Sneezing and runny eyes.

Dr. Marie replied:

Cases like this are frustrating! It's often difficult to know why a dog is sneezing repeatedly and it's not a common problem.

You are right that allergies don't usually manifest this way. Most dogs with allergies will have skin problems - itchy feet, ears and bum. With that being said I have seen a few dogs that did have inhaled allergies. And, beagles are really well known for having allergy issues.

I find that Benadryl and other antihistamines don't work that well for dog allergies. You may want to talk to your vet about doing a trial dose of some steroids. I have most of my allergic patients on very small doses of prednisone. In small doses, dogs handle prednisone well and it is safe. You'll know within a few days of starting it whether it is helping.

Another thing to ask your vet about is nasal mites. They are not that common, but can be a cause of chronic sneezing and reverse sneeze issues. Most heartworm/flea combination medicines will treat nasal mites so if your dog is on something like Revolution or Advantage Multi for heartworm then nasal mites are not likely.

Does Clover have any dental issues? A tooth root infection could definitely be the cause. Sometimes it can be hard to see. If she has any hint of dental problems then it is possible that a good dental cleaning with extraction of any possibly infected teeth could help.

It's also possible that there is either a foreign object or even a nasal tumor in the nose. Unfortunately these can be hard to diagnose. Ultimately it would be wonderful to have a specialist do a scope of Clover's nose. This is where they administer an anesthetic and then put a tiny camera up the nose to look and see if there is any sort of a foreign object or tumor. This would be very helpful, but could be quite expensive.

I think it's a good idea to ask your vet about a trial of steroids first and then see what they think about a dental issue possibly being the cause.

I hope that helps and I hope things improve soon!

Dr. Marie.


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