[Madison V]

My Wheaton was doing exactly this type of gulping. She would vomit white foam and swallow anything in her path. As a result, she injested part of a rug and some of her bedding. The vet ruled everything out and assumed they were seizure related. I noted that these episodes would occur after applying the tick and flea med, frontline. It can cause seizures in dogs. I put her on pheno and it did help for a few years. She was laid to rest in 2013. I’ll pray for your dog. This is such a stressful and strange health issue. Vets don’t seem to know what it is.

[Madison V]

Hi Joan,
Glad to hear you found something to curb your dog’s gulping episodes. My dog’s episodes were unpredictable and she would at times have them when I wasn’t around. She’s had episodes at the groomers and even while in a crate at the veterinary ER. While in the crate at the ER she had an IV and bandage around her leg. During an episode, while in the crate (unsupervised) she ate the IV needle and the bandages. I didn’t realized this happened until I took her home and she vomited it all back up. I was horrified. The worst part was that the ER Vet never told me it occurred and just put another IV in her leg. I couldn’t be with her 24/7 and crating her at home caused her so much stress that it would trigger an episode. She’d have them in the middle of the night, while on walks at the park, and even while my parents would watch her while I was away. She was clearly terrified by what was happening and there was nothing I could do to stop the episodes. One time during an episode I did crate her (to keep her safe) she proceeded to gasp for air, vomit profusely, and it a state of sheer panic broke a tooth trying to exit the crate. I couldn’t bare put her through anymore and I’m glad she’s at peace. Best of luck to you and your dog. Someday, I hope a solution is found to stop the episodes.

• This reply was modified 7 years, 3 months ago by Madison V.

[Madison V]

My sweet wheaten terrier suffered from the same mysterious symptoms for about three years before I put her to sleep because the symptoms were distressing to her and the vet tried everything they possibly could. For two years I tried different things with her: Pepcid, gas x, and she had her blood tested numerous times. Nothing was ever found. She “appeared” to be a healthy 4 year old. I changed her diet to boiled chicken and rice and never gave her any additional treats. I never did try the seizure medication. The vet thought it was a seizure disorder. It would start out of the blue: frantic gulping, wrenching, vomiting white foam, and the worst part was that she consumed ANYTHING in her path. There were two times when she ingested something that caused an intestinal blockage that involved two ER visits with extensive stays. The scariest thing occurred when she was overnight at the ER, inside her kennel. She had an IV in her leg and ATE the IV needle and all the gauze. She vomited it up hours later. She must have had an episode while there…alone and scared out of her mind. It was so traumatizing for both her and I. I didn’t know what else to do, so I sadly said goodbye to her and laid her to rest.
It was four years ago, I think about her every day. I can’t believe after all these years that the vet’s still have no clue as to how to treat these episodes. One thing I did think about was the correlation between applying frontline and the occurrence of yet another gulping episode. Frontline now states that their product can cause seizures in dogs. Perhaps you should see if that could be the culprit. I wished I had tried that….

• This reply was modified 7 years, 6 months ago by Madison V.

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