Friday, May 8, 2009

Abrupt "snorting" coming from my new puppy: Kennel Cough or Reverse Sneezing?

Today I picked up my new puppy. I had visited the pet shop to see and play with her over the past few days but today was the day I was allowed to take her home (company policy; not because of any sickness).

Starting today, she started making this abrupt snorting sound. I can't tell if it's coming from the nose or from the throat. The snorting comes in episodes; usually she snorts anywhere from 6-9 times per episode; and episodes occur about once every 8 minutes. She is very playful, however, the episodes NEVER occur when she is playing/running. They occur when she isn't moving that much. One thing that's very noticeable is how much her lungs expand whenever she "snorts". Also, she seems unphased by it, almost as if it even happening to her.

After some research, I've narrowed it down to 2 possibilities: Kennel Cough and Reverse Sneezing.
But how do I know which one it is?

Female Long-haired Chihuahua
Born 2/27/07
Answers:
all new pups should be taken to a vet for a checkup (and immunisations) - when you do that, the vet will tell you whats wrong.
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My guess would be kennel cough, but you may consider checking with your vet. Make sure to keep your dog isolated from other dogs, as KC is highly contagious.
It sounds like reverse sneezing which is common with chihuahuas but it should not be happening every 8 minutes. Usually reverse sneezing happens occasionally, not constantly. Take her to the vet, specially since she came from a pet store. Pet store dogs are usually sick.
She's a new puppy.. And from a petstore :( She should go to the vet and have a complete checkup. When you do that, you will find out what the problem is. Then you can treat it early, rather than leaving things and finding out later that you should have taken her to the vet as soon as you noticed a problem..
Basically petstore puppies are from puppymills.. They aren't healthy dogs, they are from parents who live in cages filled with dog crap, bred over and over and over til they can no longer produce, then they are dumped or killed.. It's likely that you will find that your puppy has a whole slew of health issues.. You might want to get your puppy checked so you can go back to the petstore and demand a refund for a sick puppy.

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