Okay, I have two beagles that are 9 yrs old. One is female, one is male. They both do this inverted sneeze/cough thing. It's the weirdest thing I've ever heard. It's like they involuntarily inhale sneezes and they can keep doing it for maybe up to a minute. They've both been doing it for a while now; ever since they were pups. But it's been occurring more often now that they are older. I've noticed that they do it a lot when I take them for walks and they pull on the leash too hard and it chokes them. They also seem to do it when they are begging for food. Can anybody tell me what it is and if something is wrong with them? Thank you!

AuntSwee

Believe it or not I have a cat that does that as well. My daughters doxy does it as well when she gets overly excited or just sniffs something like dirt. My cat will be running then all of the sudden stop and start reverse sneezing and she bounces backwards when she does it then looks at me like it was my fault.

MissRissa

They can last anywhere from a couple of seconds to up to a minute.

JudyKayTee

One of my dogs has the same thing - it's called inverse breathing. It's also a term used when people have asthma.

I have never heard the term reverse breathing but maybe it's the same thing.

My dog will actually begin to stagger from insufficient oxygen - I have to grab her, reassure her, stroke her throat to get her to begin breathing "normally" again.