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Puppy snorts and blows nose after eating. Is this a reverse sneeze?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 3 months and 1 day old | 14.4 lbs

My puppy was eating and all of a sudden stopped and made a snorting sound for about a whole minute. He’s stopped doing it but blows his nose once in a while. Nothing is coming out of his nose or his mouth.

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Andrea M. Brodie, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on March 14th, 2018

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.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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