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419792 tn?1208270826

Swallowing Hard

Last night before bed my dog (shes 1 year old) randomly started swallowing really hard like something was stuck in her jaw/throat. We checked and there was nothing that we could see, but she was constantly licking her lips/paws/floor, swallowing hard (u could feel it in her stomach) and her throat seems to almost have a swollen lump in it....it probably lasted 10 minutes, after she had a drink of water everything was fine.
Then the same thing happened again today about 30 mins after she had eaten her food (same dog food shes always eaten) she didn't swallow anything, she was playing with one of her toys (i was watching her) she spit it out and started the same behaviour. I thought she was choking on something from the toy so I immediately checked her air way, her jaw was hard to open but i got it open pulled her tongue (it was jammed against the back so u had to pull it down to see) so we could check her airway and it was clear. I checked her toy and there was no parts off of it. So it seems like it just randomly started this time it lasted about an hour. Obviously I called the vet in this time, he advised me that "she probably has a bad taste in her mouth just to let her drink water, maybe give her a fave treat and make sure to check the house for objects on the floor she might be eating."
I was kinda annoyed with this answer but she had stopped so I got her to drink some more water and gave her a treat like he said. About 20 mins later, it starts again, she was sitting on my lap when it started, I know she didn't eat anything.  This time her breathing seemed harder. It seems to have stopped now, but obviously I'm pretty worried.
So any suggestions? Am I over-worrying?
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13571315 tn?1430543048
My beagle will all of sudden start swallowing and swallowing really hard like he has something stuck in his throat. Then he runs around trying to eat my house plants. Why is he doing this ? Please give me some clue.  He will eventually stop the swallowing episode and has never vomited afterward. And may not have another episode again for months. But may do it 2 or 3 times in one week. Really weird.
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1 Comments
Did you ever find out what this was?  My Boxer is doing the exact same thing.
675347 tn?1365460645
COMMUNITY LEADER
That is not a satisfactory answer from your vet. I can understand those ideas running through his mind, but to just dismiss you and the dog with those words isn't good enough. He should have followed up with something else, especially as these episodes are repeating frequently.

I honestly don't know what could cause what's going on with her. But no, you are not "over-worrying". I would be concerned too if that happened to my dog so frequently.

it IS just possible that it was a nausea attack....you said you could feel some strain in her stomach?
It's also possible that some food did get stuck in her esophagus on the way down.

What does she eat? Dry food mainly?

It might be interesting to try feeding her some soft home cooked food for a few days to see if that makes any difference.
(Always be mindful of course of any more "attacks" like this, and if you are any way uncomfortable take her straight away to the vet. If you are unhappy with your vet, choose a new one)

You could try some boiled chicken, fish, or other meat which suits her (chicken and fish might be good to start with but please do remove ANY bones even tiny ones first.) Make sure it's well simmered, and maybe some vegetables added such as small pieces of broccoli or green beans or carrots etc. Make sure the vegetables are soft enough that a sharp knife will easily go through a piece. So they are not too hard. Mix this with some boiled rice, potatoes, or Millet, or Quinoa. You could add a little unsalted gravy too?
See how she is with the softer food.

That might not be anything to do with it and there might be a physical cause that needs investigation, so monitor her carefully.
Helpful - 0
1 Comments
I cannot believe I have answered on this terribly old thread! It is almost impossible to tell sometimes what is going on with the "new system"! Or else my powers of obervation need an overhaul!
(probably the latter....)
13490901 tn?1430183013
when your baby goes threw the licking fits please try a tablespoon of pure LOCAL honey!!! It should help within a minute.
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Avatar universal
This used to happen to my Golden Retriever all the time. The symptoms would surface and she would beg to go outside so she could eat grass and/or lick rough surfaces (trees, etc). It seemed as if her throat was itchy or possibly swelling due to allergies. She seemed almost panicked like she wasn't breathing as well or something. It would eventually stop but continued to happen time and time again. We started giving her  Benadryl regularly and the symptoms disappeared. I later read an article about food allergies that matched my dog's symptoms. I switched her food about 6 months ago and all allergy related symptoms are gone (no Benedryl needed anymore), her coat is more healthy, and she doesn't seem as lethargic. It's amazing to me. The link to the article is posted below. I did some more research and found that many others have had similar success. The article is written specifically for Golden's but my understanding is that this applies to many breeds. Hope this helps.
http://pets1st.com/articles/00021howtofeedagoldenretriever.asp
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Avatar universal
Did you ever figure out what was going on? My pit bull american bulldog mix does the same thing. She pretty much inhales anything that is in her path. The situation is very bizarre and upsetting.  
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Avatar universal
My dog was doing this, walking up swollowing & swollowing, I found out that it was stomach Acid, & it comes up into their throats, burning & leaving a bad taste in their mouths.... either change their diets & get a lower fat% diet, Ive been giving Zantac 1/3 tablet for a 16 kilo dog 1 hour before food every 12 hours only, this has helped also a small meal befeore bed afound 9-10pm this lines their stomach stopping the acid burning their stomach & coming up into mouth..
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Avatar universal
Your dog may have an ear infection or fungus in the ears.  You can purchase over the counter or online,  malacetic ultra for dogs.  It is an ear cleaner. It will cleanse and dry, has antimicrobial properties, anti-inflammatory and anti fungal.  Check dogs ears. Lay dog on side, look in her or his ears and see if there is any brown, black or golden stuff.  If so, shake the malacetic ultra well, squirt small amount into ears, massage ears so liquid goes down into ears, take a q tip and GENTLY, with the cotton tip of the q tip, wipe the black, brown or golden stuff out of their ears.  when ears look clean, massage a bit more.  When dog sits up he or she will shake her head and some of the liquid will come out so careful.  Then lay the dog down and do the same to her or his other ear.  REMEMBER, BE VERY GENTLE, YOU DON'T WANT TO HURT THE DOG.  
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Avatar universal
I'm in the uk... My dog started to do this weird extreme swallowing, gagging, today. She has thrown up all of her food today, she has eaten so much grass. It's like she has something stuck in her throat. She has been pretty freaked out about it.
Took her to the vets tonight. She was a lot calmer when we got there, so I think he thought we were neurotic owners! However he gave her an  injection to soothe her stomach and a mild sedative to calm her, she is a sensitive dog.
After a bit of sleep, she's  back to the wild gulping. She too keeps licking stuff, I'm sure she'd be out there eating grass if I let her.
I wonder if it's an allergy to grasses, or getting barley type grasses stuck in her throat? But most worrying is that the symptoms all sound very similar to those that you're all describing.
I so hope it's not long term, she has been the most perfect dog. Amazing behaviour, so intelligent, responsive to us, awesome. She has just turned two years old. I can't bear it if there's something wrong long term. She's so tired now, she just wants to rest poor thing.
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Avatar universal
I'm in the uk... My dog started to do this weird extreme swallowing, gagging, today. She has thrown up all of her food today, she has eaten so much grass. It's like she has something stuck in her throat. She has been pretty freaked out about it.
Took her to the vets tonight. She was a lot calmer when we got there, so I think he thought we were neurotic owners! However he gave her an  injection to soothe her stomach and a mild sedative to calm her, she is a sensitive dog.
After a bit of sleep, she's  back to the wild gulping. She too keeps licking stuff, I'm sure she'd be out there eating grass if I let her.
I wonder if it's an allergy to grasses, or getting barley type grasses stuck in her throat? But most worrying is that the symptoms all sound very similar to those that you're all describing.
I so hope it's not long term, she has been the most perfect dog. Amazing behaviour, so intelligent, responsive to us, awesome. She has just turned two years old. I can't bear it if there's something wrong long term. She's so tired now, she just wants to rest poor thing.
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9038506 tn?1401319233
hey my friend
how is your baby?
my baby has  same problem .
i don't know how to deal with it. please let me know.
thanks a millions.
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9038506 tn?1401319233
hello. i have lhasa also almost 3 years. started same problem ( licking everything like floor , and eating whatever she see and licking air and wallowing hard ) from december. i make a trip for our anniversary to Las Vegas. i cancelled all and went to emergency vet. they can't say anything about it. i am still finding solution. so now i think it will acid reflux , then i think mega esophagus, now i am thinking it will be post nasal drip??? my husband and i have no baby, she is my baby. i can spend a lot money to her . but Vet  can't give the reason even after x ray and everything.
i am so worried.
any idea how to deal with post nasal drip???
thanks a lot all you guys.
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Avatar universal
What did your vet say?
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Avatar universal
My Rottie, had an episode of swallowing hard and licking the floor constantly for about 20 minutes earlier today.  She will be 4 the end of June and this is the first time I have seen this happen.  I got on the floor with her and held her head up but as soon as I let go she immediately started licking the carpet again.  I gave some water, which did nothing.  I got back on the floor with her and started massaging her and talking to her softly, letting her know it was ok.  This seemed to help.  She is now sleeping by my feet, no swalling hard or licking.  She went outside potty, came back in and played with some of her toys with me before she fell asleep.  I have been suspicious that she may have food allergies due to itchy ears, biting her paws, and a lot of scratching along with occasional vomiting.  I switched her to Blue Basics and the scratching and biting is better and no vomiting since I switched her over to the Blue about 10 days ago.  This was the first episode of licking I have experienced and due to the extreme cold weather we are having it could possibly have something to do with sore throat, post nasal drip or something like that.  I do maintain health insurance for her and will bring it up to her vet when we see her next week ... As long as there are no more episodes prior to then.  She will be going in for her teeth cleaning so maybe she does have tonsillitis or a sore throat.  Hopefully it is nothing more.  I will keep everyone posted.
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Avatar universal
Just wanted to follow up. My dog kept on with the hard swallowing all night.  She never showed herself to be in distress. Rather, you could tell she did not like having to swallow like that.  It made her uncomfortable.  We went to bed where it persisted.  She made attempts to put her head down and go to sleep, a few times waking up and coughing, perhaps from accumulated saliva.  She never became distressed.

By 7:00 the next morning, she woke up and everything was fine.  Not one issue or recurrence.

When I got to work, a number of coworkers said their dogs go through these types of bouts.  All say it happens when their dog eats a coarse edged object.  It is possible my dog ate a sharp pine cone during our walk. Or maybe a perwinkle shell.  

I guess the esophagus gets irriated from an abrasion and that sets off the almost reflexive desire in the dog to clear their throat.

Anyway, I just wanted to circle back and indicate that all is fine.  I sure hope other dog owners who go through this stressful ordeal are fortunate enough to have the same time of abatement of symptoms as my dog did.
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Avatar universal
I feel so relieved that I have found this board.  I have been dealing with the hard swallowing for 2.5 years with my poodle mix..to be honest I think it might be the reason he ended up at the shelter.  His episodes sometimes last 24 hours and they are quite bothersome to him.  I have spent well over 5,000.00 trying to diagnose this with three different vets.  He sees an acupuncturist bc I was so desperate for some sort of relief.  She actually did put him on some herbs that seem to make a slight difference but nobody has been able to solve this.  I think they all thought I was nuts until I brought a video of him doing it-finally they realized what I was talking about.  The thing about this swallowing is if I take him for a ride in the car or a long walk, he'll stop.  As soon as he is sitting quietly it will start up again during his episodes.  He has eaten parts of sheets, his hair, my hair, pajamas..basically anything he can get his mouth on.  I almost can't contain myself, I get sick to my stomach when this goes on.  We notice that he wants to eat when all of this goes on but we do think that somehow it is related to his stomach and acid reflux.  The holistic vet did think that it was acid moving up this throat and bothering him, she told us to also give him pepcid and protein while this goes on but they don't seem to help.  The only thing that works is riding it out but it's just so upsetting to watch it go on.  He is on an all natural, grain free, semi raw diet from a top notch food company, we have seen some improvement in his overall health but nothing significant in terms of ending these episodes.  
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Avatar universal
I just took my dog out for a walk this evening and she started this hard swallowing as if she has something stuck in her throat.  I could not see anything.  She is breathing fine.  It is cold out tonight, maybe 33 - 36 degrees.  She wears a harness where the leash hooks on the back.  She walked with our beagle.  Both walk side by side.  I couldn't tell if she ate anything off the ground.  She just turned 2 years old on Oct. 28th.  She is perfectly healthy and spry and active.  

When I got her home, she stuck close to me.  Still swallowing hard.  I gave her some soft treats and she drank a little water.  She is sticking close to my wife and me.  My wife just took her down to the yard to see if she would eat some grass.  She did not do anything but sit there.

They just came and she is still swallowing.  She is alert, looking around, tail wags to normal stimulus.  We are going to give her a milk bone and see if that does anything.

Like posts above, I hate to take her to the vet only to get a high dollar bill and no diagnosis or solution.  She is eating her milkbone now. This swallowing thing is weird.  It just started out of the blue on the walk.  Now going on 25 minutes.

She does not look to be in distress.  It is me and my wife who are distressed. Thought it seems that she is aware that the swallowing is not pleasant.  If she is doing this in the morning, I will take her to the vet.  It is now 9:51 PM ET.  I would be so happy if she vomited or something.

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Avatar universal
We have resigned that the vets don't know what this is,  I have Changed Oz's food to a raw diet and have seen huge improvements. Oz is still eating some kibble but only as a free range, if he might still be a bit hungry after eating the raw food. his coat is beautiful he is itching less he still has some post nasal drip. he has not had an attack all summer. We are heading into the fall season and Oz's ears are itching again. and he is barking at nothing. This tells me he needs to have his ears cleaned out and maybe a course of a week or so on the Benadral. Oz no longer has massive attacks but much milder attacks, that include licking the air. I put him on Benadral immediately when this happens. I check and clean his ears and this goes away.
So my conclusion is that dog food companies have started putting things in the food to help dogs such as joint remedies, eye health, ect. but either the amount of chemical is too high or some dogs are just allergic to what ever this chemical is. A little side bar note I tried to take a joint health remedy for myself, I got a form of hives. I am allergic to something in this product. Maybe dogs can be too
I am finding after trying many dog foods for my dog Oz's problem remained. Some worse, some not as bad. this could be mold in the food or chemicals. Many of the dog foods I have tried are high end and all of them have had a recalls at some time or another. Each for different things. So trusting dog food companies totally may not be an option. Even if you start a raw program one of your ingredients could get recalled but I think you have a better chance with making the food yourself. Each course of dog food I that I make I add another ingredient. Example: First I started with ground meat, hamburger. The next batch I add Sweet potatoes, next batch I add green beens to the other ingredients, then turkey on up to where we are at now. Hamburger, turkey,sweet potato, green beens or peas, carrots,apples, spinach, arugula.yogurt, ground flax seed and flax seed oil. Soon I can add dark meats, and bone meats and organic vitiamins to his diet and he will be off kibble. start slow so you can see if there is any improvements or problems and you dog can ease into the diet without many problems The cost is about the same as high end kibble.
Oz still has bad breath even though we brush his teeth. I can assume that the kibble is still affecting his sinuses. I assume the worse the breath, the worse the problem. I have notice if Oz is more hungry and eats more kibble he has more problems.
I am not a doctor, Doctors seem to be baffled by this, as am I, but I am seeing improvements. My dog has no longer stopped eating he loves his food.  his weight has improved. In fact I was away for two weeks and my husband told me Oz never stopped eating while I was away. This is a first with this dog, who pines away for me when I leave him. I recommend that you start slowly looking at each thing your dog is eating. Oz is no longer on any chewable teeth bones. Instead he is on a real raw cow bone. We saw the biggest improvement when we removed all of these from his diet. Even though many were made in America some of the ingredients came from elsewhere. sticks, raw bones and made in America rope toys are all good options. By the way Chobani yogurt was recalled 2 weeks ago the recall did not include the yogurt I had used in making Oz's food last month. Whew! It just goes to show you nothing in the food supply is safe. I make a month and a half supply. I make the food divide it into 1/2 cup patties freeze them separately on a cookie sheets Place the patties when frozen in a week supply baggy. I take out two paddies every evening and Oz get one in the morning one at night. you have other options like trying different dog foods, the more pure the food the better. This does not mean you have to by more expensive food unless you have tried all the ones in the same price bracket and have had no luck, move up a price point and try these. I hope this helps you, this is what has helped me so far I will write further if I see any change. good luck
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6107910 tn?1379194797
hi, did you find out anything more on this?   This is the 3rd beagle that has this same thing - she had not had an espisode in awhile - last night and today she had one - today she had not gotten rid of it.   $111.00 later after another vet who said they never heard of this - anti-flamatory pills and told to take beneadryl.   Also said to try throat stuff for cat (fur balls)   Tried all 3 of these things - just got back from a walk and back to square one.     Allergies got to play in this.     After an episode she is always super congested.
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Avatar universal
My lhasa x bichon has had an episode tonight,started bout 12.30am and shes just settling now,have read many forums including this 1 i think id go along with gastro/heartburn. Shes been swallowing hard and licking madly,she'l eat anything. Im going to invest in some Pepto Bismol tomorrow for indigestion and try that if theres a next time...i know its safe for dogs as my vet said to use it for my old dog when hs medication was causing tummy upsets. Shes fallen asleep now next to me on sofaim scared to move her incase it sets her off again....
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Avatar universal
He is not drinking either however much I try
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Avatar universal
My dog is doing the same thing, I looked on your post for advice but it didn't I'm very worried about him. He keeps liking himself and the floor a lot and keeps scratching like crazy.This is not like him if you find out why your dog's are doing this wired behaviour please may you tell me. Thanks Alice
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Avatar universal
Hi

My dog has just done the same as your pooch and it is very upsetting .... but... I don't think my dog is as upset as me (or you), He has had this before, about 6/7 times and the first time it happened I thought he was fitting.  I was absolutely panicking and thought I should phone the vet, but he got over it and I forgot all about it to be honest.  Today was definitely the worst episode he has had and he just wants to be next to me whilst it's going on, so I soothe him and talk in a low voice and just stroke him until it stops.He's asleep now, as I think it makes him tired, and lying very close to me, but that's ok with me.  I really don't think it's anything dangerous or nasty, but I would like to know what causes it.
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Avatar universal
I cannot thank you enough for this posting and all the others up to April 2013.  My bullterrier aged 1 year started with this symptoms last night and I was petrified - she off course more. Sincerely, Poppie and bully girl Bianca ♥
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Avatar universal
My dog is going through this for the 1st time right now & I am FREAKING out but remaining calm for her. I too called my vet & he was asleep as it was 1:30 am, now is 2:50 am & it is still going on. She is so restless & licking everything, especially under the couches, dressers, tables & anywhere there is dust & crap. I have been trying everything to sooth her, excessively, but nothing works longer than a few minutes & then she needs to get up & pace & lick again. The vet said she is just irritated & likely got into something while out side for her bed time pee & that she is just going to puke. She has puked before but NEVER had behavior like this EVER!! She is licking the air too & when I looked on line, after my frustrations with the call to the vet, all I can see for very fitting answers is that she is having a seizure!!!! All the symptoms match & so do most al of yours & yet none of you seem to have mentioned that as something you found on line too? When I typed in excessive dog licking every link I had come up was about seizures!! I am so scared & I am praying this will soon stop...and never happen again & she is my sweet sweet girl, like my daughter & it is killing me seeing her go through this & I feel so helpless. The vet didn't seem like I was welcome to call back if it didn't stop or if she didn't puke & so I am torn as he is the only one on call for tonight, now 3 am & my vet doesn't open until 8 am. I hope you all found the answers you are looking for as too do I hope I do as well. All the best to you all & your sweet babies. My sweet Harley is so tired right now but she can't stop pacing & licking, almost 2 straight hours now.
Harley's Concerned Mommy...XOX My Sweet Girl
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