# Gulping/swallowing at night in older goldens



## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I was just reading the "Barnaby" thread, about periodic gulping/swallowing at night (and later at other times). Many others have observed this same behavior in their old golds.

Brooks is 9.5 years and this has started happening more frequently (I began mentioning it to my vet when it occasionally occurred a couple of years ago and he just recently put Brooks on famotidine 20 mg 2x day which hassn't really seemed to change anything).

Right now Brooks seems to feel better if we go outside to get a breath of fresh air (sometimes he eats grass while outside, other times just getting up and walking around seems to help).

In the Barnaby thread, I read about giving white bread, which I will try.

Are there any other things that others found worked?


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Ignutah*

Sorry to hear what Brooks is going through.
I did a search on here on gulping/swallowing, and all of these threads came up. Hope you find something to help!
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/search.php?searchid=8106738


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## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

It may be reflux-related? My 9-year-old Aussie is going through this right now. At her worst, she actually retches. 

Famotidine didn't do much for it and doubling the dose to twice a day gave her gastritis. So I stopped it altogether and what seems to be working now is feeding her several small meals a day and especially one right before we go to bed. She has never been allowed much people food but she has DH's number and probably gets more goodies than I know about! So now she ONLY gets her kibble and an occasional saltine cracker and seems to be much improved. Deeply offended by the new dietary laws,of course...

Just wanted to mention this as a possibility in case it helps.

Oh, and I bought her very expensive sensitive stomach food, started slowly switching her over a tablespoon at a time and on day three she started vomiting it up. Every time. Back to the old kibble. We are a contrary bunch around here...


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## swishywagga (Nov 13, 2012)

Barnaby's swallowing incidents have reduced significantly, after chopping and changing foods, the one thing I can put my finger on was stopping the glucosamine chews I fed every day. (Thanks to advice from forum member Christa (c griffin). I also cut down on wet food that contained gravy. Barnaby used to suffer from dreadful wind as well which also has improved. This is my experience only and believe as you say that it is very common in older goldens. Barnaby's episodes always involve masses of grass eating but as I say have improved considerably, I hope that you can find a solution to Brooks' issues as well!. Please let us know how he does in the future. Forgot to add also that I have stopped giving antacids (Ranitidine), as I really didn't see that they made any difference.


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

I also tried switching to a sensitive stomach food but didnt see any change. Then I tried moving dinnertime to earlier than 4 pm and moistening his kibble with warm water and letting it sit to soften for about 10 min before I feed him. It seems like doing that helped (but not all the time).
I still have to give a tiny bit of dry kibble as he has to take a thyroid tablet 2x a day....and when you mentioned the glucosamine chews, suddenly I started wondering if his thyroid pills (or the glucosamine or fish oil I give at the same time as his thyroid) could be the culprit)? And what could I do differently if any of the 3 are what bothers him?


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## lgnutah (Feb 26, 2007)

Karen519 said:


> Sorry to hear what Brooks is going through.
> I did a search on here on gulping/swallowing, and all of these threads came up. Hope you find something to help!
> http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/search.php?searchid=8106738


I couldnt get this to work, when I clicked on it I got a message "sorry no matches"


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## Anon-2130948gsoni (Apr 12, 2014)

lgnutah said:


> I also tried switching to a sensitive stomach food but didnt see any change. Then I tried moving dinnertime to earlier than 4 pm and moistening his kibble with warm water and letting it sit to soften for about 10 min before I feed him. It seems like doing that helped (but not all the time).
> I still have to give a tiny bit of dry kibble as he has to take a thyroid tablet 2x a day....and when you mentioned the glucosamine chews, suddenly I started wondering if his thyroid pills (or the glucosamine or fish oil I give at the same time as his thyroid) could be the culprit)? And what could I do differently if any of the 3 are what bothers him?


Just my opinion, but I would give the fish oil and glucosamine with his morning meal (or skip them entirely for a while) and then try giving him a small handful of kibble right before bedtime. Reflux gets worse on an empty stomach so a small meal can help absorb stomach acids and bile that are excreted during the night.

The thyroid meds usually aren't a problem, at least they haven't been for me, and they're not optional, really, so...

Hope you find a combination that works for you.


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Ignutah*

Try this link=there are several pages:
http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/search.php?searchid=8133490


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## boomers_dawn (Sep 20, 2009)

Gladys isn't even that old (she's 5) and has those gulping episodes.
Based on the description of the gulping, plus she goes around trying to eat hairballs, like the carpet, like the bedspread, lick her front leg, I read some articles referencing those behaviours as "attempting to self soothe", the vet felt it was reflux and recommended smaller frequent feedings.
Someone else who had experience with this problem also recommended a snack at night before bed.
I agree with move the fish oil and any other aggravating supplements to morning.

I forgot to add, dogs can take Pepto Bismol but Gladys hates it so I pour some in my palm then stick my hand in her mouth - that's all I give her and it seems to help.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Karen519 said:


> Try this link=there are several pages:
> http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/search.php?searchid=8133490


This link doesn't work either, got the following message-

*Sorry - no matches. Please try some different terms.*


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## Karen519 (Aug 21, 2006)

*Carolina Mom*

Carolina Mom

The link worked for me when I did the search.
Would you be so kind to do the search for her and post it?


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Sure, give me a few minutes to pull up some threads.

Here are some threads-

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...249-nodding-head-licking-lips-swallowing.html

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...ard/105164-loud-swallowing-gulping-noise.html

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com/golden-retrievers-main-discussion/63753-swallowing-problem.html


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## Goldens R Great (Aug 19, 2010)

This sounds similar to what my third golden Annie would experience. She would start gulping/swallowing and then run around the house acting a little frantic trying to eat anything in sight - the carpet, fuzz, paper, etc., and if I took her outside she would want to eat leaves, grass and so on. Her episodes would last hours, but she never vomited. After several trips to the vet and one night a trip to the emergency vet, they finally determined it was acid reflux. She was later diagnosed with a food intolerance issue and once I switched her to limited ingredient food the acid reflux issues ended.

I will also add that before I switched her to the limited ingredient food, I would give her lettuce, bread and Tagamet when she started the gulping/swallowing. It helped somewhat.

I hope you get it figured out. Please keep us posted!


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