[Rhomylly]

A comment in the harnesses vs. collars thread made me pause..

A harness will encourage pulling however I do use one on Spencer when he is on his retractable lead on hikes because he does the reverse sneezing from pulling so much.

Since I'm really tired of having to scrape myself off the bedroom ceiling at 3:00 a.m. because Bridey has had a reverse sneeze attack, I have a vested interest in minimizing those lovely moments.

How does pulling contribute to reverse sneezing?

What else can I do to minimize it?

Please -- I need sleep!

 

[Murphys Dad]

A pulling dog will put pressure on its throat via the collar. This can start a reverse sneeze attack.

I would ask for an anti-hystamine. Bridey may have an allergy.

 

[ncdogstar]

When Teddy starts making that awful noise, I rub his trachea and it usually stops within a minute or two. /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/photo.gif He is so used to me helping him, that he will actually come to me to get his neck rubbed when the reverse sneezing starts!

 

[Rhomylly]

Originally Posted By: Murphy & Summer's Dad
I would ask for an anti-hystamine. Bridey may have an allergy.

She's on one -- the dust and pollen count are so high already that we're ALL on one!

 

[Jennifer]

Yep I agree with that about pulling bringing on a reverse sneeze attack. If Rosa happens to pull after a scent she will invariably start sneezing.

Rosa does do it in the night sometimes too though and that must have another reason like it does with Bridey. Could be allergies or could be just that Beagles are prone to this for no apparent reason.

I cup Rosas' nostrils in my hands to restrict breathing for a second. This interruption sometimes stops the attack but not always. If I can get her to drink some water that stops it but she doesn't always want to drink and of course you can't make them.

 

[Murphys Dad]

Beagles have very soft and sensitive pallets, that contributes to the sneezing too.

When Chloe pulls, she mainly caughs, sometimes reverse sneezing kicks in too, not always.

I learned to disregard while keeping an eye/ear on her reverse sneezing, she stops after 15-20 seconds.

 

[Brisen]

My previous beagle Molly had daily bouts of reverse sneezing, starting from the time she was a small puppy. Most of her episodes occured while she was either resting or sleeping though.

Maggie is now 4 months old, and I've not heard her reverse sneeze once. Does anyone know if this is a sign that maybe she won't be a reverse sneezer? No matter how much I understood what whas happening to Molly, it always scared the bejeezus out of me everytime she did it.

 

[BookerMoose]

Popcorn does the reverse sneezing a lot (sometimes several times a day), Booker does it maybe a couple of times a month, and I don't think Moosie has ever done it.

Pulling on the leash can definitely cause an attack for Popcorn - but like the others here she also can start for no apparent reason, including in the middle of the night when all she was doing at the time was sleeping soundly!

We did have Popcorn looked at when we first got her because she was doing it so frequently and each episode was lasting so long... they said her epiglotis (sp) was quite long but I don't really know if that causes the problem - and it isn't like you can cut it off (or can you?!).

 

[Jennifer]

I found this site that might help.

http://www.paw-rescue.org/PAW/PETTIPS/DogTip_ReverseSneezing.html

 

[Murphys Dad]

This is what we do:

When the attack starts, gently pinch their nose closed. It forces the beagle to breathe through its mouths instead if the nose. This breaks the reverse sneeze cycle in about 10 seconds. Repeat as necessary.

 

[Shenniff]

Murphy and Summer's dad - do you pinch the very end of the nose? where the nostrils are?

 

[Murphys Dad]

Yes. This will close off the nasal airway and force them to mouth breathe.

 

[Joe Johnston]

The hand over the nose does work and we used to use that method with Beagle #1, Bama. Current Beagle resident rarely does it.

A bonus tidbit for humans: if you are ever in a situation where sneezing would not be good for whatever reason, place your thumb and index finger on each side of the top of the windpipe and apply gentle pressure. It does work /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/sleep.gif