My dog keeps choking!

[hectorhope]

My dog is coming up to 11 and a half, hes a black labrador and is quite healthy. Lately, I'd say over the past 3 months, hes been randomly choking. When I say randomly I mean even hours after having eating. Hes usually lying down when it happens but I haven't noticed this as a specific pattern. Often when this 'choking' occurs it looks as though he can't get something out of his throat, I often hit or rub his back to help him and it really worrys me. But nothing ever comes up like sick, food, or something he could have eaten off the ground. I'm very concerned ad hes very old now and I fear the worst. Any suggestions as to what this could be would be really helpful!

[cpuretopaz43]

Our Pugsley has been doing this. We ran the gambit of tests. He has pulmonary disease. Pookie is 13. He will be 14 in January so we know we are walking on borrowed time.
Two Sundays in a row, there have been situations where he has been chocking. Once on his dinner and the other on some regurgitation he could not get up. Both times if it wouldn't have been for the quick thinking of my husband we would have lost him. My question is , I already know we are dealing with a narrowed trachea. But does the esophagus narrow as well as they get older?  I know that becomes an issue as humans get older. The esophagus becomes less pliable and narrows. Does anyone know?
Like I said, I know my baby is getting older. Our time is borrowed. We just pray for mercy and grace.

[toots322]

my dog was doing the same thing recently while out walking him i thought he put something in his mouth he didnt but what i found was a stick lodged on the roof of his mouth perfectly fitting molar on one side to the other                  also before this he was gagging the vet tech said its almost like a reverse sneeze whats happening is his uvila is kind of getting stuck they told me to stick two fingers along  his tongue to the backand kind of roll your fingers from uvila releasing it and run your fingers on roof of mouth then out hope this helps its scary

[B4eyeSleep]

I had the same behavior from my Yorkie.  I took her to the vet and they said she had emphysema and I might want to start thinking about putting her to sleep as she is 15 years old.  I took her home, googled dog, cough, choke, breathing, emphysema and it kept coming up with this stuff called K9 Defense.  I ordered it from Amazon for a little cheaper than the distributor.  It was $38 for the tiniest bottle.  It's a homeopathic antibiotic for dogs, designed to treat kennel cough.  I put a little pinch of these tiny white pellets on a piece of cheese and feed it to her once a day.  She used to cough, hack and choke at least 10 times a day.  Now that she's been on this stuff for a week, she's stopped completely.  She is more energetic and feisty like when she was a puppy.  Hope this helps some of you.  I know it can be more serious things, but if the vet has ruled out heart worms and CHF, it might be that you can at least alleviate the symptoms with this kennel cough treatment. :D

[jodeysullivan]

it's called KC defense by petalive.com and the price has dropped to $21.39/bottle.  I ordered  three.

[jkfrench]

Yes we had an ekg done as well.  I thought for sure it was CHF.  But it wasn't.  He did have a slight arrythmia (pvcs) but she didn't think that would have caused the cough.  Turns out, it is probably that little mass on the lung.  We have had it xrayed twice since then, and it hasn't grown.
Jodie

[Misfits4Me]

Hello & welcome.....You need to rule out Heartworm Disease if you haven't already...Next would be CHF (Congestive Heart Failure). Both of these will cause the cough you describe.....Both are also treatable......Have him checked out as so as you can...Treatment works well if caught early.....Good luck and come back with updates........Karla

[jodeysullivan]

my black lab has been doing this for almost a year but he doesn't have heartworms and his heart checks out and is very strong.  he is approaching 13years old and I'm so worried about him.  lately, he can't get it under control. any other suggestions?

[jkfrench]

HI,
My golden started doing that as well.  He is 12 years old.  Very random and it is like he is trying to get something out of his throat.  We took him to the vet, had a senior profile done (came back great) and xrays.  The xray showed a small mass in his lung.  We don't know if it is cancer and plan to just watch it with xrays every 6 weeks because there really wouldn't be anything we could do at his age, other than remove his lung.  The doctor thinks the mass might be "tickling" him and that is what causes him to cough.  Again, it is very small and she said that she has seen these in older dogs.  They can grow very slowly.  So slowly that she said she has seen them pass away of other things other than the mass.  It is so hard.  I just want to keep him happy and for now he is.  He still plays ball and eats great.  Just this cough/choke thing now and then (but every day).  Good luck.  Maybe an xray and ultra sound will help solve the problem.
Jodie