Yorkie owners, vets, does a Yorkie "honk" when stressed or excited ?

Question

Not with my family members, but occasionally with a few repeat visitors, the dog gets this honking sound, sort of a cross between a honk and a wheeze.

First time I've seen it in a dog. I've seen nervous shaky chihuahuas. Otherwise, this dog is pretty mellow for a small breed.

Answer 1

It's not restricted to toy breeds and it's not necessarily a medical ailment that you need to get treated.
It's probably just reverse sneezing.
My chihuahua does it, my friends lab mix does it, our eskimo spitz growing up did it - it's just this thing some dogs do when they get either nervous, overly excited, or scared.
It's sort of like a cross between an asthma attack and hyperventilation.
If your dog starts doing it - just remove him from the situation and let him relax until he stops.
It's not really a big deal, though it can seem as if they're dying. If it continued for a very long time, I'd be concerned - but for the most part it's an attack that happens sporadically (like the hiccups) for maybe 5-10 minutes then goes away.

Answer 2

Smaller breeds which are high anxiety tend to have this problem. Also, pug faced dogs do as well. there can be many reasons for this. An oversized peice in the throat can flap and make this sound. you might want to have your vet listen just to make sure.

Answer 3

My 2 Yorkies do that too, when they get really excited about something. It's called "Reverse Sneezing". It stops once they calm down. Don't worry, it's pretty common in Yorkies

Answer 4

my shih tzu does that..so does my aunts yorkie... i think it has more to do with the short nose breeds then any one particular breed. sometimes it gets so bad i have to get her and calm her down before she settles down.

Answer 5

yes this is very common in the toy breeds