Beagle unwell - could it be reverse sneezing?

Birker2020

Birker2020

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Anyone have a beagle that reverse sneezes? This link which is an excellent example of a dog reverse sneezing will show you what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1rbSj2y6RU

Our overweight beagle bitch Candy who is rising 10 has been reverse sneezing. She started off about a fortnight ago when we took her to the vets. The vet put her on a course of anitbiotics saying she has a sore throat and a slightly elevated temperature. My partner took her back last Friday to the vets who thought it was kennel cough that she was suffering from and started her off on pencillin tablets. So now she is antibiotics and pencillin but still making this dreadfull noise. I know this is a particular problem in beagles, its to do with the palate coming down and closing off the windpipe and the best way of remedying it is to give the dog something to eat like a biscuit or something or to close its nostrils to encourage it to breathe through the mouth.

We think her cold has increased the reverse sneezing and this is what is making her so bad as she is doing it almost constanly now.
 
I am sure there are many causes for this and I am not a vet, but Betty does exactly this because her heart is enlarged. Her heart is enlarged due to a malfunctioning valve and this puts pressure on her trachea. She is on quite a lot of medications to delay the onset of heart failure.

Our local vets did not pick up on the connection and had her on antibiotics, etc for kennel cough, then bacterial infection, then bronchitis, etc. until finally we got the referral and Leahurst put it all together. Now that her heart is medicated she does not do it anymore, but we have to walk her on a harner as a collar increases the pressure and leads to more 'reverse sneezing'.
 
Stella does a reverse sneeze every few weeks, as does Prince, but it's normal and harmless in dogs with flat faces. When Stella had kennel cough, she didn't reverse sneeze at all--just plenty of regular sneezing.

Hope your beagle feels better soon.
 
Both of my beagles do this. Not terribly often but it happens and mostly when they are sleeping - they wake up doing it and I usually make them sit up so they can breath better through it (I don't fuss them like the person in the video does though - I don't want to make it into a big deal for them). I've discussed with the vet just to make sure it wasn't health related in their case (as it can be) and he says it is just regular reverse sneezing because they are both very healthy.

We also walk them on harness instead of a collar to help with potential windpipe issues. I've also always wondered if being overweight can increase it by putting more strain on the windpipe. No idea if that makes any sense but you mentioned that your beag was overweight ...
 
Thanks for your help guys. Candy has been to teh vets today as they were going to admit her for the day and then put an endescope down, but instead have checked her over this morning and agreed with partner that they think she has turned a corner, as the reverse sneezing appears to have died down somewhat. The vet has prescribed her more anti b's and will reassess her on Monday.
 
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