preventing a reverse sneeze

This might sound like a stupid question, but is there anything that can be done to actually prevent reverse sneezing? Occasionally Kosmo will get a really bad bout of this. The last time was the last "reverse sneezing" post I made, but it happened again last night. He started up with the reverse sneeze and I tilted his head toward the floor.. stupid me then I tried covering his nose because it wouldn't work and that made him freak out and gasp for air. I know some of you practice this, but it made him start choking and I'll never do it again. I hate when it happens. Last night it went on for a couple of minutes! I was trying to act calm but there the peanut gallery was across the way saying "what's wrong with him? You know, that's not normal." I took him on my lap and kept him in a position with his head down but even like that it would go away and come back and go away and come back. I don't understand it??? When I finally got it to stop for good then he started coughing. I am assuming the two are related but I am not a doctor so I don't know for sure. I eventually got him to take a drink of water which fixed the problem, but I don't like it when this happens, at ALL. What's weirder is that he was laying down I'm assuming sleeping and then stood up and it started. Nothing seemed to be the cause unless maybe his airway was relaxed when he was sleeping and he got up too fast?? I am wondering if there's anything that can be done to prevent this?? Has anybody else asked this questionto their vet?? And what kind of vet checks this out? Is there a such thing as a respiratory vet?? Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks! :flwr:

I find I have to open pippins mouth and make sure his tongue is to the front as when he gets a bout of this he panics and rolls his tongue back.

Sometimes I have to hook my finger under his tongue and bring it out ,holding his head down when he gets a snorting session doesn't work.

Wesley has been doing this more frequently lately, and the covering of his nose works, but it freaks him out because he gasps for air. My fiancee figured out that if you just stick your finger in his mouth he will open it and take a breath. I hope this helps with poor Kosmo.

Merry reverse sneezes and I never knew what to do to help her. Then on a previous thread either on this board or on the Cavalier Connection board someone said to gently push, to point the dog's nose in the direction of the floor. I have tried this with Merry now a few times and it has worked for her. It will stop the sneezing.

I have this often if one of the boys gets excited or seem to have a bit of mucus hanging around when they first wake up.
I tried covering the nostrils and it did not work for me, just made the dogs panic more.
I tried tilting the head down and it did not work but then I realised I was tilting the head down to look at the floor instead of tilting the chin to the chest. When I tried doing the head tilt chin to chest it worked.

At times when it has been extreme and I can not stop it I have resorted to getting some vaseline or lip balm or peanut butter etc etc and smearing a tiny amount on the back of my hand and I get them to lick this and whether it distracts them or makes them take a breath I'm not sure but this works. My two love lip balm, moisturiser and many other things they should not, they will go on a lick frenzy for these things.

It can be an awful thing as they look so frightened and almost like they might collapse. Hope you find something that works for you.

In answer to your question I really don't think there is a preventative, maybe get your vet to check out the soft palate to make sure it is not a problem if it is occuring excessively.

hi

molly does the snorting and she will look straight at me when it starts as she knows ill go over to her and put my hand over her nose and it stops straight away

thank you guys for your input..

The thing abuot this is I already do point the head toward the chest and I have covered the nose. Even with the head down he was still doing it off and on. We also have had very high issues with choking as well and my unprofessional opinion says that they are related.

Thanks luvscavs for saying something about the soft palate. Is this what causes reverse sneezing anyways? Medically speaking, what happens when a reverse sneeze occurs?

I think there's something about this on the cavalierhealth site but it's quite technical.

This is the best article I found on it that does not go into too much depth. If you are having your dog go under for something else like, teeth cleaning or neutering you can have your vet look at this then ?

I took this from this website:
http://www.barkbytes.com/medical/med0026.htm

Elongated Soft Palate
by Jennie Bullock
One of the the most common forms of airway obstruction in Brachycephalic (short muzzled) breeds is due to an elongated soft palate. The soft palate is an extension of the hard palate which forms the roof of the mouth. The purpose of the soft palate is to serve as a mobile flap preventing food and water from entering the nasal passages during swallowing. A soft palate that is elongated will either hang in front of the airway or will fall into the larynx during inhalation.
Dogs affected by chronic airway obstruction (CAO) tend to breathe rather noisily when excited. Mouth breathing, snoring and snorting are characteristics of this condition. These characteristics become even more pronounced when the dog is hot or during periods of exercise. The dogs frequently gag in an attempt to clear their airway and occasionally bring up foam and saliva while eating or drinking. The harder the dog breathes, the greater the swelling and elongation of the soft palate.
Most often an elongated soft palate is difficult to positively confirm other than while the dog is under general anesthesia, surgical correction is usually done at the same time.

Hope this helps.

Sara, it's starting to sound like Kosmo should be checked by a vet. There is another condition, collapsed trachea, where the dog snorts for breath. Also, maybe his soft palate is too long. These problems can be fixed. Just for peace of mind, it might not hurt to have him seen. :flwr:

http://www.vin.com/VINDBPub/SearchPB/Proceedings/PR05000/PR00197.htm

This website also had lots of info but I did not have time to read so don't know if it is any good ??