# Weird gulping/swallowing



## goldenenthusiast

I am really worried about my Golden. This has happened once before, and it passed on its own, but this one seems worse than the last time. I asked the vet what it was, and she said she didn't know.

He was napping peacefully when suddenly I heard him start making weird noises. I saw him sitting up and looking at me while gulping/swallowing hard and licking his lips repeatedly. It almost looks like he is gagging or choking and wants to throw up, but no convulsions or vomit. He is also drooling profusely. In the absence of food, I'm taking this as a sign of stress/pain. He has continued to do this over the last hour. It comes and goes in episodes. He repeatedly tries to resume his nap, pacing around to different spots and lying down, but after a few minutes, he starts gulping again. He seems really uncomfortable when this happens and hurries over to me, pressing himself as close to me as possible, looking at me for help. This is very unusual as he does not usually cuddle.

The gulping/swallowing motions in the video are not as "severe" as some of them. However, I haven't been able to get a video of the severe gulping because he is trying to lean his whole body on me when this happens—poor guy.

I read online that the gulping could be acid reflux. Does anyone have any experience with this?


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## 3 goldens

I wish I had an answer for you but I do not. Could it possibly be some kind of seizure? I know there are all kinds in humans. My last golden had seizures, but involved her entire body. Or deid he eat something that he has an allergy to and it makes his mouth and throat feel funny to him. I truthfullydon't know, those are just the ideas that popped into myhead. But whatever, good luck with your handsome boy.


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## BrianO

How long ago did he have a good brushing or a bath? I have noticed something similar to this when my pup has swallowed too much fur while grooming. Swallowing a fur ball can cause this.

Is it possible that he could have chewed up a plastic lid or swallowed something indigestible? If something is irritating his tummy or stuck in his digestive tract this can happen.

If you don't see something coughed up or eliminated in feces, I would head to the vet in the morning.


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## Prism Goldens

That would have me at the vet's. 
Let us know!


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## AmberSunrise

I would also suggest a vet visit - bring the videos 

Good luck


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## puddles everywhere

I vote for a vet visit also... could be something stuck way down in his throat but he is definitely uncomfortable.


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## Audog

I would take him to the Vet as soon as you can. Do you have any house plants that he may have eaten? We had an issue with excessive saliva when our guy ate a leaf of a houseplant that we since found out can cause issues with dogs. Plants are gone, dog now OK


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## swishywagga

This looks identical to what my boy Barnaby did, after a few vet's visits we put it down to reflux/acid issues. I have posted the link below to his thread so you can see if there are similarities with your pup. I would also agree with the others that a trip to the vet would be a good idea. 

http://www.goldenretrieverforum.com...nter/271338-barnaby-special-senior-years.html


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## SheetsSM

search on the forum for "gulps" and "lick fits" My 11yr old has been doing this off & on for years, though in her case when it strikes it is accompanied by pica (metal, wood, carpet, material) anything she can consume she will. She's had multiple scopes, exploratory surgery, neurology consult, changes in diet, various meds for nausea & acid reflux & no specialist was able to explain why it happens or offer a remedy to relieve the symptoms when they occur other than to crate & wait it out or have her wear a basket muzzle. She currently takes cisapride & omeprazole as a preventative but she's had instances occur even on this regimen.


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## hotel4dogs

I don't know what to tell you, except that my Tiny did it for the better part of 17 years....with no harmful results! Of course, stay in touch with your vet.
Try giving him a treat when it happens, see if that resolves it.
edit to add...my vet always felt it was some sort of throat spasm.


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## Neeko13

My boy Nitro started this later in life... My vet suggested a pepcid before his dinner, and dinner had to be by 3 p.m. nothing for the rest of the nite, he did good on that....good luck, hope the vet helps you with a diagnosis...


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## Mayabear

It has happened to Maya on two separate occasions. Once she was napping, on her back, and then awoke all of a sudden doing what you described. I was close to pulling the trigger on an emergency vet visit (it was past 10 pm), but she settled down.

It happened again more recently, and passed itself. No ill effects, no issues with the stomach. If you are very concerned it never hurts to consult a vet. If it happens again to Maya, I will def put in a call to the vet.


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## Charles

I've been going through the same thing with my golden her whole life (she's about to turn 5) and continue to search for an answer with no luck. The vet put it down to acid reflux but no medications have decreased the number of gulping episodes she has. We've tried omeprazole, famotidine, and metoclopramide. I showed the videos (almost identical to yours) to an internal medicine specialist and he didn't have any other suggestions. I think it comes on more when she's stressed. It lasts anywhere from just a few gulps to intermittent episodes over several days. She constantly tries to eat anything she can get her mouth on while gulping (grass, sticks, hair, curtains...). The episodes never start with dietary indiscretion, though. Recently, the episodes have been preceding diarrhea so she's hit with a double whammy. I keep reading through forums hoping someone will have an answer but haven't come across anything conclusive yet. For now, I'm hoping for ways to help her be more comfortable while she's doing this...


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## usually lurking

I had a dog that did this on occasion, usually in the middle of the night. He'd come and wake me, wanting to go out and eat grass. He'd graze for a while, then come back inside and be fine. It didn't seem to be associated with anything that I could pinpoint. I assumed that he was just feeling nauseated.


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## Macca

My 6 year old golden has had episodes just like this off and on for several years. I'd also taken a video of it and showed her vet and he felt it was a nausea/acid reflux problem. He suggested Famotidine (which is generic Pepcid AC, over the counter), 1-10 mg. tablet. I give it to her with about half a piece of soft white bread which I keep in the freezer just for this purpose. I think the bread helps to soak up whatever is bothering her tummy. 

I haven't been able to pinpoint any certain foods or activities that cause this. Like the other posters have said she also gets anxious and wants to go outside to eat grass when this starts up.

Good luck, it can be very scary when it first happens.


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## goldenenthusiast

Thanks for all your replies! I did consult the vet the first time it happened and showed her the vids, and she was baffled. Also, he's had a full bloodwork, x-rays, etc. done recently because he was refusing his food on and off for awhile, and they could find nothing wrong with him. Don't think he's swallowed anything, I supervise him and he doesn't swallow things anyway. Only thing could be a stick, but he hasn't chewed sticks in the past week and I've been pretty good about not letting him chew them.

This one cleared up after a few hours last night. I took him out potty and he unusually spent the whole time trying to gobble up grass like he was dying of starvation. His stool was very small, barely anything. I gave him treats and he ate them eagerly then spent 10 min licking the carpet for the crumbs. I decided to feed him a small second dinner and he scarfed it down then perked up considerably and started playing with me (at 1 am lol). Now he is fine.

The only thing I can think of, just total speculation. He hasn't eaten his breakfast for the last three days (As I said he does this on and off, and we've already talked with the vet about this repeatedly over the past year. I think he just isn't hungry unless he gets tons and tons of exercise). Anyway I kept his dinner the same size so he's had less than usual food over the past couple days and with the rain not much activity either. Well yesterday I took him on a 2 hour walk with some sprinting, but he didn't potty the whole time, I don't know, maybe his digestive system was "emptied" out and with his stool not moving and nothing in there, his stomach was hurting or some kind of acid reflux thing going on??

Anyway I'm just glad he seems fine now. It really did seem like the second meal soothed his stomach or throat or whatever was going on...


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## Cody'sMom

My Cody had this off and on. His vet said some dogs just have it and it isn't harmful even though it sounds like they're choking.
We called it "throat spasms". One of us would sit and gently rub his throat up and down on his esophagus, whisper soothing sounds and it would go away.

Connie :wavey:


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## Megora

Was thinking last night when I saw the videos that it was acid reflux... but also there is another issue that could be going on if he's doing this a lot all of a sudden. 

My Bertie is OCD about grooming burrs out of his coat ASAP. He doesn't like any pricklies in his coat. Any burrs get nipped out. He swallowed part of a burr a while ago and it caused the same kind of hyper swallowing, gulping, and anxious/needy behavior. 

I made the connection to it being a burr because of the timing. And poking a finger down his throat wasn't finding anything, but I was fairly sure he had part of a burr caught in his throat.

I gave him a TON of bread. A lot of it. like ten slices or so... Like me tearing piece after piece and making it a steady stream giving him pieces of bread. And it took care of the problem. 

If a dog swallows something... sometimes feeding bread can help coat the object and keep it from causing problems while pushing it through the system. I've heard that bread can also help with acid reflux.

***there are swallowing disorders in the breed. I'm not sure why because growing up, I never heard of anything like that. I think if your dog is chronically having episodes... you may need to look into those other health problems. One time episodes though can be chalked up to heartburn, acid reflux, or your dog swallowing he shouldn't and getting caught in a bad spot.


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## Enza

Your video looked just like our Golden. Same behavior of eating grass, and anything else he could find. Our vet also thought maybe it was reflux, but we never knew for sure.

If you've already consulted with your vet, and ruled out all the scary medical stuff, you could try what we did. When a "swallowing episode" would come on, I'd give our boy a small dish of 5 or 6 ice cubes. I would watch closely as he chewed some, and lapped at others. By the time he finished the ice cubes, the episode had resolved. Don't know why, but it worked every time.


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## alexisshorty

Wow! This happens to both my lab mix Lola and my golden Sasha, and I was freaking out as well. They do this randomly at times too but I noticed it's just something they do to let gas out. Lola doesn't do this very often but I noticed she does this when she tries to burp. Sasha does it often after she eats because she eats way to fast so i'm working with her on that. But overall they're very healthy, they play fine and they're happy! Maybe it does have something to do with his belly though but I think he might be just really gassy.


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## cncsmom

My golden does this. Trips to the vets don't help! I have probably spent $10,000 on her, including 2 surgeries because of all the stuff she ate when she wasn't feeling well. I have 2 goldens, a brother and sister. The male is at the vets only once a year with absolutely no issues, the female is there probably at least 6-10 times a year. Why can't the veterinarian world figure this out?


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## Maggie'sVoice

I'm quite certain that the vet has already checked/rules out the 2 things I'm thinking of. One would be a collapsing trachea from pulling on the leach with a collar. Or obstruction or mass on the esophagus. Hopefully it's nothing serious! But those 2 things normally are accompanied more with coughing then odd swallowing.


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## Ffcmm

if the 2nd meal helped, perhaps you could try breaking up her meals and spreading them out over the day. It might keep the acid reflux or nausea at bay?


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## Earl1

Hi, would love to connect with you about what Tiny did. I've got a 6 year old golden, Earl, who has been doing a strange swallowing/gulping thing for years. Before I put him through more medical tests, I would love to connect with you. If somehow you get this, can you contact me at [email protected]? Thank you, Jeff and Earl


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## hotel4dogs

Hi Earl, there's not much more to add unfortunately. Tiny would do something like this, and when she did it she would try frantically to eat grass or greenery. Giving her a treat or two usually helped, which is one of the reasons my vet felt it was some sort of throat spasm and the chewing/swallowing helped. It seemed to happen in streaks, sort of frequently and then not for months.
My vet is very proactive, but never felt it necessary to investigate it further. Clearly he was right in her case, as she lived to almost 17 with no ill effects from it.



Earl1 said:


> Hi, would love to connect with you about what Tiny did. I've got a 6 year old golden, Earl, who has been doing a strange swallowing/gulping thing for years. Before I put him through more medical tests, I would love to connect with you. If somehow you get this, can you contact me at [email protected]? Thank you, Jeff and Earl


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## Sworona

hotel4dogs said:


> Hi Earl, there's not much more to add unfortunately. Tiny would do something like this, and when she did it she would try frantically to eat grass or greenery. Giving her a treat or two usually helped, which is one of the reasons my vet felt it was some sort of throat spasm and the chewing/swallowing helped. It seemed to happen in streaks, sort of frequently and then not for months.
> My vet is very proactive, but never felt it necessary to investigate it further. Clearly he was right in her case, as she lived to almost 17 with no ill effects from it.


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## Sworona

I am just seeing these posts and would like to add that I also have a dog that has had numerous gulping episode, licks the floor, carpets and then begs to go outside to eat grass frantically. There are times where we are so terriibly worried about the amount of grass that she is eating but she parks herself down in the grass and refuses to budge. We have gone the ice cube route and basically have to just wait for the episodes to pass which can last from an hour or so to hours. It is very heartbreaking and painfully unbearable to watch. We have been to our Vet as well as to a Holistic Vet. Ww have tried and continue to use special foods, supplements, medicines and checked our dog for medical issues. No one seems to have any real answers and after reading numerous posts here and elsewhere I'm wondering why Vets have not studied this issue and can not support the needs of these dogs. There seems to be hundreds of us that are looking for answers. This is truly a terrible problem that I know I need more support than anyone has given us.


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## OscarsDad

Sworona said:


> I am just seeing these posts and would like to add that I also have a dog that has had numerous gulping episode, licks the floor, carpets and then begs to go outside to eat grass frantically. There are times where we are so terriibly worried about the amount of grass that she is eating but she parks herself down in the grass and refuses to budge. We have gone the ice cube route and basically have to just wait for the episodes to pass which can last from an hour or so to hours. It is very heartbreaking and painfully unbearable to watch. We have been to our Vet as well as to a Holistic Vet. Ww have tried and continue to use special foods, supplements, medicines and checked our dog for medical issues. No one seems to have any real answers and after reading numerous posts here and elsewhere I'm wondering why Vets have not studied this issue and can not support the needs of these dogs. There seems to be hundreds of us that are looking for answers. This is truly a terrible problem that I know I need more support than anyone has given us.


Is your dog on a systemic flea/tick preventative such as NextGard?


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## Sworona

She does not take Nexgard but wears the Seresto Collar.


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## OscarsDad

May be a long shot but we started Oskie on NextGard and for two days he would dash outside and frantically eat grass, which is something he NEVER does! It stopped after a few days but I thought I'd ask.


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## Sworona

Thank you for that tip. It is not one we have heard about. It can't hurt to take her off of it and try something different.


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## OscarsDad

Sworona said:


> Thank you for that tip. It is not one we have heard about. It can't hurt to take her off of it and try something different.


Or at least discuss with your vet.


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## Ally8462

SheetsSM said:


> search on the forum for "gulps" and "lick fits" My 11yr old has been doing this off & on for years, though in her case when it strikes it is accompanied by pica (metal, wood, carpet, material) anything she can consume she will. She's had multiple scopes, exploratory surgery, neurology consult, changes in diet, various meds for nausea & acid reflux & no specialist was able to explain why it happens or offer a remedy to relieve the symptoms when they occur other than to crate & wait it out or have her wear a basket muzzle. She currently takes cisapride & omeprazole as a preventative but she's had instances occur even on this regimen.


I realize the is a really old thread, but stumbled on it and my dog had the same thing - exactly down to the pica. I found a specialist that eventually diagnosed him with intestinal lyphangiectasia. We’ve had success keeping him in a low level steroid, hydrolized Protein dog food and a few other meds that include Omeprazole. He still has some symptoms as we work through the exact combination that ultimately works best, but his last full attack was 6 months ago.


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## eeerrrmmm1

My girl does this as well and I assumed it was brought on by post nasal drip dripping down her throat due to allergies. Started her on Loratadine (Claritin) 10mg (w/ the approval of her vet) and it stopped happening.


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## Keely

eeerrrmmm1 said:


> My girl does this as well and I assumed it was brought on by post nasal drip dripping down her throat due to allergies. Started her on Loratadine (Claritin) 10mg (w/ the approval of her vet) and it stopped happening.


Did you happen to take a video of your girl when she was doing this? My dog also does this and I have been treating it as acid reflux but am wondering if it could be post nasal drip.


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## eeerrrmmm1

Keely said:


> Did you happen to take a video of your girl when she was doing this? My dog also does this and I have been treating it as acid reflux but am wondering if it could be post nasal drip.


I didn’t record it. I’d describe it as distressed looking repeated swallowing / gulping. I’m not a fan of long term acid reduction treatment if it can be avoided because some negative consequences have come to light in humans recently. It remains to be seen if long term acid reducing meds can cause problems for dogs too but I’d talk to your vet about possibly discontinuing the acid reflux med and trying an allergy med for at least two weeks (newer allergy meds take a week or more to work). If the gulping instances return, I’d consider trying a different allergy med (loratadine, fexofenadine, cetirizine, whatever your vet recommends) - sometimes you have to try a couple different ones to find the one that works for you (or your dog). Another thing to note is that Luna also sometimes had a little bit of eye discharge (nothing concerning & vet confirmed most likely due to allergies) and that also went away w/ routine loratadine administration.


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## CCC

THIS IS ALLERGIES. IF YOU HAVE CERTAIN STRONG SMELLS SUCH AS tide< downey< air fresheners ETC AND / OR OTHER CLEANERS, THIS IS THE PROBLEM. Take these out of your home and the episodes will dissipate and your dog won't have these issues any longer. If they do a Benedryl will help until you take the dog to the vet and open the windows and use air purifiers to get rid of these synthetic fragrances.


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## Nakiabarnett

I am really happy to have found this forum as I have been so worried. 
my 10 month old Lucy has randomly started with this behaviour around 6 weeks ago and has hardly let up since. Every few days it continues to happen. 
she has had an X-ray before her spaying to Ensure there is nothing blocking her oesophagus and nothing has shown. The vet has put her on reflux medication and mentioned a diet change might help.
She does the exact same thing mentioned, continuously gulps and then tried to eat all the grass and leaves she can. She then vomits up the grass.
I don’t know whether this is a dietary problem or perhaps irritated throat as she chews on sticks and plastics if she gets her hands on them (I try to put everything away as much as possible)


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## jessej

Ally8462 said:


> I realize the is a really old thread, but stumbled on it and my dog had the same thing - exactly down to the pica. I found a specialist that eventually diagnosed him with intestinal lyphangiectasia. We’ve had success keeping him in a low level steroid, hydrolized Protein dog food and a few other meds that include Omeprazole. He still has some symptoms as we work through the exact combination that ultimately works best, but his last full attack was 6 months ago.


Reviving an old thread as we search for answers for our boy. Here is the thread I posted last week: Intermittent Bouts of Vomiting & Nausea + Gulping + Under Weight - Help!

A lot of interesting replies in this thread, and this one stood out to me because the last reply in my thread recommended the same exact treatment as you. Low-dose steroid for a few months + switching to HP-only diet. Our pup is also currently on Omeprazole.

Like many owners here, our puppy goes through gulping/swallowing bouts too-- sometimes accompanied by vomiting (which leads me to believe it's nausea, and sometimes no nausea and it just clears up. I also notice what seems to be excessive gas/burping sometimes too.) 

The gulping/swalloing fits put me on edge though, because I'm always worried they are going to lead him to vomiting, and he's already under weight. We've run lots of tests and everything keeps coming back normal too-- which is obviously great, but also frustrating because I want to help our boy and no vet/internist seems to be able to know what to do. It's also getting pricey at this point.

Ally, did your dog experience bouts of vomiting like ours by any chance? How are things going for your pup now. Is he still on the steroid and HP diet? Thanks!


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## George J

3 goldens said:


> I wish I had an answer for you but I do not. Could it possibly be some kind of seizure? I know there are all kinds in humans. My last golden had seizures, but involved her entire body. Or deid he eat something that he has an allergy to and it makes his mouth and throat feel funny to him. I truthfullydon't know, those are just the ideas that popped into myhead. But whatever, good luck with your handsome boy.


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## George J

goldenenthusiast said:


> I am really worried about my Golden. This has happened once before and it passed on its own, but this one seems worse than last time. I asked the vet what it was and she said she didn't know.
> 
> He was napping peacefully when suddenly I heard him start making weird noises. I saw him sitting up and looking at me while gulping/swallowing hard and licking his lips repeatedly. It almost looks like he is gagging or choking and wants to throw up, but no convulsions or vomit. He is also drooling profusely. In the absence of food I'm taking this as a sign of stress/pain. He has continued to do this over the last hour. It comes and goes in episodes. He repeatedly keeps trying to resume his nap, pacing around to different spots and laying down, but then after a few minutes will start gulping again. He seems really uncomfortable when this happens and hurries over to me, pressing himself as close to me as possible, looking at me for help. This is very unusual as he does not usually cuddle.
> 
> I attached a video. The gulping/swallowing motions in the video are not as "severe" as some of them. However I haven't been able to get a video of the severe gulping because he is trying to lean his whole body on me when this happens, poor guy.
> 
> I read online that the gulping could be acid reflux?? Does anyone have any experience with this?
> 
> Tonight:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Last time:


There is a study done by the GRCA that may prove helpfulSwallowing Problems - Golden Retriever Club of America


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