puppy making very weird noises

[axel_2078]

Lately, my puppy Cashmere has been making very odd noises. Sometimes she will just stop what she's doing and she starts making this weird noise that sounds almost like she is trying to blow her nose. Her head jerks back and forth as she does it. It's kind of like a sneeze, but isn't. She does it 10-20 times in quick succession. Her mouth is always closed, so I don't think it's because she's gagging or choking on something. It sounds like a nasal thing, but I can't figure out what it is. Has anyone experienced this before with their dogs?

Another thing I've noticed is that her feces stinks....REALLY BAD. I know dog poop doesn't smell like roses to begin with, but hers just smells awful, like there's something unhealthy about it. If she goes in her kennel downstairs, it can be smelled upstairs and the stench overpowers the entire house. It's enough to make you want to barf. When Mocha poops in the house (because I didn't let her out in time), it doesn't smell good, but in no way smells as horrible as Cashmere's. We had her for a month before she started having solid bowel movements, due to various worms and parasites.

Sorry to make this long, but there's just one more thing....Cashmere rubs her butt on the carpet when she comes in from taking a potty. Everyone that sees her do this says "They only do that when they've got worms." When my mother-in-law saw her do it, she immediately said "She's got worms." Is this theory true? When I took her to the vet 3 weeks ago, they tested her stool and it was worm-free.

[Alexis]

The sound could be a "reverse sneeze". There was a question about this before and the thread was really good.. you may want to check through and see if you can find it. The stinky poop.... what kind of food is she on? It could be the food. On the same note, if she has a loose stool for a while, her anal glands may need to be expressed. This most likely is the cause of the "scooting".

[LuvMyPups]

Yes like Swisses said the "butt scoot" as a lot of pug owners call it...is usually caused by the need for the anal glands to be expressed.
When Kayda was on Bil-Jac dog food her feces smelled absolutely horrid....they smell better now once we switched her food.

[Pugdawg1]

When my pugs reverse sneeze, it's kinda like a honking sound, and they tend to tense up, be almost stiff.. is that like yours? Rubbing their throats seems to sooth them, and sometimes, I'll do a blow a big puff of air, right in their faces, and I think almost the surprise of it, immediately stops the reverse sneezing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But unless this is something happening really frequently, it's usually not a problem. IF it's reverse sneezing you are referring to.

Luvmypups ~ I think I'm one of the few pug owners that have pugs that don't have anal gland issues (so far). LOL Now saying that probably jinxed me.

[axel_2078]

Originally Posted by Pugdawg1

When my pugs reverse sneeze, it's kinda like a honking sound, and they tend to tense up, be almost stiff.. is that like yours? Rubbing their throats seems to sooth them, and sometimes, I'll do a blow a big puff of air, right in their faces, and I think almost the surprise of it, immediately stops the reverse sneezing. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. But unless this is something happening really frequently, it's usually not a problem. IF it's reverse sneezing you are referring to.

Luvmypups ~ I think I'm one of the few pug owners that have pugs that don't have anal gland issues (so far). LOL Now saying that probably jinxed me.

It may be a reverse sneeze. I've never heard this term before, but maybe that is it. Yes, when she does it, she completely locks up and becomes stiff as a board. She does it pretty often and that's why it concerns me. As far as the food goes, we're feeding her Eukenuba puppy food....the same food we feed our dachshund. Mocha's feces doesn't smell that bad....it's typical dog poop, but Cashmere's will have you gagging.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Originally Posted by axel_2078

It may be a reverse sneeze. I've never heard this term before, but maybe that is it. Yes, when she does it, she completely locks up and becomes stiff as a board. She does it pretty often and that's why it concerns me. As far as the food goes, we're feeding her Eukenuba puppy food....the same food we feed our dachshund. Mocha's feces doesn't smell that bad....it's typical dog poop, but Cashmere's will have you gagging.

If she is doing it often then you may want to have her checked for an elongated soft palate. Also you may want to look into a higher quality food as well.

[axel_2078]

Originally Posted by Crossfire Bulldogs

If she is doing it often then you may want to have her checked for an elongated soft palate. Also you may want to look into a higher quality food as well.

Higher quality food? I thought Eukenuba was a high quality food? We used to feed our dachshund Purina Puppy Chow until one of the pet trainers at Petsmart said it was a poor quality food and recommended a high quality food like Eukenuba, Iams, or Science Diet.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Originally Posted by axel_2078

Higher quality food? I thought Eukenuba was a high quality food? We used to feed our dachshund Purina Puppy Chow until one of the pet trainers at Petsmart said it was a poor quality food and recommended a high quality food like Eukenuba, Iams, or Science Diet.

If you look at the lable on any of the foods you mentioned you'll find corn as one of the top five things added. Corn is a terrible allergen for dogs and should be avoided if possible. Eukanuba is better than the others you listed however.

Please don't misunderstand, there are many people out there that feed Euk and have great luck with it and each owner uses what they feel is best for their dog but with the problems your describing with the smell it very well could be a food issue.

[axel_2078]

What are some other high-quality dog foods we could try? The only ones I know of are the ones I listed above.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

I can give you a few names to check into but trust me....everyone has their favorites and this list is in no way complete or would I even attempt to say one is better than the other but their all better at least in my opinion than what you named.

Canidae, Flint River, Wellness, Health Food for Dogs, Eagle Pack, Solid Gold, Wysong, Life's Abundance and Evo just to name a few. You'll find that most are all natural and more suited to what your dog actually needs instead of the corn and fillers.

[axel_2078]

Where do you get those from? I've never heard of or seen any of them, but I'm used to shopping at Petsmart or Petco.

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Many of the pet supply shops carry the foods. Petco and Pet Smart usually only carry the lower grade foods.

Most of the foods I mentioned have web sites with a store locator available to check by zip code to see where the closest place is to purchase their food.

[WingedFoal]

Chicken Soup for the Puppy Lover's Soul is good food too. I switched my two to it a while back and have NOOO complaints about it. It has AMAZING ingredients, they look a hundred times better (weight, coat, attitude, etc.), and I don't have to feed as much of it as I would a cheaper food, so it evens out perfectly. Of course, that's just my .02. If interested, you can go to http://www.chickensoupforthepetloverssoul.com/ to find a dealer near you. It's great stuff.

About the noise, I agree that it sounds like reverse sneezing. My Bostons are really bad about that (it's a constant noise around here, especially in springtime) but it's not a life or death problem. Or not any times that I've seen in any dog. At least the vet I worked for always said that it wasn't as big of a deal as it looks.

[axel_2078]

Thanks for all the input, folks. I'm taking Cashmere to the Vet on tuesday for her 16 week vaccinations, so I'll ask about the sneezing noise and about the food situation.

[Barrett]

Do you walk her with a collar or a halter? Bailey will reverse sneeze if I walk her with a collar and she pulls too much. She will do it off and on all day after her walk. Once I switched to a halter she stopped completely. Last week her halter was in the wash and I used a collar and she started doing it again for the day. I think hers is directly related to puling on the collar.