Cassie, one of my dogs developed a gulping/coughing/gagging sound that happened any time, day or night, with no rhyme or reason. It got so bad that he began vomiting whenever it would happen. We, too, went to vets, specialists, did X-rays, bloodwork, scopes etc. They said it was IBD. I disagreed and consulted another vet, who suggested we take him OFF the acid reducers and try something else as he felt the dog had a horrible case of GERD (acid reflux) that had gone out of control, and damaged his stomach lining as well as his esophagus. His problem was he didn’t have *enough* stomach acid, so the acid reducers were covering up the symptoms temporarily, and making the actual problem worse and the lack of stomach acid explained why he was unable to eat anything I gave him without throwing it up during times he was having an episode. The vet prescribed few key supplements, a few homeopathic remedies, and helped me devise a meal plan of cooked food for him to make myself while we helped his gut heal. The vet did advise me, as he apparently advises anyone with a dog that has any kind of stomach problems, that smaller meals are key and larger meals should be avoided. He also suggested I re-seed his gut with good bacteria via probiotics, and make bone broth from organically raised chicken legs and give him several tablespoons per day (lots of naturally occurring L-glutamine that helps heal and seal that gut.)
