My dog reverse sneezes after eating. When should I be concerned?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. A reverse sneeze can be caused by irritants in the upper airway region so if there has been an increased amount of dust in the air this could potentially be causing the symptoms you are seeing. An environmental allergy or an upper respiratory infection could also lead to these symptoms. A reverse sneeze should resolve within a short amount of time. However, if it persist or worsens, I would have a veterinarian examine him so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding TomToe. He may actually have acquired an upper respiratory tract infection. Most dogs will exhibit coughing, but a few will only reverse sneeze. Allergies can trigger this problem as well. I would recommend that he sees his veterinarian tomorrow to be evaluated. He may require an antibiotic. Encourage him to drink as best you can so that he does not become dehydrated. I hope this information helps!

If he continues to do so it would be a good idea to get him checked. Reverse sneezing is usually meant to clear the nasal passages of irritants so if he can't clear what is bothering him it may mean he has something else going on that induces these sneezing episodes. Pay attention when he does it to see if there is something in common with each incident that may be causing or contributing to the reverse sneezing that you can pass along to your vet, even video it if you get the chance.

Reverse sneezing can be stressful to your dog, and is very common in smaller breeds, but isn't usually harmful. Sometimes, opening your dog's mouth to let them take in air can help reduce the episode. If you're noticing a pattern with the episodes and excitement or food intake, taking steps to reduce people food (it's not good for dogs anyway and can cause other health issues!) or anxiety may help if it is related,. We also have this short article on reverse sneezing that may be useful! https://www.petcoach.co/article/reverse-sneezing-in-dogs/

Sometimes puppies eat too fast, and because they are not very experienced in eating solid food yet, the food ends up in the wrong place, ie not directly in the esophagus right away, or excess food tickles the back of the mouth which then causes a reverse sneeze that sounds like the sound you have heard. This is not a problem. However, if this happens very often, if your puppy starts to have breathing troubles or starts losing weight or if you observe food coming from his nose, you will need to have him examined by a veterinarian as there could be a malformation that causes a problem. But generally a once in a while reverse sneeze while eating is a normal occurrence for a puppy.

I'm wondering if Daisy might be reverse sneezing when she's making this new noise. A reverse sneeze and a sneeze can have similar causes - anything that irritates the nose and throat including allergens, upper respiratory infections, nasal foreign material like pieces of grass or even parasites can all cause sneezing and reverse sneezing. I usually don't get too concerned about either one unless there is also nasal discharge or the sneezing/reverse sneezing is occuring frequently enough that it seems to be affecting the pet's ability to rest. If so I think that your best bet is to see a vet unfortunately.

No worries. It sounds like Danny most likely had a tickling of his throat caused by the noodle. It may have gotten lodged in the back of his throat momentarily, but if you checked back there then it is likely freed up now and no longer a problem. The back and forth movements he was making sounds like a reverse sneeze and is harmless to him. Look at a YouTube video or other pets doing reverse sneezing to verify this what you saw Danny do. Offer him some water and just monitor him for the rest of the day. He should be fine from here on out. You cannot cause throat cancer by sticking your fingers in his throat, and injury to his throat is hard to do by your fingers alone. Now if he starts to by chance start vomiting or not eating, then he may have something else going on there and would require a vet visit to sort things out. However I expect him to recover well on his own.