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Reverse Sneezing Or Tracheal Collapse Cough?

Your dog stops, stretches the neck out, and starts making a loud, snorting, gasping noise. It looks like they cannot breathe. For many small dogs this is reverse sneezing, which is usually harmless. But tracheal collapse also makes a loud honking noise, and it is easy to wonder whether the two are the same thing. They are not. Here is how veterinary schools describe each one, so you know what to watch for and what to show your vet.

What Reverse Sneezing Is

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine says reverse sneezing, also called paroxysmal respiration, is a relatively common event that causes many owners to believe their dog is in respiratory distress. Irritation in the back of the nose starts a reflex that produces a series of loud, sudden, rapid breaths in. In a normal sneeze air goes out through the nose. In reverse sneezing the air goes in, and the opening to the windpipe is closed.

Cornell describes the typical picture: the dog stands with the neck extended, the head tilted back, and the elbows pointing outward, with flared nostrils and the mouth closed. Episodes last from a few seconds to minutes and can come back at different intervals. The Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine adds that a reverse sneeze sounds like a combination of a loud snort, honk, and choking noise, and that it is not painful or harmful to the dog.

Cornell says it is reported more often in dogs under 15 kilograms (about 33 pounds) and is more common in flat-faced breeds. Texas A&M names pugs, Shih Tzus, and Bulldogs.

What Sets It Off

Cornell lists dust and allergens, excitement, pulling hard against a leash, and eating or drinking too fast. It also lists foreign material in the upper airway, infections, nasal mites, masses, lower airway disease, and an elongated soft palate. It adds that many cases have no identifiable cause.

What The Tracheal Collapse Cough Is

Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine describes the most common sign of tracheal collapse as a persistent, harsh, dry cough, sometimes called a goose honk. The American College of Veterinary Surgeons lists coughing when the dog is picked up or when a collar is pulled, and University of Missouri Veterinary Health Center lists coughing with excitement, stress, or exercise, and gagging or retching with the cough. Cornell says the cough can often be set off by gently touching the throat.

Side By Side

Why They Are Hard To Tell Apart

Both noises are described with the word honk, and both can start with excitement or leash pulling. Cornell lists those two triggers for reverse sneezing, and the sources above list them for the collapse cough. So you may not be able to sort it out by sound alone, and that is one reason to bring your vet something more than a description.

What The Sources Say About Episodes

Cornell says some owners find an episode resolves more quickly with gentle throat massage, holding the nostrils closed for a few seconds, or blowing into the dog's face to encourage swallowing, and that comforting and calming the dog can also be helpful. Texas A&M suggests a soothing voice with gentle throat massage. Neither page describes these steps for a coughing dog. If breathing does not settle, treat it as the emergency signs below.

What To Bring To Your Vet

• A phone video of an episode. Embrace Pet Insurance notes that coughing from tracheal collapse often stops the moment a dog walks into the clinic, so a recording helps your vet.
• How often it happens and what came right before: excitement, a tug on the leash, a drink of water.
• Whether your dog is coughing between episodes. Texas A&M says to consult a veterinarian if episodes keep recurring or if respiratory symptoms affect your dog's breathing.

Cornell says that for dogs with frequent or severe reverse sneezing, a vet may treat for allergies and mites first, and if signs continue may look further with a sedated oral exam, head X-rays, and a scope of the nose. For a lasting honking cough, see Dog Honking Cough and When A Cough Is An Emergency.

To see listed practices near you that say they treat tracheal collapse, use Find A Practice. We show every listed practice that serves your area, and you choose who, if anyone, to contact.