Does you chi have congestion??

[PacoPeppyAzul]

When my Chi gets excited he sounds like he cannot breath and makes almost a oinking/couhging sound. Does this happen to anyone's chi?

Also does you chi cough sometimes like he is going to throw up but never does? One night Paco acted as if he was choking and coughed for an hour in the middle of the night. I brought him to the Vet at 3 am and they couldn't find anything wrong. Has anyone had anything like this happen? It made me so worried.

[Romans Mom]

Hi. As long as your vet has ruled out a cold, serious cough or any respitory problem, and the trechea is not collasped, it would be honking/snorting. :)

Honking/snorting or reversed sneezing is common in Chi's. It can be due to the elongated soft pallete that can become misaligned. I'm not sure of the medical terms of all of this, only that it happens to Roman.

I have to use a harness and never a collar for Roman, but Elle is just fine with the collar. She rarely honks. Some things that can trigger this is pulling on the leash, even with a harness, drinking water too fast, and getting very excited. When Roman plays ball outside and runs around like crazy for long periods of time, he starts coughing and a little gasping, but this goes away as soon as he calms down. He just doesn't know when to stop. LOL

To stop it in Roman, I can clap my hands, or cover his nose to get him to breathe through his mouth. I rub his neck hoping he will swallow. It also seems if he licks, the episode ends sooner. I think talking softly to him has also been helpful. Let us know how things go and if you try anything to stop it. :wave:

[Amaze]

Hi there,
Just wanted to let you know that it is perfectly normal and many chihuahuas do it. I'm not sure about the elongated soft pallete like Roman's mom mentioned but I've always been told it has to do with the trachea rings. In tiny breeds that have been bred down so much in size, the tracheal rings that are made up of cartilege become more oval versus round to fit in the tiny space. As the dog breathes, they rings collapse in the center, causing the dog to honk or make a snorting noise as they draw air through their trachea. This is considered a collapsing trachea by some but most toy-breed vets and breeders I know agree that is different then what general small animal vets would consider a true collapsed trachea. Dogs can have several affected rings or just one that does this and its all considered normal. There are also several things you can do to help. Rub the throat area gently immediately below the jaw bone to stimulate the dog to swallow, or use two finger to pinch the dog's nostrils shut, forcing the dog to expel air through its mouth and force the ring back open.

Both Tally and Heuser do this (my signature for a while was "The Honkie Kids), but Tally's is louder, and more severe. She knows to come to me immediately when it happens; by picking her up and holding her straight up and down, she is able to stretch her neck and tilt her head back in a straight line and she usually corrects herself.

Lys

[Luckys Mom]

Lucky does this also....i usually rub his throat area and if that does not work...my vet told me to block his nostrils with 2 fingers covering the holes..because it will force him to breath through his mouth that way...and it has worked fine everytime....he usually does this when he gets over excited and if he drinks water to fast...

[PacoPeppyAzul]

Thanks so much for all your feedback. You all are so helpful! Paco did it again last night. He played with a huskie last night and he was on his harnest and he was pulling so hard on his little self, he kept chocking, coughing and trying to throw up but couldn't, then he stopped after like 10 minutes. Then at like 1 am he woke me up again doing the same thing. he did this cough/gag thing for like 30 min. I called the vet and their xray machine was down so they told me to keep an eye on him. he finally stopped but it made me a mess. I love him so much and this is so scary when it happens.

Do you think his tracea could be collapsed? Can they die from that?

[Romans Mom]

I'm not sure about the elongated soft pallete like Roman's mom mentioned Lys

Where was my head? I was talking about short nose here...of airway obstruction in Brachycephalic (short muzzled) like peks. :blush: ...that's what I get for trying to post while on vacation. LOL Well, everything else I said minus this...hope no dog was harmed with my mistake. ;-)

Well, anyway, still everything else I said but that, and I hope Paco is fine and not kennel cough or something like that anyway, still. :wub: Please keep us posted.

[aliciatobytaco]

Taco is the 'honker' of the family!!!!!! He honks so bad, sometimes it worries me. Toby will have his moments, but I have only seen Tazzy do it a couple times. I always rub their little throats and it usually stops. Poor babies, I always feel so bad when they do it though.

[Amaze]

Thanks so much for all your feedback. You all are so helpful! Paco did it again last night. He played with a huskie last night and he was on his harnest and he was pulling so hard on his little self, he kept chocking, coughing and trying to throw up but couldn't, then he stopped after like 10 minutes. Then at like 1 am he woke me up again doing the same thing. he did this cough/gag thing for like 30 min. I called the vet and their xray machine was down so they told me to keep an eye on him. he finally stopped but it made me a mess. I love him so much and this is so scary when it happens.

Do you think his tracea could be collapsed? Can they die from that?


Hmmm...I'm not sure what he is doing...Did you take him to the vet yet? It doesn't sound like a collapsed trachea but according to your description, it might be something other than honking. Heuser does the gag/choke thing when he pulls to hard on his leash but that's about it. Never by itself like in the middle of the night. Let us know what the vet says and give Paco some kisses for us!
Lys