I've been meaning to ask this for a while,and keep forgetting:
Can anyone explain for me what this is all about,and am I translating it right?

When something my Sibe is particularly pleased about (my translation) is about to happen, he makes these little 'sneezes' (best way I can describe it)
So when his harness appears,when he greets us when we walk back into the house,when you mention the word 'Walk'..moments like that.
  I notice my mothers whippets do it also..but my fathers working Springers and Cockers dont seem to.

Are they just happy sneezes??? why sneezes???

Thanks All :D

Thats funny because Alfie does the same thing but when he is cross and wants us to do something for him! I always think they are sneezes of annoyance!

my little mongrel does it all the time when she is having a really good game or tickle. no idea why sneezes but hers arn't just little ones they are full blown sneezes that you don't want to be near when she does them as u get a nice shower. things we put up with :)

My dobe does it when she is pleased, excited or when i come back home having been out, she does a full sneeze, sometimes 3 or 4 in a row, her whole body wriggles with excitement i find it really sweet.  She is now 8 and has done this all her life.

Both of my 2 do this, albeit my big fella does it far more often than his sister.

Like your boy, mine does it when he's particularly pleased, either with himself or what he thinks is about to happen. It's always preceded by a "dance", shuffling of front paws and wagging tail.

When I used to have Shepherds, only one used to do the soppy sneezing.

I've always said that mine are allergic to excitement :D

Don't know why they do it, but like all of their little foibles, I would love to understand the real reason why, instead of my educated guesses :rolleyes:

Mine also do the big, wide, cavernous yawn when they know it's dinner time, or when they're trying to appease each other after a game where one has gone that little bit too far :P

My Mum and Dads golen Retriever is easy to make sneeze - just get him excited by playing with him and pull silly faces and make silly noises and away he goes :-D Below is something I read on happy sneezing.

"Did you realise that your dog lets you know when he or she thinks something is funny?
Dogs sneeze in response to happy (fun) stimuli or events....in fact, you might consider it a 'canine giggle'.....for example; Your dog might greet you at the door upon your homecoming with a series of excited sneezes and snorts, or if you laugh with, or speak humourously to your dog he or she will react with a sneeze in return for your efforts."

Karen

My old girl always sneezed when she got excited - about three or four times on the trot :D   Aw, bless, missing her again  :(

My old rescue was named 'Puffin' before we got him - because he was always doing gentle 'sneezes' to communicate :) 

"Dinner?" - sneeze - yes :D
"shall we go walkies?"  loads of sneezes - ooh! yes yes :)

oh! I miss that dog :(  saw a dog very like him just before Christmas, but that one was a lot heavier, but still with long coal black coat of a certain texture.  I was so choked up, felt really emotional :(

My 8 month Springer does this when she is excited. Never really thought about it before i read your post!
but now i have i will take more notice.

Unbelievable!  My dog sneezes and I wondered why.  When she first started doing it I was a bit concerned but the sneezes are so gentle it's not like there's anything irritating her.  I didn't realise it was a communication thing.  I wonder what she thinks then because I mimic her when she does it :)

My older Pharaoh Hound bitch sneezes when she's excited.  The trouble is they're so violent she whacks her nose on the floor every time she does it   Makes me cringe every time lol

My Cavs both give little huffy sneezes when I'm holding a treat and they want me to get on and give it to them! :-D

Tyson sneezes when he gets excited about something too.....going for walkies, dad coming home etc. :-) He always does bark, sneeze, chase tail, bark, sneeze, chase tail...... etc etc. :D :D LOL

My dog does sneezes too whilst he is doing a wiggle and a dance, its when i come down in the morning or when i come home i have put it down to him being exited and pleased to see me, my friends collie also does it when she sees me along with a big smile.

I read somewhere that when a dog sneezes it means 'calm down', like when two dogs are play fighting and one starts sneezing its telling the other its being too rough!

Just what I read! Don't know if I believe it because my dog sneezes when she's excited like most of your seem to do!  Mine even gets excited if I sneeze!

Hmmm the plot..(or the snot??) thickens!!!
I have just searched the world wide web til my fingers ached...but still havent come up with a good explanation..as to why a sneeze?

I have however found out that:
-If a dog sneezes at your wedding in Veitnam it is thought to be an ill omen and the vows must be cancelled straight away!
-Goats sneeze as a way of sounding the alarm to the rest of the herd.
-Young Goats (kids) sneeze as a part of play.
-In Italy its a good sign for all who hear a cat sneeze.

:D Bless you!

I've no idea really but I always assumed, because of excitement, the muccous membranes start running, a bit like salivating over food but in anticipation of exciting smells coming their way :)

Now why couldnt you have said that earlier Isabel!!!!???
lol
Im going to have collapsed meta scarpels,repetative strain injury thingy,after all this avid typing Ive done today in my Captain Ahab search for the answer to this!!!
:D

How would we know anything about Vietnamese weddings if I had?

my older dog sneezes when she has had enough of playing,
or when she wants to play. mostly when she wants to play !
which is most of the time.

gazuntite :-)

Donna

Wow, my old dog used to sneeze when he was excited! I always thought it was just him :)

Well, its taken a while,but Ive finally made some head way :)

Its neurological, and attributed to Excitement or anxiety,stimulating the nerves in the nose to sneeze.

(so as Alfie proved... not just 'happy' sneezes ;) )

Apparently Akitas are most prone to this
(Anwen,Akitagucci,Nettie,LuvAkitas....... is that right???)
:D
Off for a walk now...achhhhhoooo,achooo,achoooo!!

My Basenjis also do it when excited about something.

No sneezes in this house just pig like grunts :D

Thats Labs for you :D Oh and we get excited squeeks too.... Ours only sneeze if they lay upside down too long or have stuck their noes in your beer :rolleyes:

Whoops duplicate post

My dogs do it when they are playing. They can get quite rough and vocal, and I always know they're playing because it's interspersed with a good amount of sneezing.
Kat

alot of ob dogs do it ,in excitement!

Hello HuskyGal,
Don't know if this helps, but I read years ago, in a book on dog/wolf behaviour, that sneezing is a signal from one dog to another that they are in a friendly, but excited state. The book said it was often used during play to signal to the other dog that there was no real threat intended. As dogs often play fight, and things could easily escalate to the real thing if one dog took the agressive postures and growls seriously. So it is a form of reassurance between one dog and another, sort of 'hey mate, I know I'm growling, but I'm not serious!!' At the time I had two entire male Dobes, and this book was right on every other form of behaviour, so I have always assumed it got that right too, it certainly made sense when those two were playing. They would lay facing each other, mouths wide open, teeth flashing, both growling, and sort of spar with each other, interspersed with huge sneezes from both of them!
The book described it much better than I have! Hope I managed to get the drift across though.
And, before you ask, I'm really sorry, but I can't remember what the book was called!!
K.

Ahaaa!!! thanks for that GSPup :D
My path to enlightenment on this is finally getting to the end!
all interesting stuff :)

Thanks for proving that my Alfie was not odd for sneezing when annoyed and not when happy like all the others who posted on here!!

I had to smile at this post about sneezing. I tried so hard to teach my dog who is now 8 to bark when asked. But she never really got the idea and so whenever we say" ask ", she manages a sneeze !

Alfie odd?? oh no!!
I loved hearing about his grumpy snuffle!! :D
I think as Teri and Dill highlighted its those 'little' foibles our dogs have that bury deep into our hearts!! I love a little character trait :)

:-)