As I said in my introduction... I am new to Chi's. When I picked up my girl, the breeders told me that Chihuahua's have this thing where they "honk". Well, Corona's been making this funny noise that my parents say sounds like she's got a hairball... I don't think that's how I would persnally describe it, it seems to me more like she does it when she is breathing IN, but anyway... she seems to do it when she gets really excited, or when she first wakes up from sleeping overnight or a long nap.
So... any idea how worried I should be about this? She is six months old, has all her shots etc, and actually we're going in to get her rabies shot tomorrow. Obviously this is something I can bring up with the vet, but I know that different breeds can have certain... "quirks", so I thought I'd come here and see what y'all had to say!
I would say it is reverse sneezing. My Merrie does it, usually after she drinks too fast, but I know it is common in chi's, and they do it after excitement, excercise, drinking, and even after waking. Sometimes it helps Merrie if I give her water and encourage her to swallow. But I have also heard that gently massaging their neck, covering their nose to get them to breathe through their mouth, or even clapping loudly to distract them can help. I have tried all of the above, and the drinking technique seems to work for her. She had one episode so bad about two weeks ago, it lasted on and off for a couple of hours!
Of course, I'd have to see it to be sure, but I reckon you've just perfectly described Reverse Sneezing Stacey! I wouldn't worry, all the Chi's I know do it, but I do understand just how scary it can be for the first timer!
Your Vet probably wont know that chi's do this, as most Vets dont know breed/class specific quirks, likeyou mentioned.
A good trick to get her to stop when Corona starts up with Reverse Sneezing is to distract her quickly or surprise her. Try saying her name in a sharp voice or something. Also massaging her throat should help.