Reverse Sneeze/Harsh Inhale/Allergies

[Laura and Angus]

Hi everyone!

Last night Angus did this sharp intake of breath thing - in my google and DK searching it seems like other people have experienced this with their dogs. Has anyone seen a vet about this issue? We're wondering if Angus may have seasonal allergies - mine are incredibly awful right now and he's been more itchy and got an eye infection just in the last few weeks. Then last night he did this harsh inhale sound - kind of like a reverse sneeze, but no snort. It sounded like if a little kid is crying for a long time and gets those hyperventilating hiccup things. He only did this for a short time and he was fine over night. He did it again a few times this morning, but then stopped.

I saw other DK folks post about this same issue. Has anyone spoken to their vet about this? Is it caused by allergies? Just trying to figure out what course of action...of course if it continues when I get home from work, I'll likely be taking a trip to the vet anyway.

Thank you!

[Kate, Mel, Tenley & Harper]

You may have see a post I had posted once. 

Every now and then, Tenley does this at night where he's deep breathing for few seconds (while awake). It is very odd. He reverse sneezes occasionally too, but this is different and right after it happens he makes these other sounds that sound like a little kid trying to catch their breath after crying. Like he has the sniffles.

I asked my vet about it and she didn't seem overly concerned as long as it wasn't lasting too long and that he didn't seem to have any other issues during it (he was fully alert, and usually goes back to sleep after it happens like nothing was wrong). I even caught it on video once for her. I've heard of it happening with a few other dogs as well. 

Interested in hearing other replies, too!

[Laura and Angus]

Exactly! I am really curious if anyone else has seen this and what they found out from their vets. It's nice to hear your vet wasn't overly concerned. I'm not sure what to do, but if it continues I will likely bring a video to my vet - we have to go over there to pick up this month's flea/tick prevention meds anyway.

[Kate, Mel, Tenley & Harper]

Yes, my vet was very happy for the video because it's a hard thing to describe! 

[Laura and Angus]

very true...hence my multiple descriptors in my heading haha

[F, Calla & Luca]

Calla does this and sounds like she is about to keel over. I once talked to the vet about it and she thought it was probably due to allergies.

[Laura and Angus]

Hmm thanks for your thoughts! I'm hearing "allergies" frequently on this one. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Reverse sneezing is not one of the more common symptom of seasonal allergies. The most common signs of inhalant allergies are scratching, licking, biting or chewing the paws or other areas, and rubbing the face and eyes. 

JD occasionally has something that sounds like he can only breathe in and is not able to breathe out, kind of like hyperventilating, but it never coincides with his allergy flares, and his dermatologist has said she doesn't believe it's related to his allergies. 

If Angus does have allergies, the itching and any related infections are of greater concern than the breathing issue. I haven't heard of any harm caused by the latter. 

[Laura and Angus]

Thanks so much for your insight, Karen! Angus, sadly, has most of the things you described although there's no substantial biting or chewing. Just some scratching - itching his face and snout sometimes, and his ears and body, and rubbing along the couch. We did have an eye infection recently, but drops from the vet cleared that up after only a day or two. It came back, but again clears up with a day of drops. I really think that he has seasonal allergies and right now it is so bad in our area (Maryland) that everyone is suffering.

The only thing that worried me, I guess, is that I saw in a past discussion or two that someone mentioned their dog used to do that and they later found a heart issue. I guess that's my biggest concern with breathing things is that I don't want to miss a respiratory or heart condition. Although our vet checks Angus' breathing and heart every time we go. BUT perhaps I will talk with the vet about the other symptoms and see if we can't get some seasonal allergy meds for our puppy. Honestly he doesn't really seem too bothered by any of these things (we have the most happy-go-lucky pup ever), but my boyfriend and were pretty concerned/stressed last night with the breathing thing... sounded scary!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

At the risk of sounding immodest, you might get more helpful info on how to help Angus with his allergies in this discussion (http://www.doodlekisses.com/group/healthandmedicalissues/forum/topi...) than you will asking your vet for meds. Most GP vets are not well versed in treating seasonal allergies and typically prescribe steroids, Benadryl, and Rx food, lol. My discussion has info from JD's derm specialist about ways you can use OTC meds & supplements and some lifestyle changes to help keep them comfortable. Of course, infections and other serious symptoms do need to be treated, and if they are itching miserably and doing themselves damage, they often do steroids.

I understand your concern about possible heart and lung issues, but those aren't related to allergies. :)

If it makes you feel any better, about the only physical area where JD still consistently gets an "excellent" report from his vets is his cardiovascular system, and he has severe health issues including allergies, lol. When he starts doing that breathing thing, it sounds like he's dying, but it's been harmless and it always passes without incident. It sounds much worse than it is. My last dog did it too, and she lived to be 16. 

[Laura and Angus]

I hear you...if I feel like Angus is showing some more serious responses to allergy (biting, chewing, excessive licking) then we'll probably explore a specialist. At this point, those behaviors or even the eye infection were not too serious. Angus also had an ear infection recently, but we caught that and treated it immediately with no issue - I'm used to seeing some of these symptoms from having a standard poodle for 15 years. So my opinion is that our pupper definitely has allergies. I think I just didn't want to attribute the breathing thing to allergies if it could potentially be something more serious, which it sounds like other people have seen and discussed with their vets and it really hasn't become a serious issue.

I know you've had quite a time with JD and allergies based on reading some of your other posts, so I really appreciate you sharing all your thoughts and what seems to be the extensive research you've done on some of these health issues! Thanks again!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm always glad to see former Poodle owners here when the subject of ear infections comes up, lol. So many doodle owners have never experienced them and immediately assume the dog has food allergies, lol. For those of us who have lived with Poodles, ear infections are part and parcel of owning a "non-shedding", Poo-mix dog. :) The best part is that heavily-shedding JD, with all his allergies and immune issues, has never had an ear infection in the 9.5 years I've owned him. :)

Try the fatty acid supplements, anti-histamines, and other hints in the discussion I posted, they do help a lot.  

[Laura and Angus]

Ha! So true. That is very fortunate for you and JD - ear infections are an annoyance since they require a trip to the vet for meds. We've only had Angus 8 months and we've already had one. We will likely be doing a more frequent trip to the groomer's just to have his ears cleaned out thanks to the fast-growing thick poodle ear hair :( ugh. And I'll tell you, that's with cleaning his ears once every week/every other week. Sheesh!  

I'll definitely read through and share the discussion with my boyfriend. We already give Angus an Omega-3 supplement with EPA and DHA, but I'm thinking he may need something more like EPO. We're still figuring out what works best. Great suggestions!