Dog owners are ofter frightened when their dog suddenly begins wheezing and snorting, appearing to be unable to
breathe. It is a frightening sight if you have never seen it before. Fortunately it may not be quite as serious as it looks.
This "snorting" is called reversed sneezing. Medically speaking, it consists of short periods (one to two minutes) of
severe respiratory dysnpnea characterized by extension of the neck, bulging of the eyes and abduction of the elbows.
Respiratory dyspnea simply means a type of "air hunger". Swallowing causes the attacks to stop. It can be mimicked by
a person pressing the base of the tongue upward and then trying to inhale through the nose. It is the incomplete closure
of the nasopharynx (above the soft palate) that results in the snorting sounds. This closure is normal during swallowing
and is inhibited at the end of the swallowing process, which explains why swallowing helps stop and attack of reverse
sneezing.
Sometimes irritation of the nasal passages from dust or allergens can cause this. Our Maltese are so close to the ground
it is easy for them to breathe in dust particles.
When you see your dog "snorting" like this, what you need to do is make the dog swallow by massaging the pharyngeal
area (the upper throat area) or by briefly closing the nares. (Nares are the two little openings in the nose.) Relief should
come almost immediately. We have found that the latter method works best for our dogs, and is the easiest and quickest
method. We just place our fingertips over the little nose openings and the snorting stops almost immediately.
It is important that the dog owner be sure that what the dog id doing is actually reverse sneezing. There are other types of
sneezing and coughing that can be more serious. You must differentiate between the sneezing on inspiration - as the
dog breathes in like with reverse sneezing - or breathes out. Some of the types of cough to watch out for are congestive
heart failure (usually nocturnal coughing); or pulmonary lung disease (soft, infrequent coughing). A productive cough (fluid
or mucous) suggests infections, kennel cough etc... Rarely reverse sneezing can be caused from a malformation int he
nasal passage - but that causes very frequent and severe sneezing.
More than likely what you will be seeing in your Maltese IS reverse sneezing - it is quite common in this breed and other
small breeds. But to be safe, watch the dog very carefully and see if the closing off the nostrils makes it stop. If so, it is
probable reverse sneezing. If you have any doubts, it is better to ask your vet. If you are worried about what will happen if
your dog does this while you are not around, don't worry, he will be okay. They look as if they are really struggling, but can
and do recover without us.

This article was written by Jenny Drastura. Thank You Jenny for you knowledge and sharing of this valuable information.

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Reversed Sneezing