Reverse sneezing?

[zoe08]

I have heard that when dogs starting doing their wheezing thing it is called reverse sneezing. I was wondering how much is too much? Zoe does this quite often, sometimes for several minutes at a time. It seems to happen most often when she gets excited. And she seems to get it most days? Is this too often? Is there a such thing as getting it too often?

 

[Jonas104]

Dookie gets it whenever he just finishes eating or mainly drinking. It's like he's hiccuping or something. But I don't have an answer to your question, so i'd like to know as well.

 

[savethebulliedbreeds]

If a dog starts doing it often and for minutes at a time you should take it to the vet. My husbands parents pomeranian did it when she got excited, when she barked, when she drank and ate, or even if she ran a little ways and got hot. They took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with collapsing trachea. She actually had to be put on steroids and anti-inflammatories to control it. Not to scare you but if it gets too bad the trachea can just close off and not open up again. I would take them in and just have them evaluated for severity.

Explanation for tracheal collapse or reverse hiccupping:

The trachea is meant to be fairly rigid. It consists of muscles that connect to a group of cartilage rings. The rings are not complete; they form a c. When a dog has collapsing trachea it is because the "C" cartilage flattens due to weakening. The muscle across the open end of the "C" gets loose and floppy and falls in on the "C".

Panting, eating, and anxiety worsens this for some reason and then it generates inflammation in the trachea. A collapse causes more increased secretion and inflammation causeing it to get worse yet.

A collapse causes the tissue of the trachea to lose its normal characteristics and the condition will just get worse and worse.

This condition is most commonly seen in toy dogs.

Watch out for the following things:

Collapsed trachea can cause the dog to be inefficiantly cleaning infectious bacteria from the air and can cause respiratory infection.

Please get your dog to a vet to find out the severity. They can be placed on medications to control the condition. This can be life threatening if left without treatment. A cough suppressant and a corticosteroid, such as prednisone will more than likely be prescribed. If the condition is really bad they can do surgery.

Other things you may want to do is clear the air in your house. Don't smoke around your dog, don't use harsh cleaning chemicals and air fresheners, if the dog is overweight, get your dog to lose weight as this has been found to help

 

[~Jessie~]

My girls have reverse sneezing all of the time... it's common in breeds with short noses.

 

[Georgygirl]

Actually it's very common in beagles. Joey gets them too if he gets very excited or gets air blown in his face. I usually put my fingers over his nose for a couple seconds and that seems to help. But if you are having a problem everytime she eats and so on it may be a good idea to talk to your vet.

 

[savethebulliedbreeds]

Yeah, I completly agree with georgy. If it is not often I would not worry about it, but with her doing it for minutes at a time I would get her to a vet. Reverse sneezing is common but it can be serious. Better safe than sorry.

 

[StillandSilent]

Her Lillyness does it quite often and she is a beagle too. Hers is worse in the spring, so she probably has some allergies going on also.

 

[Laurelin]

Actually, reverse sneezing and collapsed trachea are two different things. They can just be mistaken for each other quite often. They both sound like wheezing, but reverse sneezing is not serious, collapsed trachea is. It happens a lot in small breeds and those with short muzzles.

Collapsing Trachea

The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is an important structure which connects the throat to the lungs. It is composed of 35- 45 C-shaped rings of cartilage that are joined by muscle and ligaments to create a tube-like structure. It serves the purpose of directing air into the respiratory tract.

When the cartilage rings are flattened from the top to the bottom, the trachea is said to be collapsed. Rapid inhalation of air can cause the trachea to flatten and make it difficult for air to enter the lungs, much like a soda straw being drawn on too vigorously.

Why does it happen?

We do not completely understand how this condition develops. However, we know that these dogs have an abnormality in the chemical makeup of their tracheal rings. The rings loose their stiffness so they are not able to retain their circular shape. We also know that it occurs in certain breeds of dogs, notably Chihuahuas, Pomeranians, Shih Tzus, Lhasa Apsos, Toy Poodles, and Yorkshire Terriers. Because of that, it is suspected that there is a genetic factor involved.

What are the signs?
Collapsing trachea or Reverse sneezing

With reverse sneezing the pharynx (back of the throat) goes into spasms. The dog finds it difficult to draw in air through the spasms, so it stands still, stretches out her neck, and thrusts its elbows out (like a bowlegged bulldog) as it honks, wheezes, or snorts. Often eyes open wide. The spasms will stop if she swallows a couple of times.

•Close off her nostrils with your fingers so it has to breathe through its mouth for a few seconds.
•Gently rub its throat. This works for some.
•Distract it by carrying the dog outside into the fresh air.

Young puppies can reverse sneeze, but the first episode typically occurs in late adolescence. Stay calm and get it to swallow with one of the methods described above. In a few seconds to a minute, it will run off to play. Reverse sneezing is a harmless phenomenon which needs no vet consultation and no medical treatment whatsoever. It is very common in toy breeds.

Other signs, however, will help you distinguish the two conditions:
If it makes these sounds when excited or after eating or drinking, or turns her elbows outward and extends its neck and gasps inward with a rhythmic snork! snork! snork!, this is reverse sneezing.
If it breathes through the mouth sometimes, or breathes with a raspy sound, or coughs reflexively when you simply rub its throat, it could have a collapsing trachea. If the cough is one or two expulsive outward bursts (forcing air through the trachea to open it), typically with a gag or empty retch at the end, she could have a collapsing trachea.

The most common clinical sign of collapsing trachea is a chronic cough. It is often described as dry and harsh and can become quite pronounced. The term "goose honk" is often used to describe it. Coughing is often worse in the daytime and much less at night. The cough may also begin due to excitement, pressure on the trachea (from a leash), or from drinking water or eating.

How is collapsed trachea diagnosed?

Many times, very light pressure placed on the trachea during the physical examination can raise a suspicion of collapsed trachea in a small dog with a persistent dry cough. While the information gained from the physical examination is helpful, other tests are needed to confirm this condition.
X-rays of the chest can identify the trachea and its shape. However, a collapsed trachea changes its diameter during the respiratory cycle. It is usually collapsed during inhalation and normal during exhalation. Therefore, attempts to make radiographs during both phases of respiration should be made.
Endoscopy is another way to see the trachea. An endoscope is a tube that is small enough to be inserted into the trachea. By watching the trachea during inspiration and expiration, abnormal collapsing can be seen. Unfortunately, tracheal endoscopes are expensive and not available at every veterinary hospital.

How is it treated?

Collapsed trachea can be treated medically or surgically. Some dogs respond well to:

• bronchodilators and various types of anti-inflammatory drugs.
•chemical cough suppressants
•a bronchodilator (typically the drug aminophylline) to keep the bronchial tubes open in extreme cases that are affecting the lungs
•The trachea of these dogs is easily infected, so antibiotics are usually part of the treatment.
•If obesity is present, weight loss is often beneficial.
•Excitement and vigorous exercise are likely to cause a relapse, so they should be avoided as much as possible.

Because medical therapy only treats the symptoms and not the problem, these dogs are always subject to recurrences of coughing and breathing difficulty.

•Surgery. The above tests are used to determine how much of the trachea is collapsed. If the only abnormal part is that segment between the throat and the point where the trachea enters the chest (the thoracic inlet), surgery may be curative. However, if the segment of the trachea that is within the chest cavity is abnormal, surgery is not likely to be helpful because that part is not accessible to the surgeon. There are several surgical approaches that have been used. Each approach implants an artificial support device that is secured around or within the trachea. The purpose of the support device is to hold the tracheal rings in their normal, open position. Although some dogs have excellent results and are truly cured of the disease, the outcome is not uniformly successful.

http://www.papillons-online.com/health.php

I remember the first time Beau reverse sneezed we freaked out. Now we're used to it. It can be scary at first if you've never been around a breed that does it.

From another source:

Reverse Sneezing - Reverse sneezing, or hurfing, is when the trachea goes into a spasm. This seems to occur when a Pap has become over excited, sniffed up pollen or dust or swallowed a treat and their throat is dry. People have thought the gagging nose they make is the dog choking. Some people have diagnosed this as kennel cough. The inhaling snoring snorting noise has also been called a "backward sneeze." There is no cure for this and no preventative. When this occurs, the owner should gently massage the throat encourage the dog to swallow and stay calm. Covering the nose in an attempt to get the dog to breathe through his/her mouth helps sometimes. In severe cases putting your finger down their mouth and making them swallow can remedy the hurfing. We have found that placing a treat in your hand and allowing the Pap to nibble on it really helps. If your dog reverse sneezes this is not usually a sign that they have a soft palette or a soft trachea.

http://www.showpaps.com/health.htm

 

[zoe08]

She doesn't do it everytime she eats or drinks. In fact it is rarely after she eats or drinks. It happens more when she gets excited. It also seems to happen more in the spring/summer, so I thought maybe it had to with allergies. Our house has never been smoked in.

What do they do to test them though? Cuz if I took her in I am sure it wouldn't happen while she was actually at the vet.

 

[misticaleclipse]

My girls have reverse sneezing all of the time... it's common in breeds with short noses.

That is what I was going to say as well, its normal to happy all the time in chis, shih tzus, pugs etc, but I don't know about beagles since there snouts are not really flat nosed.