# coughing fits?



## JennB (Aug 26, 2010)

Hi, Maya is now 4 1/2 months old, had all her vaccinations, and gets spayed next month. All seems great, except that she constantly has coughing fits throughout the day. She's very active, and most of the fits seem to come on when she is excited or running around. Is this common for chi's? 

My hubby took her to the vet last week and brought the coughing up with them, and he said they looked in her mouth into her throat and didn't see anything and weren't concerned at all. 

She does gnaw on sticks a lot, which shreds them and I'm wondering if this could be part of the problem. We also have a large sandpile, for various outdoor projects, and she loves to run around in it. She typically gets a lot of sand stuck to her nose. Maybe she's inhaling the sand which causes a coughing fit later on? 

I guess the bottom line is, should I be concernend? I seem to be more distressed than she is during one of these fits, but should I take her in for a second opinion, or does this sound like it is normal based on what I described above about her? Thanks for your thoughts!


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## michele (Jan 12, 2009)

I would have her checked again,did the vet listen to her heart ?


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

Is she coughing or reverse sneezing???


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## JennB (Aug 26, 2010)

Daisydoo said:


> Is she coughing or reverse sneezing???


TBH, I have no idea what reverse sneezing is. But is seems to be an episode that lasts for a few moments, can stop momentarily, and then start up again. 

Hubby says the vet checked her heart, palpated her neck area for inflammation, and checked her throat. The vet could not cause her to start coughing and was therefore not concerned. 

She does inhale so much during the day...
but what is reverse sneezing?

ETA - I just looked up a video on reverse sneezing and I think this may be what she is doing. Should I be concerned?


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## pam6400 (Oct 5, 2008)

Reverse sneezing is very common in chis. Benny does it all the time. Not just when he is excited.


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## Aquarius (May 8, 2009)

Bruno has fits of reverse sneezing when he is excited and often when he's just out of the bath - I hold the palm of my hand over his nose for about 5-10 seconds and it stops it immediately - I suppose that is a good test to find out if it is reverse sneezing


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## cchipman (Oct 7, 2010)

Two of our babies do the reverse sneezing. The vet explained it to me that when we get something (dust, etc) in our nose or throat, we can blow our nose or clear our throat to get rid of it but dogs can not do that. He suggested just to gently rub their upper/front chest just under their throat to calm them and they soon quit. Seems to work pretty well, but I will try the hand in front of the nose trick too!


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## JennB (Aug 26, 2010)

Maya's nose is always to the ground, and she constantly has a mound of sand stuck to her nose, so I can certainly understand how that would result in the need to rid of the foreign object. Seems to be a small dog problem? I think my mini schnauzer used to do the same thing. As long as it doesn't pose a problem for her, or mean that there is some problem, then I won't be concerned and I'll try the techniques described above to help her through it. Thank you for the advice!


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## cprcheetah (May 4, 2009)

Reverse sneezing generally doesn't pose a problem to them. Use the techniques listed above to help her through the episodes.


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## 18453 (Feb 6, 2010)

Oh no don't worry mine both reverse sneeze everyday they honk lots it is so scary if you don't know what it is!! It's worse when they do it in front of people and they're like oh no what's going on with your dog lol

Anyway like others have said I just cover their nostrils and they're fine!!

Mine do it when it's cold too I'm sure its shock lol


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## mrfiero (Sep 23, 2010)

There are two types of sneezing in our dogs. One is the reverse sneeze and the other is collapsing trachea. The reverse sneezing is not a problem, but the collapsing trachea, over time, can cause the heart to enlarge. At least this is the way I understand them. My Chico had the collasping trachea and my Carmel had the reverse sneezing. They have both passed on.

I suggest you video tape your dog doing this on sereral occasions. Then bring the camera to your next vet visit. A picture (video) is worth a thousand words to your vet.

I actually video taped the dogs doing it, then put the video on a DVD then brought my laptop with me to the next vet visit. The laptop provided a much larger picture and better sound for the vet to see.


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## JennB (Aug 26, 2010)

mrfiero said:


> There are two types of sneezing in our dogs. One is the reverse sneeze and the other is collapsing trachea. The reverse sneezing is not a problem, but the collapsing trachea, over time, can cause the heart to enlarge. At least this is the way I understand them. My Chico had the collasping trachea and my Carmel had the reverse sneezing. They have both passed on.
> 
> I suggest you video tape your dog doing this on sereral occasions. Then bring the camera to your next vet visit. A picture (video) is worth a thousand words to your vet.
> 
> I actually video taped the dogs doing it, then put the video on a DVD then brought my laptop with me to the next vet visit. The laptop provided a much larger picture and better sound for the vet to see.


that's a great idea, thanks for the suggestion. I was going to ask you how you can tell whether it is reverse sneezing or a collapsing trachea, but a video to the vet would answer that, especially since they never seem to do it in front of the vet.


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