Reverse Sneezing/Allergies advice?

[titansma]

Hi, I've been taking care of my son's Chihuahua, Titan, since the end of January. My son is in the Marines. I've noticed that Titan, when excited, will sound like he's wheezing, like he's fast deep breaths. The first time he did it, I thought he was going to die! I've read about the collapsed trachea and I'm confused if I should be concerned or not. He did it today and yesterday a little and he wasn't at play. Also, he has very watery eyes. Could he be allergic to either my cat, his food - I feed him Natural Balance or maybe some liquid vitamins I've been giving him. They are the one my cat uses. Lixotinic. He is the sweetest dog ever! He will be 2 in July. One last thing, he shakes a lot too. I know it can be from cold or stress, but he's doing it more and he's inside. Very confused on all this. Thanks for any advice.

[Sarah]

Hi

Chihuahuas shake for a number of reasons cold, excited, stressed, scared, sick all sorts of reasons so you may want to work out the reasons why.

I've never heard of natural balance? Does it have wheat or corn in it? That can cause food allergies. Runny eyes etc are a sign of allergies. Chis eyes do waterthough as they're close to the ground and big. If his is excessive I would possibly go to the vet and get him checked out just in case

[brodysmom]

A marine with a Chihuahua. I love it!!

First check out this thread and see if this is what he's doing ....

heychihuahua.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=chihuahuahealth&action=display&thread=413

That's what reverse sneezing looks like. There's some advice on that thread about stopping it, etc.

As Sarah pointed out, runny eyes can be due to diet. I do think that NB has grains in it. You might check the ingredients. I'd probably suggest a grain free diet if you can, as wheat/corn/soy are the root of a lot of allergies. There are many to choose from.... Orijen, Acana, Before Grain, Taste of the Wild, etc.

I would stop the lixotinic. There could be something in it that is causing the reaction with his excess tears. He doesn't need extra vitamins if he's on a good quality dog food.

Shaking can be from a lot of things... cold, stress, anxiety. If he's otherwise fine, I wouldn't worry too much about it. But do give me a once over and look for obvious signs of discomfort since shaking can also signal pain. (Rotten teeth for example).

[titansma]

Thanks ladies! I checked Titan's food. The only grains it has is oatmeal and barley. It also has salmon meal in it which might be triggering his watery eyes. I've noticed when I've given him a taste of the canned cat food that has salmon in it, he has a reaction. Time to get a different food.

I looked at the video and it's sorta similar. He breathes more thru his mouth when this episode happens which isn't too often. Thank goodness. The first time was when we just took over care and my husband was playing with him. I thought he was having a heart attack!

brodysmom - ya kinda funny that a Marine would have a Chihuahua. My son was given Titan, by another Marine and his wife, when he was little as he was the last of the litter and has a little stubby tail which I call his wiggle-waggle! They couldn't sell him with his tail like that. Titan was actually more for my son's wife when he's been away on deployments, but where they are renting a room, the people don't want him there because they didn't potty train him well. Between my son's wife's Mom and me, he is now potty trained, doesn't chew and I took him thru basic obedience. He's the perfect little dog! psst, I hope they don't want him back! ha ha I'm taking care of him until they can afford to buy a house. :-)

[Sarah]

I'd go for a grain free food with real meat in meat meal is by products not nice stuff
I'll try get mine reverse sneezing because they hit the decks and all sorts it's so sad

Lol cute story!!

[Elle]

When Harry first arrived home with us, he didn't stop sneezing and coughing for several weeks. I thought at first that his was reverse sneezing and the first (useless!) vet we had for him agreed it was probably that and didn't really give any advice. I actually thought there might be a problem with his health. Then I started reading up on Chi allergies etc. online, and realized that Harry was probably allergic to the cats. He hadn't encountered cats before coming to us, so hadn't had a chance to build up an immunity, and then one day, the sneezing and wheezing just stopped overnight, and he's literally never sneezed since. And he curls up with one of the cats and even shares a bed with her sometimes without any problems. If Titan hasn't lived with cats before, it might be the same problem for him...

[titansma]

Titan lived has lived with a cat at my son's apartment since he was little and never had a problem, but my kitty, Kimba, is very plush and has a lot of hair even though he is short haired. I am going to find a grain free/salmon free kibble for Titan today and slowly change him over to it in 5-7 days. I'm fairly sure it's the salmon meal in his current food. err Can dogs get allergy shots? If it's the cat because the cat was here first and he's not going anywhere. He was a rescue from a kill shelter. I got him after I had to put my beloved 13yr old Tigger down last year. The two get a long great also.

[titansma]

Ok, I called a local vet who also has an all natural store attached. They were very helpful. Trying out California Naturals that is grain free. Very few ingredients and has vitamins. Titan loves it. Doing 50/50 for a few days. Less watery eyes! yay!