# Gagging and retching



## BarneyBoy (Apr 5, 2013)

Hi everyone

Our 18 month old Male Havvy seems to on occasion gag/retch now and again. He sort of huffs then gags , then sometimes a bit of stomach bile comes up and sometimes nothing at all.

Other than that he is normal and we have not noticed any other symptoms.

It can happen once a day or on and off for 30 minutes. Then he can go for days without doing it at all. 

Just checking if this is pretty normal? He doe slick a lot and like most dogs eats just about anything he can find thats interesting or smells good. We wondered if it's fur balls as he does lick his feet a lot.

Today he only did it once, and his appetite is very healthy indeed.

Yesterday he did not do it at all. Two days ago he had a 30 minute gagging episode which resulted in some small pools of bile all over the house. then he was ok after that.

He has done it most of his life on and off. Not too worried at the moment as he seems fine otherwise.

Any feedback appreciated

cheers


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## sandypaws (Aug 8, 2012)

When I take Tyler for walks in the spring, he will gag/retch, then spit up a little dollop of mucous. He never does it, however, for as long as 30 minutes. It seemed to be a couple of times and then it was over. Sometimes it would happen a couple of more times when we came in the house after the walk. In fact, he did it yesterday on our morning walk. I always attributed it to a seasonal allergy and the pollen he was inhaling on our walks. By your mentioning that Barney licks his feet a lot, it could be allergy related. My other Hav, Bailey, definitely had seasonal allergies and would lick and chew his feet constantly in the spring, summer and fall. In his case, it was the pollen in the grass. Perhaps a visit to the vet with Barney will relieve your mind. Hope he's better.


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## krandall (Jun 11, 2009)

It doesn't sound right to me, I'd at least check in with the vert. My brother's dog doesn't do well with an empty stomach, so will upchuck bile if he doesn't have SOMETHING in his stomach. They have dealt with it by giving him a Milk Bone (I know, not great nutrition, but it seems to work for them) mid-day, and then another just before bed. He has his meals at 6 AM and 6 PM. That has COMPLETELY solved the problem.

If it's an allergy, though, (which is also a good possibility) you'll need to do some sleuth work. Lots of dogs have a wheat intolerance, in which case, you CERTAINLY wouldn't want to give them a Milk Bone. (which is pretty much a big, hard cracker)

Kodi has an allergy to mildew in wet grass which causes him to lick his feet and the base of his tail. (although it has never made him retch) The vet gave us two additives for his drinking water, one for dust and molds which we use in the winter, and one for weeds and grasses that we sue in the summer. These have to be used every day, year round, but work like a very mild version of allergy shots, where they expose the dog to TINY amounts of the allergen over a long period, so that they build up a tolerance. She warned me that it tended to work well with dogs with mild allergies, but usually wasn't enough in the case of severe allergies. It has worked beautifully with Kodi. He went NUTS itching last spring, and this spring he has been mostly fine. On the few occasions where the allergies seem to break through, I give him Benadryl twice a day (on the vet's advice) until he seems to be past it.


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## Molly120213 (Jan 22, 2014)

My Bichon used to do this a lot. It always happened when she went too long without eating and her stomach was empty. I divided her daily food into 3 meals so she could always have a little something to eat midday. This seemed to help.


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## Colbie (Feb 9, 2013)

Colbie use to do this whenever her stomach was empty. 

We give her a small snack around midday and another one 20 minutes before bed and that seems to do the trick.

If you are looking for something a little better then a milkbone you can try what we use which is the Grain Free Oven Baked Buddy Biscuits by Cloudstar.

No wheat, gluten free, mostly made from chick pea flour. Comes in several flavors: chicken, peanut butter and cheddar. We use the cheddar flavored ones. Made in the USA. They are fairly large and about 40 calories each so we give her 1/2 in the afternoon and the other half before bed.


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