My dog has had bouts of this too… frantically trying to get outside to eat grass until he threw up… gulping, bobbing, licking. First I found that it was primarily due to his collar. I removed it entirely and only use a harness. I know you said that you use a harness or gentle leader for walking but he wears a collar outside. Why don’t you try switching to a harness all of the time and see if you have any improvement? We have a cord (2 connected actually– you can get at home depot) that we have around a tree and connect it to his chest harness. That had the symptoms improve tremendously. It can also occur when he eats certain harder treats. I only give him soft chew treats and bully sticks now. The bully sticks don’t bother him. When he has an episode (which is very rare now), I give him a Pepcid once or twice a day with his food (for acid which can also irritate his trachea). My dog is about 45 pds so one tablet is his dose. Some dogs have very sensitive tracheas. If he had any damage to that area (choke collars, mean owners who pull by collar) or any hereditary condition, that may add to the problem. There is actually a Facebook page for Gulping Dogs! Not that much information, but you are not alone! Good luck!
1 month, 2 weeks ago
