"Reverse Sneezing" (dog)

[Kiltie]

My greyhound (around 12 years old we think) seems to be doing this more and more often. She's maybe having at least one bout of it each day.

I read that it's nothing to worry about but it really does seem to put a lot of strain on her as she's snorting.

Anyone have any thoughts or experience?

Cheers,

Eric

[bexVN]

Whilst it generally is nothing too worry about it would be worth getting it ck'd out if it persists. Jimmy has been prone to this in the past. He'll do it for a couple weeks then stops. It can be seasonal (but not quite the right time of year now). If any nasal discharge occurs then definitely get it checked. If it was due to something being stuck up the nose eg a grass seed you'd expect more of a reaction than just once a day, though obviously this shouldn't be ruled out completely if continues on.

If you get chance, recording it can be helpful to show the vet, should you decide to her ck'd. I got Jimmy ck'd when he was bad with it just to be sure

[Kiltie]

Thanks Bex - aye, I'll ask the vet as we're due a visit shortly.

Saying that, in typical fashion, having posted this she hasn't done it again ... the rascal.

Cheers,

Eric

[Sid's Dad]

Our little chap does this. Has done since he was a pup, and it freaked us out at first! Now, we just comfort him calmly until it passes - is here anything else we can do to make it easier for him?

[bexVN]

Sid's Dad said:

Our little chap does this. Has done since he was a pup, and it freaked us out at first! Now, we just comfort him calmly until it passes - is here anything else we can do to make it easier for him?

That's about all I do with Jimmy along with trying to distract him. He did it tonight in the car but only mildly. He's always been prone to them aswell. When he was bad for a couple weeks the vet did consider antihistamine incase it was allergy related but he settled down again without treatment!

[fistofsteel]

Most commonly associated with palate / tonsil problems and generally assumed to have an allergic basis. Probably worth a quick look around the pharynx / nasopharynx under GA but in my limited experience not a cause for concern. Generally responds to steroids, but not worth the side effects in anything beyond the short term.

[Gretchen]

bexVN said:

Sid's Dad said:

Our little chap does this. Has done since he was a pup, and it freaked us out at first! Now, we just comfort him calmly until it passes - is here anything else we can do to make it easier for him?

That's about all I do with Jimmy along with trying to distract him. He did it tonight in the car but only mildly. He's always been prone to them aswell. When he was bad for a couple weeks the vet did consider antihistamine incase it was allergy related but he settled down again without treatment!

My Border Collie X does this. It's been more frequent of late. I thought it was some kind of hiccup at first, but reverse sneeze/snorting describes it better.

It's almost like she's having a panic attack. The kind of hyperventilating that requires breathing in to a brown paper bag! Lasts a few minutes & calming & comforting her seems to help - though that might just be coincidence.

I'd considered videoing her to post here so will attempt this next time.

[TheHeretic]

My Wally does this. A little tickle, and calm voice normally sees him right. Normally only happens when he is really excited.

[slippery]

Our Cavalier King Charles does this. She also snores like a 30 stone man.

[bexVN]

slippery said:

Our Cavalier King Charles does this. She also snores like a 30 stone man.

In your cavvy's case she is very likely to have too long a soft palate (as mentioned by fistofsteel) as it's quite a common trait in the breed, which is why she snores as well. It may worsen as she gets older, she may also be more susceptible if she gains weight.

[slippery]

bexVN said:

In your cavvy's case she is very likely to have too long a soft palate (as mentioned by fistofsteel) as it's quite a common trait in the breed, which is why she snores as well. It may worsen as she gets older, she may also be more susceptible if she gains weight.

Bless her, I always try to get to sleep before her, but it's hopeless as she can get from laying down to fast asleep in under a minute! She snorts like a little pig when she sniffs around too.

[Thevet]

Generally, this is nothing to worry about, bit distressing to the dog and your ears, but nothing else. I've found either slowly flexing and extending the dog's neck from touching the chin to the sternum up til they're looking at the sky, or getting them to swallow something, seems to reset the position of the soft palate and the epiglottis. The swallowed treat idea also has the benefit of distracting the dog from the immediate distress of the problem. Never yet spotted a cause to why this happens in my dogs or others.