Is my furbaby getting sick?

[flafox67]

The last few days Jacie has been doing a kind of cough/wheeze thing. I only see him do it a few times a day and it doesn't last more than 10-15 seconds. It doesn't seem like enough to go to the emergency vet, so in lieu of the phone call to my regular vet tomorrow morning, what do you guys think? Is he getting sick?

Thanks in advance for all the info!!

[Ladymom]

It could just be allergies.

Have you noticed any discharge from his noses? Have you taken his temperature?

[flafox67]

Originally Posted by Ladymom

It could just be allergies.

Have you noticed any discharge from his noses? Have you taken his temperature?

I thought about allergies too. He doesn't have any discharge. He really looks okay except for the occasion noise.

No, I haven't taken his temp. Not sure I'm brave enough to stick a thermometer there.

[kjc]

Make sure no hair from his mouth area is in his mouth. This can cause what you described, esp if it happens around meal/snack time.

[megansmomma]

It kind of sounds like it might be a reverse sneeze. Does he stop and kind of do a hunch over and make the noise? When one of mine does this I pick them up and blow toward their nose and it usually stops.

Take a look at this link it has 2 videos of dogs reverse sneezing.

Reverse Sneezing in Dogs

[flafox67]

Originally Posted by megansmomma

It kind of sounds like it might be a reverse sneeze. Does he stop and kind of do a hunch over and make the noise? When one of mine does this I pick them up and blow toward their nose and it usually stops.

Take a look at this link it has 2 videos of dogs reverse sneezing.

Reverse Sneezing in Dogs

Thanks for the info. Just looked at a video and that's exactly what he's doing. Good to know it's harmless. I would guess it's allergies, so I'll just continue to monitor it and watch for any drainage or any other sign of infection. I probably ought to note it somewhere so if he does it again this time next year, I'll know. This is my first summer with Jacie.

[megansmomma]

When it happens try to calm him by rubbing his throat and blow into his nose. My vet suggested to do this with Bogey and it really does work. Bogey would get so anxious that his episodes would start to worry me even though it is harmless. But after I tried what was suggested the episodes became shorter and now he isn't doing it any more. I'm sure it was allergies since now that Bogey stopped Pebbles has started.

[flafox67]

Originally Posted by megansmomma

When it happens try to calm him by rubbing his throat and blow into his nose. My vet suggested to do this with Bogey and it really does work. Bogey would get so anxious that his episodes would start to worry me even though it is harmless. But after I tried what was suggested the episodes became shorter and now he isn't doing it any more. I'm sure it was allergies since now that Bogey stopped Pebbles has started.

Good to know. I ended up taking him to the vet today after realizing the skin under his tear stained hair was getting infected. The vet said it was allergies causing inflamation which was causing the reverse sneezing and excessive tearing which of course was starting an infection. Jacie always tears so much I didn't notice he was tearing more than normal.

So we have antibiotic steroid eye drops to use until he's better and to use when it flairs up again. He to start out with 3 times a day till it's better. Once it's better than give it as needed to control the allergies. He offered an antihistamine, but I'm going to hold off getting that. I'm not convinced I need the antihistamine and I don't want to load him up on any more drugs that he's got to have.

Thanks again for all your help.