Is my dog's reverse sneezing a concern? What are the warning signs?

I had a patient that had managed to get a piece of carrot up into his nasopharyngeal area. After a week or more of reverse sneezing we did a nasal flush and found it. I have also seen nasal mites and cancer cause these signs. If he doesn’t improve soon then a nasal flush or rhinoscopy would be indicated. Best of luck and thank you for using Pet Coach.

Hello, and thank you for your question! Lulu is such a cutie! Reverse sneezing is quite common in small breed dogs and for the most part is quite harmless. You can try to prevent the episodes by minimizing her level of excitement (e.g. Not getting overly excited yourself when she greets you at the door), and using a harness instead of a collar when out for walks. One thing that I did with my dog to stop the reverse sneezing episodes was to gently put my finger across his nostrils, to block the airflow through the nose and force him to breathe through his mouth. This worked so well that he eventually learned to do it himself! If the reverse sneezing and coughing episodes seem to be truly bothersome to Lulu, I would recommend taking her to the vet. In rare cases, reverse sneezing may be associated with allergies or nasal foreign bodies. I hope this helps, and that Lulu is otherwise doing well!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Reverse sneezing can look quite scary at times so I understand your concern. However, thankfully this usually is benign and rarely becomes anything concerning. Most dogs just have reverse sneezing episodes every once in a while without causing any issues. If this ever seems to affect Diva in any way or if these episodes become too frequent, have her evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment to make sure that this is not anything else more concerning. Good luck and have a great day!

No. It is not serious as long as you are sure that is what the actual issue is. I would suggest if it happens again try to video tape the episode with your phone and just drop by the vet's office, show the video to them and ask if they think it is reverse sneezing. One of the vet techs/nurses should be able to help you. Here is a link to an article about this condition. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2335 Hope this helps. Best wishes.

It is highly unlikely that Max would die from reverse sneezing. I cannot say it's impossible but the chance of that happening is probably less than 0.001%. I have been in the veterinary industry for over 20 years and I have never seen reverse sneezing cause any severe medical problems. You really can't do anything about it when it's happening other than to try to calm him down. It will pass on it's own despite what you do or don't do. It really looks worse than it is. There is no way to prevent an episode other than keeping his excitement to a minimum and to minimize allergens in the air by using a HEPA air purifier in the environment. There is no guarantee these things will decrease his episodes but they definitely won't hurt anything. https://www.walmart.com/search/?query=hepa%20air%20purifier&typeahead=hepa%20air Yes, his gum and tongue color are normal. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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.

It sounds like she may have reverse sneezing which is nothing to worry about. I suggest you watch some YouTube videos to see if that is what you think she is doing. This is very common in small breed dogs. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3L4v0W2_Sw ) ( https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/reverse-sneeze-in-dogs )