allergies, coughing and reverse sneezing...

[Jill Robinson]

My awesome 4 year old mini goldendoodle is having some issues :( 

She's had a hacking cough for a long time, which was misdiagnosed as kennel cough about 2 years ago; the cough has come and gone for that 2 years.  We recently switched vets and she was put on doxicycline for 4 weeks - it kicked the cough out for a while, but it's back (not as bad).  Meanwhile, she is having bouts of serious sneezing - usually at night time, and sometimes it's 10-12 big sneezes in a row - so bad last week that she had a bloody nose.  Mixed in with all of this is reverse sneezing.  We had been giving her benedryl for the allergies - but it seemed like it wasn't working any longer.  We are now trying chlorpheniramine for the sneezing, in hopes that it may tackle the reverse sneezing too.

Has anyone ever had this trifecta of conditions in your dog? We are going to take her to an internal medicine specialist if things don't get better.  It is spring time here in Michigan so there is a lot of things to cause allergies out there.  My big concern is the cough - could it be a defect in her trachea?  I don't know...just thought I'd check here to see if any of this sound familiar to anyone, and if so, what was the remedy?

Thanks...

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Coughing and sneezing are not signs of allergies in dogs. In dogs, the symptoms of seasonal, environmental, or inhalant allergies always involve intense itching as the primary symptom. The cause is the same, a histamine response to the inhaled allergens, but the symptoms are different. Some dogs may also have red or runny eyes, but the itching is always present and very noticeable. 

I do think an IMS is a good idea to get at the cause of these issues. 

[Kris and Sawyer]

Actually our vet says that coughing and sneezing are a sign of allergies. Just told me that at our last visit two weeks ago. Sawyer sneezed nonstop for a few days when spring started. :-). I did say that I heard they don't sneeze for allergies and he again said, yep they can. Interesting!

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I agree with Karen....I would see an IMS.  It sounds like she's pretty uncomfortable.  I'm curious about the last time a fecal was done....I've read that there are parasites that can cause respiratory symptoms. 

[Jill Robinson]

A fecal and extensive blood work were done a couple months ago and came back normal.  I do think we'll have to see an IMS - I was hoping I could find a non-invasive cure, but I'm not sure that will happen
.

Thanks for the responses...

[Amy and Annabelle]

I have a mini as well...and live in Michigan. Annabelle scratches more this time of year when plants start to bloom and she rolls around out in the grass. I bathe her in a special soap for relief. I know your girls issue is respiratory, but I wonder if we got them from the same breeder. Your girl is a cutie. I hope you get some answers soon so she can feel better.

[Jill Robinson]

Lucy came from Michigan Doodles in Swartz Creek...I haven't yet checked with them to see if there might be some issues that others have because there's really nothing I could do about it, but people keep mentioning that I should contact them for info..Annabelle is so cute too!  They are the best dogs, aren't they? We keep talking about getting another one, but need to get this figured out first, and would likely go through a different breeder, just in case. 

[Amy and Annabelle]

I sent you a friend request. So did Annabelle.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

I am sure you already googled reverse sneezing, but if not here is an article about it.  http://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/respiratory/c_multi_sneezing?pa...

Listed are probable causes, including infections, cleft palate, and mites, but not allergies:  Any breed of dog can be affected by these medical behaviors. 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. Mites found in the nasal openings can also be a cause for any of these physical reflexes.

[Jill Robinson]

I have definitely searched it, but this is a more comprehensive list of causes than I have seen - thank you!  I'm so hopeful that it's something that is easily treatable. It does seem like allergies can trigger both sneezing and reverse sneezing -

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Another link for regular sneezing lists causes as  infections, airway obstruction, allergies, and inhaled irritants. I mentions inhaled irritants for reverse sneezing also - but as a temporary response to walking through these irritants, and not on-going or chronic.

[Nancy]

I have experience with seasonal allergies and reverse sneezing, although not at the same time, with my almost 5 year old Oliver.  No sneezing with the allergies but definitely some itching, eye rubbing and discharge in his eyes.  Fortunately, it is not significant with him and only lasts a few days here and there during the spring.  As far as the reverse sneezing, after seeing my regular vet, xrays, visit to a specialist for additional tests and spending approx $2000.00, it was determined that he had irritated his esophagus, which was caused by stick chewing.  The irritation/infection was causing the reverse sneezing.   At first we thought he had part of the stick lodged in his throat and he was having a hard time breathing, but the scope and Xray showed nothing except irritation. After we watched a Youtube video of reversed sneezing in dogs, we knew that was definitely it.  I agree with Nancy, Ned and Clancy, probably not allergies, more likely irritation or infection.  

[Jill Robinson]

Interesting...she does chew on both stick and bully sticks.  I'm going to lay off those until she sees the doctor. Thanks for sharing your experience -