coughing, tea cup chihuahua

I have a 11 week old tea cup chihuahua. Before today she would every once in a while act like she was choking or as though something was in her throat.

Today as she was running around she would just stop and start coughing. I tried looking down her throat did not see anything, messaged the throat area. It seems to only happen when she is getting excited as in running, playing.

Any Suggestions?



Hi
It sounds as though your puppy may be suffering from 'reverse sneezing'.

It doesn't really sound like a sneeze, more like a sort of snorting/coughing/wheezing. Generally there are several 'sneezes', so it seems as though the pup is having a sort of coughing fit. It's often brought on by exercise, excitement or stress.

Reverse sneezing is caused by a defect in the dogs' soft palate (roof of the mouth), and is fairly common in small/tiny breeds, especially those with shortened muzzles.

Although a puppy who is having a 'sneezing fit' sounds as though they're choking, they're not. Calming the pup down, and massaging the throat gently may help. It usually ends by itself within a few seconds to a minute or so.

Although this is what I think may be going on, I would have your vet check out your puppy just to be sure there are not other underlying/undetected problems with her esophagus/palate.

It's always best to be on the safe side. Best of luck.