Reverse sneezing

NAJRBSJ

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Can anyone tell me a bit about this please

I've had dogs for a few years now BUT I have never experienced it with other dogs.
First time was when Pippa was about 6 months old. I thought she dying, sounded like she couldn't breathe and really had me worried but within 10 seconds it stopped and she was still running round with her tail wagging :)

A friend told me it sounded like a reverse sneeze and that it can be quite common. Pip does get bouts of it every few weeks really for a few seconds or so. her breathing is never affected when exercising and she had a good check over by the vet before she was speyed and they said her heart/chest sounded good.

So what the hell is it, why and is it really normal ?
 

PapaverFollis

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The Sprollie has done this a few times! It's really weird and scary but doesn't seem to affect him adversely. Rightly or wrongly after reading something on the internet I found that gently closing his nostrils with a little finger pinch for a couple of seconds seems to sort him out.
 

Leo Walker

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Whippets seem prone to it, so its something I see every now and again. And covering their nostrils will bring them out of it. It sounds scary but its pretty harmless so long as its just an every now and again thing, with no nasal discharge or other symptoms.
 

paisley

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Can anyone tell me a bit about this please

I've had dogs for a few years now BUT I have never experienced it with other dogs.
First time was when Pippa was about 6 months old. I thought she dying, sounded like she couldn't breathe and really had me worried but within 10 seconds it stopped and she was still running round with her tail wagging :)

A friend told me it sounded like a reverse sneeze and that it can be quite common. Pip does get bouts of it every few weeks really for a few seconds or so. her breathing is never affected when exercising and she had a good check over by the vet before she was speyed and they said her heart/chest sounded good.

So what the hell is it, why and is it really normal ?

Whippet gets it from time to time- I call it 'the quacks' , and he always goes from: full speed to clearly gasping his last then back to full speed again.
I've been told its the soft palate flipping the wrong way and (I think), if it becomes horrendous, there is an op to shorten this, but its not ideal and only if desperate. I had him sedated for examination, and there was nothing structurally wrong.

On the whole, it's worse if he hasnt had a drink (assuming dry throat) or is over-excited. I can guarantee it'll happen after hysterical chasing of toys in the river :rolleyes:
I noticed it was less frequent after a tooth clean, so now I scrub them every day, probably to no good effect :p. Any episodes resolve a bit quicker if he swallows so thats usually a nose squeeze or throat rub
 

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Voice of doom.... my whippet started doing this.... it was an inoperable nasal tumour ☹️☹️☹️

Having said that, I’ve known loads of greyhounds and lurchers who do it - I hold their nose for a few seconds and they usually stop!
 

JillA

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My Cavvie does it - as Paisley says it can be a soft palate problem. He does it when he is excited/stressed (e.g. waiting for dinner) so it would seem if he needed help it would take the form of calming him down, by whatever means.
 

Bojingles

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My JRT X (also called Pip!) does it from time to time but is perfectly fit and healthy. The first time she did it scared me half to death. Now I don't worry about it.
 

DabDab

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My jrt x does it too from time to time. Used to do it a fair bit when younger, but now only every once in a while, maybe a couple of times a year. She's only ever done it in hot weather, for whatever reason. She's 12 and as far as I know it's never caused her any issue
 

Stiff Knees

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Our old JRT used to do this quire regularly, at least once a day, vet said it was attention seeking behaviour but I was never convinced of this as Mr Terrier was not the attention seeking sort and was not lacking in attention. 🙄 The Yellow Peril has done this twice in 2 years, no idea what triggers it, I've always let them come out if it in their own time but will try the hold their nose trick if it happens again.
 

TheresaW

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Luna did it a couple of months ago. I’d gone to bed and she was asleep beside me. She woke me up, I thought she was having some sort of seizure at first. Had never done it before, and hasn’t done it since.
 

Stiff Knees

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Imagine a sneeze where the air rushes out, then reverse it, so, that same noise but whilst breathing in. Hard to describe. Sometimes sounds like a reversed cough too.
 

Tinkerbee

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My old terrier did this quite a lot, scared me at first but never seemed to impact her. Current terrier (is it a terrier thing?!) Also does it and again, no adverse impacts/other effects.
 

NAJRBSJ

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thanks everyone that's put my mind at ease. Its a horrid sound isn't it but its not a really regular thing and she's happy and bouncy as usual :) Interesting that Terriers may get it more than others.
 

ElectricChampagne

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my lil pom has done it but not too often. A gentle squeeze of his snout for a second or two to close his nostrils and he's right as rain again. Back to his zoomieshe goes.

It is scary the first time you come a cross it I must admit!
 

LaurenBay

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My Beagle has had it a few times, always at night! Some time it can go on for an hour. I cover his nose with my hand and stroke his throat which seems to help. Then a few mins later it starts again. He has had 2 episodes since I have had him. First time I had no clue what it was and was throwing on clothes ready to take him to the vets at 3am! seemed to clear it himself though.
 
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