Grunting while walking in the cold

Hello vets/tech   I have "adopted" my mothers 5 year old Shih-tzu Alia after my mom passed away in September. My mom never really walked Alia distances because she was limited on physical activities herself. We have now been walking her more, I would say maybe 1/4 mile-1/2 daily. Alia was the runt of the litter, she weighs 10.5lbs and we live in New England. She is seen by her vet as needed. With it being cold we have noticed her grunting through her nose quite regularly during these walks. Is this something I should be concerned with? I know shih-tzu have a narrow, short nasal passage. Thank you!

Hello - I'm afraid that some dogs do naturally have a lot of soft tissue in an awkward place in their skull and that when they exercise, this material protrudes across their airway and they might struggle to breathe past it.  However, I would never consider this to be normal for  dog of any breed- it as in inbred problem that has come about from humans seeking to breed dogs with certain face shapes. Importantly, just because a dog has a certain face-shape does not mean that this is the cause of the problem;  there  could also be a lump in the nose or a fungal infection or a bleed, or an inflamed tooth-root, that I could easily overlook by saying to you 'yes, I'm afraid that some breeds do that.'  I think that the best solution would be to record the signs on a phone if you can, then take the patient to the vets and let them listen, with a view to deciding a) where in the airway the extra noise is arising from b) what the most likely explanations are in this case and c) whether imaging e.g. radiographs, ultrasound or rhinoscopy / endoscopy, are likely to make any difference to the information so-far gathered and d) therefore what to do next.  I hope that something there is useful.

With respect to the cold, nasal discharges might occur at these times specifically due to reduced immune defences, so reducing the available airspace and exaggerating any symptoms.  Or something could change without or outside the house that provokes a nasal reaction.  However, it could also be that a nasal  obstruction has been getting progressively worse throughout that time and you have come to associate it with the ambient weather changes, or some similar narrative to that. Without understanding the cause, I'm afraid it's difficult to understand the timing at this stage.  I look forward to hearing what you find out.