[Jesse M]

First – thank you to everyone who has shared their story! This forum provided us with a great collection of tips and tricks. Our dog is a 6 year old hound/lab mix who has had the exact same issue so many of you described here – frantic gulping, licking the air, trying to eat ANYTHING (and normally never bothers things she shouldn’t), and just generally panicking. It seems like this happens in the morning or around bedtime.

The first episode occurred about 3 years ago and on average happened 1 time per year. However, in the last month it has happened at least once a week, sometimes more. Nothing changed in her food or routine that we can determine to cause that shift. My best guess is that she is just getting older.

The worst was an all night issue – after which we took her to the vet. He didn’t seem to have much to offer in terms of an explanation but did give us sucralfate, which seems like it helps somewhat during episodes. He also recommended Pepcid AC. Of course, I wanted more answers and came across this forum. From some of your recommendations, we started feeding 4 small meals per day, and 10mg of Pepcid AC Complete (recommended by someone here since the Complete version has Magnesium). Four days went by without issue, but yesterday she didn’t get her small meals (only two normal) and started to have an episode about 9:45pm. I first gave her the sucralfate and then as someone else said here, I was able to convince her to eat some kibble out of my hands (around three handfuls) and it helped IMMEDIATELY. I then gave her a small amount in her bowl which she ate right away and seemed completely fine after.

I just wanted to thank everyone and share our own story as well.

It really does seem to be a stomach acid issue? Does anyone have a recommendation for a timed feeder so I can ensure she gets her small meals throughout the day?

Also – in terms of the Pepcid, when should I give that to her? I am currently including it in her food but I’m not sure if I should aim to give her that not with a meal.

• This reply was modified 10 years, 4 months ago by Jesse M.