My 6 month old Jack Russell is constantly coughing/snorting. Why?

by Jasmine
(Michigan )

Zuko

I was wondering if you could help me figure out what's wrong with my puppy.

He's a Jack Russell mix named Zuko and lately he seems to start coughing and hacking a lot. Rubbing his throat and chest seems to help, but the cough just comes back. He also snorts quite a lot, especially when he gets excited.

I'm planning on talking him to the vet if the problem worsens. I just want to know if i should be concerned or not because I'm pretty darn concerned at the moment.






Hi Jasmine
Zuko is adorable, he has a lot of personality in that face!

It sounds as though the snorting he's doing something that's called 'reverse sneezing'. It's a sort of bronchial spasm that is not terribly unusual in puppies particularly when they're small breeds or have short muzzles.

Sometimes you can stop a fit of reverse sneezing by rubbing the pup's throat gently, or by holding two fingers gently over his nostrils for a few seconds. It's not a dangerous condition and the puppy usually grows out of it, but it can be worrying and upsetting - usually more for the owner than the puppy at first.

However, as Zuko is also coughing and hacking I would take him to your veterinarian for a check up to make sure he doesn't have an upper respiratory tract infection or something else that needs to be treated.

Kennel Cough (if he's not had the Bordatella shot he's at risk of this) can cause hacking, coughing and even vomiting. It's a little like whooping cough in humans.

Generally it's self limiting and as it's a virus there's no treatment for it and the puppy recovers naturally within a few weeks. But sometimes a secondary chest infection will occur which needs antibiotics to clear it up. That's why I'd recommend having your little guy looked at by your vet to be on the safe side.

Hope this helps, best of luck and hope Zuko is feeling better soon.