Frightening reverse sneeze attack

[TobyTeaCosy and Angela]

Hi all,

About ten minutes ago I was nearly on the phone to the vet, we just about calm now, phew.  Toby has only recently been suffering from what sounds to me like prolonged attacks of reverse sneezing, he’s been with us a year and a half now but the last two to three weeks this has been a weekly occurence.  For weeks I thought could he be trying to bring up a furball (he’s mr lick-a-lot afterall!) but looked up reverse sneeze vids of youtube and that’s a closer idea of what the attacks are like.  Tonight I left him to it as he handles these things better when I don’t panic but I thought he was choking and thought I might have to intervene.  Any reason why these attacks would start up without a history of them?  And can we relieve them or are they harmless?  Read older osts on here but just want to get rid of the furball idea too!

[.dodger.]

think a dog does it when they are trying to clear their airways. Sometimes they do it if they have something stuck up their nose like a grass seed. I’ve always believed that they are normal and should be left alone unless it goes on for to long then you can cover their nose…… (i think) i’m sure someone else will have better knowledge about it though 🙂

found this on the net – hope it helps.

Pharyngeal-gag reflex in plain English it is what is best described as reverse sneezing. This is when your pooch sucks or breathes in air in a weird way. Normally, any sneeze pushes air out from your nostrils. In a reverse sneeze, air is pulled into the nose. In some cases it looks as if it is having an asthma attack, often wheezing while standing still with its head upward. The cause of this is mostly due to irritants stimulating the soft palate to spasm. During the spasm, the dog’s air passages narrow down and make it difficult for breathing in.

Often this reflex is associated several factors may be mild causes, which need no medication: excitement, eating or drinking fast, a rough jerk on its collar, irritants (like a new coat of paint or fumes from spray paint). There are cases wherein the cause would most likely need medical attention: respiratory tract mites, allergies, and viral infections, swallowed objects that get caught in your dog’s throat or post-nasal drip. In some cases, especially in brachycephalic (skulls short in proportion) breeds like the Boxer or King Charles Cavalier dog breeds; this may mean respiratory problems (i.e. soft palate abnormalities). Precaution is recommended for owners of these types of dogs, it would be better to consult your veterinarian.

Witnessing a pet dog in distress can alarm any pet owner, but experts say it is not as bad as it looks. First check if the dog indeed swallowed something too big for its throat, it would be better to go to a professional veterinarian for this case. If it is suspected to be just a minor thing that caused the pet to have a reverse sneeze, a pet dog owner can relieve their pets by closing your dogs nostrils for a second or two and massage its throat.

[kizkiznobite]

there are posts on here re this

the clumbers often do it…cubert had his first one the other day as i mentioned in teds thread…

all you have to do is cup hands over the nose and mouth…or a paper bag ..so they breath in what they breath out…it not a problem…they can control it more than we think…i know it scarey…it worse when they doing in deep water
they just clearing out nose and throat  and lungs of anything they have breathed in…like dust and pollen and scent ….and water…

🙂

ps

if you re-enforce this with attention or panic etc he will increase doing it for that attention…

[TobyTeaCosy and Angela]

Phew, thanks guys, the description you found describes it exactly Laura, its a really strange thing to see but I wont panic next time now I know that’s what it is.  Re the furball though, do dogs get them?  Its just his mad licking set me off thinking about it, or is it just cats?

[kizkiznobite]

post on here about that too…think it in cuberts puppy thread as i had never had a doogy furball but then he sicked up what i thought was a mouse and it was ami’s fus from his licking her…i had thought they could be a problem but val said not to worry …so if val says no worry then i dont… 🙂

it certainly was nothing like a the inverted or reverse sneeze…i cannot..to be honest see how a fur ball could go down the breathing system….licking fur would mean it would go down the food system…cant see that they would breath in a furrball…when dogs lick they dont breath in through the mouth …just through the nose…

stop being a worrywort…. 🙂

[Mudgie]

mouth is for eating nose is for breathing  ;D

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