[joan r]

I know exactly what you are talking about. My golden retriever has had these episodes for years now. After three surgeries my vet advised me to crate him when I am not home. He still has the gulping and incessant licking occasionally but he is in a crate, without a pad, when he is alone. He won’t ingest anything (clothing, carpets, leashes etc.) when I am there.
He is on medications and has been for , at least, 5 years. It hasn’t gone away.
He has had every test and none of my vets can figure it out.
If you want to know the medications he is on, let me know.
Good luck!

[joan r]

I feel for you. My golden started this at 4 years of age. But I relate to your emergency visits and surgeries that your dog needed as did mine for eating anything he could see including my sweaters, carpets etc. It seems the swallowing and gulping came first so if I am not at home I put him in a crate without a dog bed. I have done this for the past year and although he has episodes from time to time , he will not randomly eat if he knows that I am here.
He has been on erythromycin, pepsid, and cisapride for years now. Don’t know for sure if it helps but am scared to take him off of it.
He just turned 11……….I never thought he would make it to 11 so I got a puppy a couple of years ago and my older golden is as happy as he has ever been.
The few times I have seen him do the gulping, I give him Sucralfate mushed up with water and in a syringe.
He had 3 surgeries because of the items he ate that got blocked up in his intestine.
I am sorry you had to put your dog to sleep. It is so hard to watch this gulping-swallowing episodes and we may never know why they happen. But for me the key thing , for me, was keeping him in a crate, when I was not at home so he could not eat things .
The crate costs a lot less than the surgeries!
I haven’t experienced any seizures when this happens and my vet hesitated to put him on seizure meds as well as long term metronaidazol.
I hope this helps someone out there. I felt so alone until I found this website.

[joan r]

thank you, Jenni M…………………………Did your doberman eat everything in sight when these episodes occur?………..My golden was lucky not to have another emergency surgery to take out the blouse and sweater he ate………..they got it out with a scope………..when I am not home now, I have to crate him and it is so sad. I am going to try your suggestions……..I am beginning to believe it is neurological.
Please keep me posted.

[joan r]

Thank you, Susan. He has been on HIll’s canned ID and WD food for the past 5 years. He doesn’t do well on the zd………….gives him very loose stools…………….but as I am reading the forum responses, I am getting less stuck on the idea it has something to do with the food. Afterall, it happens randomly………..he can be fine for a month and then all of a sudden out of the blue he has an episode…………..it is still a mystery to me. Just doesn’t make sense but thank you for your advice and let’s keep in touch!
Joan

[joan r]

Just found this forum……….So relieved that I am not the only one with this weird problem.
My 10 year old Golden has been dealing with this for about 2 years now. We have done the Cerenia, peptid, cisapride, erythromycin on a daily basis with meals but nothing really stops this “thing” from coming back eventually. I am so frustrated because it is so hard to watch.
He, too, has a UTI that has been hard to get rid of.
Did the endoscopy and they took out some carpet. Then emergency surgery for a foreign material in his abdomen because when this does come on he will chew anything.
Any help would be appreciated.

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