So apparently dogs can "reverse sneeze"?!

[toady123]

As I discovered at 7AM this morning.

Dogs didn’t wake me up this AM. That’s weird. Black lab didn’t get out of bed when I did. Double weird. Black lab finally gets up begrudgingly and then proceeds to go stiff as a board, bloats her belly while hacking uncontrollably for 30 seconds. Weird does not begin to describe this.

She stops, shakes like a leaf, heart rate sky high, panting and proceeds to do it three more times. Hubby is on phone with emerg vet at this point because I’m convinced she is going to drop dead at any moment.

Take her in and she wags her tail, gives kisses and mooches for treats. Does nothing to suggest she is about to die. Vet asks if she was reverse sneezing and I say “reverse what”!? A quick Google search shows exactly what she was doing.

In an effort to make me feel like less of an idiot she does say that it’s caused by inflammation and in extreme cases it can obstruct the airway and I was wise to get her checked. Hmph.

She has been sneezing (normally, not like something requiring me to hire an exorcist) so vet does suspect an allergy or cold. One on-call bill and some steriods and antihistamines later and we are on our way. In 20+ years of pet ownership I have never every heard of this!!

Friggin’ animals

[islgrl]

I had a dog that did this all the time. I call it “snorkling” because that’s the best explanation of what it actually sounds like!

[CVPeg]

I forgot about reverse sneezes… My labbies used to do it every once in awhile. Then again, 2 of them had frequent ear infections. What do you want for water lovin’ dogs.

Toula, my Irish Wolfhound - never did.

Well, you always learn something, right? I remember the first couple of times mine did, and it was frightening. Thank goodness my dog mentor lived close by, and allayed my fears pretty quickly.

[Houndhill]

It must be uncomfortable because they can’t really breathe when they are doing it. FWIW, Linda Tellington-Jones says that if you do the circular massage on the ear, it stops the reverse sneeze.

Mine do it rarely. I have tried the ear massage and they do seem to stop, but they never do it for long anyway so who knows if the ear massage works. I think the bracyocephlic breeds do it more frequently.

I must confess, you were supposed to either do the circle ear massage clockwise or counterclockwise, but I can’t recall which, don’t remember what I do. Not sure it matters. This technique had a specific name, which I also don’t recall!

Has anyone else tried this technique, or any others, to stop a reverse sneezing bout?

[Houndhill]

I just Googled it and found this from the Mercola website (Dr. Becker, a holistic vet):

"In the winter, my Boston terrier reverse-sneezes every single time he goes from inside to outside. I open the front door and he automatically reverse-sneezes. It no longer makes him nervous, and I’ve also come to expect this reaction from him when he heads outdoors in cold weather.

Reverse sneezing rarely requires treatment. As soon as the sneezing stops, the situation is resolved.

But since episodes of reverse sneezing can make your dog anxious, it’s important that you remain calm. The biggest issue I see in my practice is a conditioned panic response in a pet, triggered by an owner who freaks out each time the dog reverse-sneezes.

If you feel the need to do something for your dog, you can try massaging her throat to stop the spasm. You can also try covering your pet’s nostrils very briefly. This will cause her to swallow, which usually helps clear the irritation and stop the sneezing.

If the episode doesn’t end quickly and if you trust your dog’s response, you can try putting your hand in her mouth and pressing on her tongue. This will cause her to open her mouth wider and help move air through the nose effectively.

But honestly, these types of intervention are usually not necessary and can sometimes add to everyone’s stress level. I do recommend owners pay attention to when reverse sneezing occurs, where the dog is and what she’s doing right before or as it begins.

One of my dogs only reverse-sneezes when she’s suddenly awakened at night. So we take extra care not to disturb her when she’s sleeping. With any type of movement or noise, especially if it’s sudden or loud, she’ll stand up and reverse-sneeze. It scares her, so we remain calm, tell her everything’s fine, and in a few seconds it passes.

If you can figure out what’s triggering your pet’s reverse sneezing episodes, you can work to reduce or resolve the problem."

[toady123]

The vet just suggested keeping her calm as much as possible when it’s happening. She did mention that you can open their mouths and press their tongues, but she said that can sometimes stress them out as much as the attack itself, so she personally just stays close, rubs their throat gently and get them through it. Poor labbie was definitely stressed about it - severe shaking and heart rate super elevated for a few minutes after it stopped.

Given that she is slightly depressed and was sneezing a bit yesterday (regular sneezing not “My head it about to pop off my neck” sneezing) the vet suspects allergies. It was the long weekend here and we were up at the lake and they were running around like crazy so she likely got into something. I feel bad because if it had occurred to me I would have given her some antihistamines yesterday but I didn’t associate it with allergies (DUH!).

We were in there a month ago for a pretty significant histamine reaction (her face was swollen like a balloon but no coughing or sneezing. This is what is leaning the vet towards allergies, and steroids and antihistamines this time around - vet is hoping that it will resolve the irritation that caused the attack.

I swear the two of them just come up with things to get them to the vet. They know exactly where the treat container is and they make a beeline every time we go in.

It scared the crap out of me - I really thought she could not get any air!!

[LauraKY]

I just took mine to the vet a couple of weeks ago…turned out it was a reverse sneeze. I was hoping that’s what it was, I’ve lost one dog to blastomycosis, not planning on losing another.

Anyway, vet prescribed hydroxyzine…we had a couple of days of rain and I cut down all the weeds in the yard. Symptoms all gone…and he’s off the meds.

[Guin]

Oh, yes. My corgi reverse-sneezes. She sounds like she is choking on a mouthful of sock. It’s a horrible noise but apparently harmless.

[hasahorse]

Both my Corgi and Corgi mix reverse sneeze. I too took my girl in to her pediatrician (I refer to her vet as such since he’s seen her since she was 8 weeks old) the first time it happened. He said there wasn’t much to worry about - it happens. Both mine do it every couple of weeks with no lasting effects. They carry on as normal afterwards.

[NEEDS_A_NAP]

Houndhill, I’m glad you quoted that article. I have a toy poodle who reverse-sneezes, usually at night in bed or upon first going outside when it is very humid out. The last time we were at the vet for another issue, we discussed reverse sneezing. I told him I had heard somewhere that you should cover their nose, and he said “It was not me! I did not tell you to suffocate your pet!”

Ha ha, everyone’s a comedian, but I KNEW I had heard or read that somewhere.

It is scary and my vet admitted it sounds like someone with congestive heart failure!

[SmartAlex]

My husband reverse sneezes all the time. It is the single most annoying thing about him. In 15 years I have never once seen the man blow his nose. He says it doesn’t blow. …he’s had two procedures on his deviated septum and by gawd I’m ready for a third.

[Houndhill]

[QUOTE=SmartAlex;7699264]
My husband reverse sneezes all the time. It is the single most annoying thing about him. In 15 years I have never once seen the man blow his nose. He says it doesn’t blow. …he’s had two procedures on his deviated septum and by gawd I’m ready for a third.[/QUOTE]

Wow, I didn’t realize humans could reverse sneeze!

Have you tried rubbing his ear? <G>

[MunchingonHay]

We call them ‘Iny Sneezes’ my 4 yr old pound pup has been doing it since he was weeks old. I have had other dogs in my life do it as well so it does not catch me off guard.

My best friend is the front desk girl at a small animal vet and at least every other month someone comes in for a reverse sneeze emergency.

[toady123]

[QUOTE=MunchingonHay;7699485]
someone comes in for a reverse sneeze emergency.[/QUOTE]

This made me LOL. And it made me feel slightly better that I’m not the only one who rushed her dog in to the vet for sneezing :-). In my defence I have since Googled more extensively and her attack compared to the other video examples was really quite violent. I haven’t seen one yet that matched her intensity. She likes to go all out apparently!!

[ryansgirl]

My border collie/greyhound cross from the shelter reverse sneezes. Doesn’t do it all the time but he tends to it more at nighttime - nothing like waking up to that sound! Vet says not to worry :).

[hoopoe]

this is very very very common. Often due to elongated and trapped soft palate, almost a given in some dog breeds

as other have said, not to worry about

[HUS2318]

I recently took my dog to a specialist over the inverted sneeze. She is going to scope him and flush his nasal cavity next week. Has anyone ever had their dogs treated for their sneezing?

[toady123]

The only treatment for mine is anti-inflammatory and antihistamine meds. Nothing I’ve read talks about anything beyond that. Sounds like yours may have other issues with the soft palate? Hopefully the treatment goes well!

[Finding_Serenity]

Our pup only does it when something gets up her nose (dust, grass tickling, etc) because she shoves her nose as hard as she can against the carpet to “track” us. She just stands there, reverses for a moment or two, sneezes once or twice and goes back to whatever she was doing. It doesn’t happen often (months between episodes) and is very short lived so the vet said to not worry about it.

[ryansgirl]

[QUOTE=HUS2318;7702135]
I recently took my dog to a specialist over the inverted sneeze. She is going to scope him and flush his nasal cavity next week. Has anyone ever had their dogs treated for their sneezing?[/QUOTE]

My dog has had the worst allergies this year - sneezing (normal & reverse) along with this gagging/coughing thing. I did have my vets check him out (chest X-rays, blood work, etc.) just to make sure nothing else was going on. Everything came back normal. Two doses of prednisone stops all of it but obviously we don’t want him on that all the time. They recommended generic Benadryl which has been a huge help. If the symptoms pop up he gets two tabs (25 mg each) and within 10-15 minutes he’s back to normal. He still sneezes just not nearly as bad.