Sneezing and snorting

[Michael Romanos]

Go Corgi has discussed this subject in the past but I don't think some of what I say here has been broached previously.
About a week ago, Taylor quite suddenly went into fits of sneezes and snorts. NOt constantly but often and over a period of three or four days. Two nights he woke my wife and me up with his S and S and on walks when he smelt flowers and things, out would come the sneezes. When he got a bit anxious or excited - S and S. Here was my "perfectly" healthy Corgi with a sneezing problem. Not the same fellow. Unlike most Corgis, Taylor hardly ever sneezes when lying on his back. So I did some research and discovered that sneezing etc can be put down to herpes - no, not the sexually transmitted variety but the kind that gives humans cold sores. A dog can easily get herpes from contact with other dogs who are carriers of the problem and also from humans in touching their clothes. Once a dog has got herpes it's with them for life. But Taylor quite suddenly stopped sneezing and snorting. I'm not saying that's what he's got BUT herpes in dogs can become dormant until reactivated again - and so this goes on. It's like a volcano that's supposedly dormant but you never know when it's going to errupt again.

Question: is this what Taylor has got or is there some other explanation?

[glencorgi]

Hmmmm, interesting Michael. I do know herpes can and has been a problem with new born litters and entire litters have been lost to it. I've never heard it mentioned in relation to sneezing and snorting though. Seasonal allergies can be a problem for some corgis which falls in line with the timing Taylor had his episodes. And just like humans, some years can be worse than others as to the severity of the symptoms and reactions. Given the frequency of reports of seasonal allergies from all the various corgi lists I'm on, I would tend to lean towards that explanation, but without a definitive vet diagnosis, hard to say if Taylor has herpes or not.

Debbie

[corgimom]

Michael,

regarding Taylors sneezing and snorting, it could be allergies, but does he
have any discharge from his eyes or nose?

I am asking this, because I had a cat that suffered greatly from the sneezing/
snorting thing, but his eyes would also water and he would have greenish
stuff that would come out of his nose. The vet thought he had a herpes
thing going on. He was on an antibiotic for 3 years to keep it under control
to a certain degree.

Finally, when we moved back to Wisconsin, we went to the University of
Madision Vet school and saw a specialist that gave him a large dose of that
same antibiotic which he took for 6 weeks and basically knocked the virus out. We didn't deal with it again after that for at least 4 or 5 years and then
it was very mild.

Sounds like maybe your Taylor has allergies because you did not mention
any other symptoms.

Linda

[Michael Romanos]

Taylor did not have any other symptoms - the sneezing just came and went. It seemed to fit in with a lengthy description of herpes in dogs which also said that no short term or long term harm is caused and the dog just carries on as per usual except that when they are affected they can sneeze (and snort) a lot, and that it subsides but can return for periods of time at any time.
I'll ask a vet or two and report back. I actually think it is of interest to a lot of Corgi people especially the fact that there could be little need for concern.

By the way, Debbie it is mid Autumn in NZ and not really the season for contracting allergies from the air or from pollen etc.

[corgimom]

Michael,

what about Mold spores - very common in the fall and the spores float in
the air like pollen. Other fall pollens include ragweed, sagebrush, tumbleweed and Thistle

linda

[Michael Romanos]

I don't know how Taylor came by his sneezing and snorting spell a few weeks ago but it wasn't through herpes. Canine Herpes does exist and the symptoms for adult dogs is this sneezing thing just as I had described in an ealier posting - and much the same as Feline Herpes - but Canine Herpes is unknown in NZ - we just don't get it here and probably not among puppies either where the symptoms are different and is a potential killer of puppies (fading puppies)..

I telephoned three vets in NZ - two had never heard of Canine Herpes and the other, my trusted friend, David, had to look it up in a book. He didn't have any fore knowledge of it.

Thanks Linda and Debbie.