Reverse sneeze/snort?

[ZenGrrrl]

My B-boy, Ziggy, has what a breeder has called a "reverse sneeze." It's a loud, abrupt inhalation through his nose - much like what a person with a bad headcold would do when dealing with nasal congestion. He'll do it 8-10 times in a row, and it's usually happened in the mornings. It's so severe that it wracks his poor little body. I've been advised to give him 1/2 tablet of Benedryl and just wait it out (until summer and allergy season passes). Does anyone else have this problem with their dog? Please advise! Thanks, Lori in Los Angeles

[MaxBooBooBear]

Hi, Lori in Los Angeles. My german shepherd mix had allergic bronchitis and would get the reverse sneezes. She would also get bad coughs from the allergies. If it wasn't too bad, I would use benedryl. When it got really bad, sometimes her vet would put her on a short course of prednisone. I had a tracheal biopsy done on her early on because the vets originally thought it was kennel cough. You may want to have him checked about by the vet to make sure it's nothing serious and to do some allergy testing. Also, when the reverse sneeze starts, you can try a distraction with Ziggy, get him to walk or move or do something–this would interrupt mine's sneezing fits.

[elena86]

Yes, my Senji gets those too. It seems like it's some sort of asthma attack. For him, it seems like it's worse in the spring with the pollen.

[tanza]

@ZenGrrrl:

My B-boy, Ziggy, has what a breeder has called a "reverse sneeze." It's a loud, abrupt inhalation through his nose - much like what a person with a bad headcold would do when dealing with nasal congestion. He'll do it 8-10 times in a row, and it's usually happened in the mornings. It's so severe that it wracks his poor little body. I've been advised to give him 1/2 tablet of Benedryl and just wait it out (until summer and allergy season passes). Does anyone else have this problem with their dog? Please advise! Thanks, Lori in Los Angeles

It is very common…. I don't do anything... never really found that benedryl really made any difference

[RockysWoman]

Our Papillion has the "reverse sneeze" and we have yet to find a specific trigger. Our prior vet advised us to try and get him to breath thru his mouth (as opposed to his nose) to help. But really, you just have to wait it out. The longest we've seen it carry on is maybe 20-30 seconds. Then he "forward" sneezes, wipes his nose, and go grabs his tennis ball to play.

Good luck!

[sharronhurlbut]

My parents had Cav. King Charles spanials and this is very common for these dogs.
So, the vet said, when the sneeze start, hold your thumbs over the dogs nose.
That makes him breath out of his mouth and stops the sneeze…
It did work for the Cavs..
Doesn't take very long, just hold the dog, and make it breath out of his mouth for a bit...

[myran]

It could also be something called "nose mites" in swedish it´s something they can get at indoor dogshows or otherkinda close contact to dog´s affected with it.This reverse sneezing is one of the most typical symtoms.
They treat it here with either a med called stronghold or interceptor pills.
Might be an idea to ask your vet to test the dog .
If a dog has this he shouldn´t meet other dog´s as it´s very contagious.I read on a swedish dogforum about this and it also said that you could vaccinate them with Ivomec S.