I have a 7 yr old Jack Chi that I adopted from an animal shelter about 2 years ago. The Humane Society didn't have a lot of info on her history when she was brought in as a stray.
When she gets overly excited, she eats really fast and then does this reverse sneeze, which really freaked me out at first. I usually massage her throat to get her to stop. It's almost as if she's not chewing the food all the way, so she swallows it whole. She also has an issue with hard swallowing. Whenever she eats, that's when I notice the hard swallow. She also sounds very stuffed up most of the time, so I thought it was just really bad allergies. I've taken her to the vet and expressed my concerns about her issues. They said it was normal and prescribed a corticosteroid. What would be the best way to treat this issue? Are these issues common in a Jack Russell/Chi mix? I haven't noticed any other issues. She eats, plays and does everything else without any issues.

Hi

Any short nosed breed or cross breed dog can be prone to making the snorty nasal reverse sneezing noises. As you say its very alarming the first few times you hear a dog doing this as they sound like they are choking-but they aren't. The noise is due to short nosed breed dogs having a relatively long soft palate which is a bit oversized for the size of the dog's pharynx-back of the mouth and can flop into the airway temporarily. If its a really persistant problem that is bothering the dog and preventing them eating normally or exercising well there is a surgical fix to shorten the soft palate but that's only needed in severe cases. It doesnt sound like your dog has a massive problem with this but if you feel concerned discuss it with your vet again. If she's gobbling her food and choking, slow her down by feeding only a little at a time or try putting a large solid object (too big to eat!) such as a rock in her bowl so she has to work round it to get at all the food.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]