My dog reverse sneezes when drinking water. How can I help him?

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.

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.

Reverse sneezing refers to the reflex of bringing air into the body to remove irritants in the upper area that lies behind the nostrils. The most common causes for younger dogs include infections, the existence of a cleft palate, or bronchial infections. Another primary cause is the involuntary movement of the hairlike cilia that line the respiratory tract and act to remove foreign matter from the air before it reaches the lungs. This involuntary movement of the hair is medically termed ciliary dyskinesis. The most common causes for older dogs include nasal tumors and dental diseases. Other causes can be mucus irritation, nasal passage obstruction, inflammation, excess nasal discharge or secretion, pneumonia, chronic vomiting, and gastrointestinal disease. Under vaccinated or unvaccinated dogs are at a higher risk of developing infections, which may lead to consistent sneezing. Chronic dental disease can lead to both chronic sneezing and reverse sneezing. I recommend taking Tucker into your vet to see what is causing the reverse sneezing, and how best to treat it.

Usually you can just leave Rosko be until it stops. You can also try lightly blowing in his face. When you do this, it causes him to swallow a few times which should stop the reverse sneezing. If this is a consistent problem, then I would have him seen by a vet to have it treated. I hope this helps!

Poor Charlie! Look up a YouTube video of a “reverse sneeze” to see if this is what he is doing. If so, this is nothing to worry about and you can Help him stop by rubbing him from head to tail. Sometimes Benadryl on a regular basis will help decrease the frequency. See link below. If this isn’t what he is doing then I would have your vet look at him. With him being so young, he could have a viral infection or an upper respiratory infection which needs to be treated. If left untreated he could get worse. If unsure, take a video with you when you go to the vet as this will help with the diagnosis. I hope this helps! https://www.petcoach.co/canigive/dog/benadryl/

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Gizmo. I do recommend that she sees her veterinarian. While she could be experiencing allergies as they are common this time of year, a respiratory tract infection is also possible. Given how frequently her symptoms are occurring, I worry that she does have an infection. If so, she may need an antibiotic. In the meantime, you can place her the bathroom while you shower. The warm humid air can help lessen any congestion she may have. I hope this information helps!

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.