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One of the more common questions we get from dog owners involves an odd breathing spasm that many dogs will exhibit at some point in their life, where their mouth remains closed and the dog goes through a series of inward snorts, which sounds like the pet is having a throat spasm. These spasms can last for up to a few minutes and can be triggered by various stressors including emotional stress/excitement and environmental allergens. In some cases they can occur during sleep or these spasms will occur spontaneously on their own. |
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The term for this common condition seen in any breed is known as “reverse sneeze” syndrome of dogs. While we don’t know the cause of this disturbing, yet harmless syndrome, most of the time no treatment is needed, animal guardians can simply rub their pet’s throats to help them come out of this spasm sooner. Other times I have found natural calming agents like Rescue Remedy or Be Serene to be helpful in shortening the episodes. On occasion, for those pets who do it frequently throughout the day, I will sometimes prescribe antihistamines to help if there is any allergic component to what is best described as a dog’s version of post nasal drip.
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3 Comments
My beagle Sally does it. It was my first beagle Fancy that made me aware of this.
I just rub Sallys throat and if it’s bad, I blow air in her nose. IT WORKS
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My Beagle Barney and Westie Heather both do it occasionally. At firs, I thought they were choking or having a severe respiratory problem. Instinctively, I rubbed their chests and throats and it clears it up.
My Beagle does it almost daily especially when I get home from work. I think he gets excited that I am home.
Glad there is a name for it and it’s legit. Most people think the dogs are ‘faking’ it.
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My dog Roxy woke us up in the middle of the night doing this. Scared us to death. As she is a boxer & a large chested dog, I was worried it was the beginnings of Bloat so we rushed her to the emergency Vet. Boy did we feel silly when we learned it was a type of sneeze!!
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