Hi Molzy,
I don’t know if you came across this as possibly being a seizure disorder but I found a few references describing behavior like you are seeing that were diagnosed as a form of seizure. You may want to ask your vet about this.
“Clinical signs commonly associated with sialadenosis included retching and gulping…… Response to treatment with phenobarbital was rapid, although most dogs required continuous treatment to prevent recurrence of clinical signs.”
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22570898
The dogās pupils were dilated, and it protruded and retracted its tongue frequently while swallowing or gulping(āgluggingā). The dog ingested clumps of hair and other debris lying on the floor and tore up and ingested a portion of the linoleum flooring in the kitchen.
Bouts of the behavior had increased in frequency in the 2 months preceding examination and
tended to occur in the evening….. provisional diagnosis of partial seizure disorder was made on the basis of the clinical signs.
http://avmajournals.avma.org/doi/pdf/10.2460/javma.2004.225.1339
Hope this helps Good Luck
