[graficoartista31]

Hello there.

About a year ago I adopted a male yorkie named Connor who was about 6-7 months old. We had him neutered and he's been a great addition to our family. One concern I have is his "snorting". I ask the following because my hUsband thinks I'm a worry wort and doesn't think I should waste the vet money since
he is hyper and happy however I'm a tad concerned. It almost sounds like a child who had a flemmy Sinus cold. He only snorts when he is extreemly excited or after he eats or drinks water. When he is relaxing he does ommit a wheezing sound but it's very mild. I looked up respitory issues in yorkies and discovered an article with "collapsed trachea". This scares me as I know it can be fatal. One aspect that links CT is a "honking" noise. Connor doesn't "honk" like a goose. He sounds more like a congested 4 year old child. Is this something I should be worried about? Or do any of you yorkie owners know of a less "dismal" reason for his "snorting". Can dogs have allergies? Or asthma? Or is this just a common aspect to small dogs. He is the first small dog I've owned so I'm curious. Ad a quick note, he eats "taste of the wild" dog food and may be slightly overweight. This is not yet determined. I'm basing it off of our friends yorkies. When wet, connors head is tiny and his body is wide
I'm guessing his larger brothers bulked him up but am open to the possibility of his weight gain. He is 5.6 now and was 4.2 when we
got him. Any advice or personal stories of similar findings?

 

[Binkalette]

Search Youtube for 'Reverse Sneezing'. Does that look like what he is doing??

Here is one, but you'll probably still want to search yourself.. They all sound a little different when they do it.. Maggie is very quite when she does it.. but Zoey honks like a goose.

 

[Pai]

It's a common small dog thing, though it tends to happen mostly with squish-faced breeds. My own gal does it occasionally too for the same reasons as your guy, and the first time I heard it, it scared me too! But 'reverse sneezes' aren't harmful by themselves. Here is a good summary about them.

 

[Dog_Shrink]

My toy fox does that too but it is because he has a "soft trachea" soft could lead to collapse if I use a collar on him or let him get over weight... trachea issues are very common in small dogs and a reason for concern whenever you have breathing conundrums... reverse sneezing isn't really a huge issue buit if it goes on you really need to find the cause of it. benny does his share of reverse sneezing but I know it's because of his soft trachea. My vet said .. no collar walking and keep him lean and you shouldn't have any increase in the problem. I would definately get it checked... also sometimes it can be a result of Lung worm and if you got your dog at a shelter that would be a major concern but that also would be accompanied with a fair amount of coughing, but whenever I hear about breathing or snorting issues I first think trachea, soft palate, heart...

 

[Yonwolf]

Most "Brachycephalic" (Squished in face) Dogs have that snorting problem.
its not really anything to be alarmed by. The shortness of their snouts make them do it. comes out as grunts,snorts, wheezes. its ok. just from the short nose.

 

[Dog_Shrink]

Yonwolf her dog is a yrokie and not a brachy breed. S norting would not be a common issue in a yorkie unless there was some sort of trachea or palate involvement. At this point I think a vet visit might be called for to diagnose any trachea problems.

 

[alphadoginthehouse]

Butch does the reverse sneeze (never have figured out why they call it that!) when he gets excited. My other chi mix did the same thing. If it goes on for more than a couple of snorts, I just pet him and calm him down. It usually works.

But a vet visit is a good idea if you are concerned about it.

Good luck! It can be a scary sound though. It sounds more like an asthma attack to me.

 

[chrissjc]

my dog has this reverse sneeze as well. noticed it the first day we brought him home. just dismissed it as a cough but it has occured a number of times since we brought him home.

i read in the comments on the reverse sneeze video at you tube that you can distract the dog by opening its mouth to take it's mind off of the itch in its throat. i will try this next time to see if it is a nervous tic or a real blockage.

 

[Cracker]

First off, his body should not be wide like you describe so it is likely he's a bit overweight..you need to discuss this with the vet to be sure but overweight can exacerbate any tracheal or soft palate issues (just like in humans).

There are many small breed dogs with reverse sneezing etc, I find when they go into the spasm that rubbing softly on the throat area can lessen the spasm.

Walk your dog with a properly fitted harness and stay away from neck collars.

As for the wheezing, this could be trachea or lung and may be due to asthma and allergies but also could be related to weight. Either way a vet visit may be a good idea. I don't believe that if you have questions or concerns for an animal that cannot tell you how they feel and that is very good at hiding illnesses and pain is a bad thing, nor is it paranoid. Vets are accustomed to "new puppy parent" syndrome and are often willing to answer basic questions. I always err on the side of caution and follow my instincts with my dogs and the dogs I work with. I have rarely been proven wrong, and when I am, it means that I can relax and not worry. Win win in my mind.