nasal passage or their throat is restricted.
This is usually perfectly normal and can be caused by something as simple as your Great Dane sleeping on their backs.
Their tongue can drop back towards the throat, blocking the breath from moving easily through the airway.
How to Get My Great Dane to Stop Snoring
These are some very easy lifestyle changes that you can make to help your Great Dane stop snoring.
- Exercise to lose weight: If your Great Dane is overweight, taking them on a little longer walk each day or cutting back on the amount that you feed them will help them lose weight.
- Clean their bedding: If your Great Dane seems to be snoring because of allergies, make sure that their bed is cleaned more frequently. This will help keep the allergens in the environment gone.
- Look at how they sleep: If your Great Dane sleeps on their back, try to get them to sleep on their side. Many times, this will quickly stop them from snoring.
- DO NOT smoke around your Great Dane: Move to a different area of the house or even outside to smoke to help prevent secondhand smoke and snoring in your Great Dane.
Final Thoughts
Your Great Dane snoring at night can keep you up all night.
Monitor for signs of any problems and take them to your vet. By being a little more aware of the dust and allergens in your pet’s environment can help decrease the amount that they are snoring.
If the snoring suddenly started and is continually getting worse, make sure to make an appointment with your vet to make sure that your Great Dane is healthy and happy.
My fur-kidz snore infrequently but when they do snore they do so together which raise quite a din though surprisingly they don’t wake each other up.