A pug, a brachycephalic breed prone to snoring
on September 17, 2026

Dog Snoring: Causes & When It Isn't Just Noise (UK Guide)

Some dogs snore because of how they're built, and for flat-faced breeds it's genuinely normal.

But snoring that's new, has changed, or comes with daytime breathing difficulty can point to a real structural condition with a name — and, in the worst cases, to something that needs treating rather than living with. This guide covers why dogs snore, the specific breed-linked condition behind chronic snoring in flat-faced dogs, other causes worth ruling out, and when snoring stops being just a noise.

Written by Jamie Sinclair, who writes about canine health, nutrition, and everyday care for Doggy Dailies — focused on translating veterinary research and real ingredient science into practical, honest guidance UK dog owners can use.

A pug, a brachycephalic breed prone to snoring

Table of Contents

Why Some Snoring Is Completely Normal

Snoring happens when airflow through the nose and throat is partially blocked, causing the surrounding soft tissue to vibrate. In many dogs this is nothing more than a sleeping position — the tongue relaxing back slightly, or a neck angle that puts mild pressure on the airway — and it resolves the moment the dog shifts position.

Short-nosed (brachycephalic) breeds are a different story: their anatomy means a degree of snoring, snorting, and noisy breathing is simply part of how they're built, and it's rarely worth worrying about on its own in these breeds.

Other dogs can snore too, particularly if they're sleeping on their back with their head tilted at an angle that partially narrows the throat, or if a stuffy nose from a mild cold is temporarily affecting airflow. The distinction that actually matters is covered in the next section.

BOAS: The Named Condition Behind Chronic Snoring in Flat-Faced Breeds

This is the part most snoring articles gloss over, and it's worth knowing by name if you own a Bulldog, French Bulldog, Boston Terrier, Boxer, Pekingese, Pug, Shih Tzu, or similar flat-faced breed.

Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome (BOAS) isn't one single problem — it's a combination of up to four structural issues that work together to restrict airflow, present from birth but often worsening with age, weight gain, heat, or exercise:

  • Stenotic nares — nostrils that are too narrow, limiting air intake and often forcing mouth breathing even at rest
  • Elongated soft palate — soft tissue at the back of the throat that extends too far, partially blocking the airway and producing the characteristic snoring and gagging sounds
  • Everted laryngeal saccules — small pockets of tissue near the vocal cords that can turn outward as a secondary effect of the dog working harder to breathe, further narrowing the airway
  • Hypoplastic trachea — an abnormally narrow windpipe along its length, which can't be widened surgically the way the other three issues sometimes can

Mild snoring in these breeds is expected. What separates ordinary brachycephalic snoring from BOAS that needs attention is the fuller picture: noisy or laboured breathing even at rest (not just asleep), excessive panting, real difficulty catching their breath, gagging or retching, collapsing after exercise or excitement, and poor exercise tolerance generally.

When these show up alongside the snoring, it's a genuine airway problem rather than a quirky trait, and vets can grade its severity with an exam.

Surgery — widening narrow nostrils, shortening an elongated soft palate, or removing obstructive tissue — is often the most effective treatment for moderate to severe cases, usually alongside weight management, since extra weight makes every part of BOAS worse.

How Common Is BOAS, Really? A 2026 Cambridge Study Breaks It Down by Breed

A brand-new 2026 study from the University of Cambridge's BOAS Research Group put some real numbers behind a question owners of flat-faced breeds ask constantly: how likely is my dog to actually be affected? The researchers assessed 898 dogs across 14 brachycephalic breeds between September 2021 and April 2024, using a standardised exercise-tolerance-test grading system rather than relying on owner-reported symptoms.

What they found is that "brachycephalic" as a category hides enormous variation. Pomeranians came out with essentially no clinically significant BOAS at all, and Maltese were almost identical, with only a single mild case recorded. At the other extreme, roughly 89% of Pekingese assessed showed some degree of BOAS, and over 80% of Japanese Chins did too.

Breeds like Staffordshire Bull Terriers, Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Chihuahuas, Boxers and Affenpinschers sat somewhere in the middle, with under half of dogs showing clinically significant disease.

The study's second finding is arguably more useful than the prevalence numbers on their own, because it starts to explain why the risk varies so much even within breeds that all count as "flat-faced." Three factors were significantly correlated with how severe a dog's BOAS was: a higher body condition score (in plain terms, being overweight), narrower nostrils, and a lower craniofacial ratio (a flatter face, essentially).

Together, these three factors accounted for around a fifth of the difference in disease severity between individual dogs — which tells you that skull shape alone doesn't decide the outcome, and that flat-faced doesn't automatically mean doomed.

The practical takeaway for owners is that two of those three risk factors are things you can actually influence, even though the underlying skull conformation isn't one of them.

Keeping a brachycephalic dog at a healthy weight isn't just generally good advice — on this evidence, it's one of the more concrete, individually actionable levers an owner has over how severe their dog's BOAS risk turns out to be.

It's also a good reason not to assume every flat-faced dog is destined for the same outcome: a lean Staffie or Cavalier with reasonably open nostrils is playing a genuinely different hand to a Pekingese with narrow nares and a very flat profile, even though both sit under the same "brachycephalic" umbrella.

A Real UK Screening Tool: The Respiratory Function Grading Scheme

If you're buying a Bulldog, French Bulldog, or Pug puppy, it's worth knowing this exists. The Kennel Club, working with the University of Cambridge, runs the Respiratory Function Grading Scheme (RFGS) — a formal assessment carried out by specially trained vets that grades a dog's breathing function, starting from 12 months old and repeatable every couple of years.

It exists precisely because BOAS is a progressive condition that can genuinely affect exercise tolerance, eating, and sleep over a dog's lifetime, and grading breeding dogs is one of the more concrete tools available for reducing how often it's passed on to puppies.

If you're getting a puppy from one of these three breeds, asking a breeder whether the parents have an RFGS grade — and what it is — is a reasonable, specific question that goes well beyond "have they been health tested." Grades run from clear to severely affected, and dogs graded as more severely affected are advised against being bred from, precisely to reduce how often the worst-affected airway conformations get passed down the generations.

Other Causes of Snoring

  • Upper respiratory infections — including kennel cough, which can cause temporary swelling and noisy breathing
  • Nasal mites or fungal infections — less common, but can cause chronic snoring alongside sneezing or nasal discharge
  • Growths in the airway — polyps or, less commonly, tumours can obstruct airflow and cause snoring that's new or gradually worsening
  • Allergies — inflammation and swelling of the airway tissue from an allergic reaction can narrow the passage enough to cause snoring
  • A foreign object — something lodged in the nasal passage or throat, usually causing sudden-onset snoring alongside other signs of distress

The Weight Connection

Excess weight is one of the most under-appreciated causes of snoring in dogs that aren't brachycephalic. Fat deposits around the neck and throat put physical pressure on the airway, narrowing it in the same way excess neck fat contributes to snoring in people.

This is also exactly why weight management is part of BOAS treatment in flat-faced breeds — the anatomical narrowing is already there, and extra weight compounds it.

If your dog has started snoring and has also gained weight, our guide to helping your dog lose weight is a reasonable place to start, alongside a vet check to rule out anything else going on.

Why New or Changed Snoring Matters More Than Constant Snoring

A dog who has always snored, with no change in pattern or severity, is usually fine — that's just their normal. What's actually worth paying attention to is a change: a dog who's never snored suddenly starting, snoring that's noticeably louder or more laboured-sounding than before, or snoring that now comes with other symptoms like nasal discharge, sneezing, or general lethargy.

New or changed snoring is a genuine signal that something has shifted, whether that's an infection, weight gain, a growth, or in older brachycephalic dogs, gradual BOAS progression — and it's worth getting checked rather than assumed away.

What You Can Do at Home

For a dog whose snoring is purely positional, a slightly different sleeping surface or position can sometimes help, though it's rarely something worth engineering around.

For brachycephalic breeds, keeping your dog at a healthy weight, avoiding overheating and strenuous exercise in warm weather, and using a harness instead of a collar to avoid extra pressure on an already-compromised airway are all genuinely useful.

None of this replaces a vet assessment if your dog is showing the fuller BOAS symptom picture above — home adjustments help manage a diagnosed, mild case, not substitute for one.

When to See a Vet

  • New snoring in a dog who's never snored before
  • Snoring that's noticeably worsened, louder, or more laboured-sounding than usual
  • Noisy or difficult breathing while awake and at rest, not just while asleep
  • Snoring alongside nasal discharge, sneezing, gagging, or lethargy
  • Collapse, extreme fatigue, or real difficulty breathing after exercise or excitement, particularly in a brachycephalic breed
  • Snoring alongside recent, unexplained weight gain

FAQ

Is it normal for dogs to snore?

Mild, consistent snoring is often normal, especially in flat-faced breeds. New snoring, or snoring that's changed or worsened, is worth checking with your vet.

What is BOAS in dogs?

Brachycephalic Obstructive Airway Syndrome is a combination of up to four structural airway problems common in flat-faced breeds — narrow nostrils, an elongated soft palate, everted laryngeal saccules, and a narrow trachea — that together restrict airflow.

Can weight loss stop a dog from snoring?

It can help significantly. Excess fat around the neck and throat narrows the airway and can cause or worsen snoring, and weight management is also part of managing BOAS in brachycephalic breeds.

When should I worry about my dog's snoring?

When it's new, has changed or worsened, or comes with noisy breathing while awake, gagging, collapse after exercise, nasal discharge, or lethargy.

Which dog breeds are most prone to snoring?

Flat-faced (brachycephalic) breeds like Bulldogs, French Bulldogs, Pugs, Boston Terriers, Boxers, Pekingese and Shih Tzus snore most often, due to their airway anatomy.

Sources

This article is for general information only and isn't a substitute for veterinary advice. If your dog's snoring is new, worsening, or paired with breathing difficulty, please contact your vet.

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