My dog is constantly swallowing and licking lips in between. She has gagged and burped a few times. Is this the hiccups or something else. She has been able to eat dry food and water. This has gone on for 10 minutes or so. She appears not to be in any pain. Anyone???

Hi, dan,

If this has not settled in a few hours, get her checked by your vet.
It is probably nothing swerious.

W

My golden retriever had the same things. Long story short and a stomach surgery later.

There could be something going on with the digestive motility (i.e. some sort of blockage)

If not, then a couple of daily meds and a good balanced diet (you may need to get the really good quality food, plus a dietary additive called Missing Link) You will notice a difference within a day or two, after a few good poops later.

The current med we have is metoclopramide 10 mg every 12 hours

Hope this helps

My 7 yr old beagle heeler mix frequently wakes me up between 5 and 6 am licking her lips. She also seems a little despaired by it because she paws at me and insists on being right on top of me while this is going on like she's making sure I'm aware of it. I've given her Prilosec after dinner (around 6-7pm) but maybe it's worn off by morning. Also gave her 20 cc's of Pepto a few times while she was doing it but the only thing that did was make her mad at me and evasive. Tried 10 mg Metacloptimide for a while too. She also has been licking at her vaginal area for quite some time too. All vet tests and xrays are normal as is poop and eating. No changes in food, exercise or temperment. No vomiting or retching either. Vet suspects behavioral now, but I'm still skeptical. Anybody else have similar problem or know what else to do?

Hi,

If she is not neutered, I susopect that she may be in the early stages of pyometra. When was she last in season?

W

Recently my toy poodle began licking his lips and swallowing at the same time. Was at the vet for his normal check up and shots, vet said he was fine. Why is he doing this? It is so annoying. He constantly wants attention, 24/7.

Hi,

If he has discovered that licking his lips like tyhis attracts your attention, that is probably why he is doing it! He is getting you very well trained.
Difficult as it may be, try to ignore him completely when he starts, or put him out of the room.

W

hi just to say i had same symptoms with my dog which turns out to be a stomach ulcer

Last night around midnight my dog vomited. I awoke to find him licking his lips repeatedly and swallowing very hard like he was swallowing a pill. Occasionally he would stop and lick his fur, which would be very wet afterward. He vomited 2 more times and it appeared to be unchewed food and a lot of mucous/saliva. Then he drank a lot of water. He started to settle down, and then began licking his lips and swallowing hard, followed by another round of vomiting lots of mucous. Once he settled down, he went to the door to go out. When I took him out, he started gobbling grass. He ate quite a bit and threw up. This seemed to settle the licking and swallowing. He continued to eat more grass and I brought him back in the house, where he settled down in his bed. Then he started licking and swallowing again. I asked him if he wanted to go out and he RAN to the door. Once outside he began gobbling grass again. This time it settled him down without vomiting. He came in and slept about 3 hours. He woke up and started licking and swallowing again, but not as bad. I took him back out for more grass. He urinated and had a small bowel movement and did not vomit this time. He came in and is resting again. Is he using grass to settle his nausea? Is the worst of this over for him? (He looked so confused when he was licking and swallowing)

The lip licking and swallowing are signs of nausea. Dogs often eat grass to settle their stomachs or to help them bring something up. Most tummy upsets are caused by the dog eating something that disagreed with them and starving for 24 hours (water only) and a bland diet for a few days usually sorts things out. If it does not or if your dog is unwell or wont stop being sick then you should consult a vet to make sure there is nothing untoward going on.

I changed my dogs food about 3 weeks ago to wellness from rotation he is a pug/rat terrier. He woke me up with this hard swallowing and excessive licking my arms/legs his paws the blankets everything. This has be going on for about 1 hour now and im not sure what the problem is he has not vomitted but has had a couple of times where i thought he was going to . I have rubbed his tummy and his tummy was gurggling i put him out and to have a bowel movement and he did and he seemed fine we went back to bed and it started again. He is also having reverse sneezing it is scaring me and not sure what i can do for him. Could this have anything to do with the change in food as he has never had this before and that is the only thing that has changed. I have also stuck my fingers down this throat to see if there was anything stuck or even to help him vomit just so he will stop its breaking my heart.

Hi

That's a big list of different symptoms. As you changed food then yes there might be some related digestive upset or food allergy causing those symptoms. Did you change food because of a previous digestive upset or for another reason? A change to a bland hypoallergenic diet would be a start but I am going to say if this continued then a trip to the vet was a wise move. Many short-nosed breeds show some reverse sneezing but as its new for him then it could be significant as part of an allergy. It sounds dramatic but in the absence of a dog having choked on something I generally would not stick your fingers down his throat-it wont do much and just might upset him causing him to bite you unless he's a really good dog.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

Earlier this evening, we found our dog gagging and eating grass in excess. He seemed to want to vomit and was breathing extremely shallowly(could not hear or see him breathing). I carried out the heimlich maneuverand he dry heaved but no vomit. Then he proceeded to pace around licking and burping. Now, at least 2 hours later, Shadow seems to be able to breathe. He is stable and on my bed breathing at a rather fast pace. Burping frequently and almost always licking his lips and swallowing. He's passing a lot of gas but hasn't thrown up for a few hours. Still will dry heave every now and then. Concerned. Thank you for any and all feedback!

Hi

These signs were worrying and could have been the start of a condition of bloat or gastric dilatation. I hope the gas was passing and the condition resolved for Shadow. If anyone ever sees their dog continually retching, breathing rapidly and showing signs of discomfort and restlessness that continues for a period of time it could be that the stomach is becoming dangerously distended. I would not recommend trying a Heimlich manoeuvre. It would be wise to get a dog promptly checked by a vet in case these symptoms proceed from a condition of gastric bloat to gastric torsion where the stomach actually twists. This happens in larger dogs more commonly than in small dogs and is fatal if it is not treated.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

My 11 year old Akita, Rose, has been "gulping" at night for about a year -- very loud swallowing, sometimes with even a sucking type noise. She is a little high-strung, emotionally sensitive in disposition. She wouldn't finish her food; I would hand-feed her to get her to eat. I changed foods. I even started making her food myself (freshly boiled chicken, rice, pumpkin) . She would eat lying down (on her stomach). When I put her favorite food at her nose, she would turn away before she would even lick it. She lost about 7 pounds (going from 67 to 60 pounds). We had her tested for everything under the sun and spend hundreds of dollars on blood tests, various medicines, etc. Then we got a second opinion from another vet who watched her closely. She tried her on the Royal Canin rabbit and potato food. We discovered that she was starving. The vet decided to treat her for H. Pylori, stomach ulcers, and with each meal (morning and dinner) I gave her the Royal Canin rabbit and potato, along with 15mg Famotadine, Metronitazole, and Amoxycillin pills. She felt better after about 3 days, then after 3 weeks of this, she was cured. I still give her the 15mg of Famotadine ( have to half one of the pills -- to do this, run the knife down the center and over the edge slowly). I had foot surgery Sept. 6 and am immobilized, she was stressed out and started her gulping again at night. But now that she knows I am basically okay, she has stopped. (I also stopped giving her fish oil pills since oil can exacerbate this.) I now feed her Natural Balance venison and sweet potato which she eats with relish, and she finishes her food. I am exuberant that she is well again.

Hi Anne

Thanks for that story. Shows just how complicated some dogs digestive problems can be, and it can take a long time to fully find out the causes. You didn't give up on her and you and your vet have found a way of managing the problem, that's great. Sounds like she's doing well again now.

Cathy Wickenden BVet Med MRCVS
Barton Lodge Veterinary Centre
1 Midland Road, Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire, HP2 5BH
Tel: 01442 216048 24 hours
[www.bartonlodgevets.co.uk]

These posts sound very similar to what my dog is doing. She generally sleeps through the night, but every few weeks, sometimes more frequently, she wakes me up licking her lips, constantly swallowing, pacing and whining to go outside. Once I let her out she will come in and lay down again for a bit, and it seems to be only at night. What could be causing this? Is it upset stomach, or just anxiety (which she is prone too)? She is a malamute so I worry about bloat!

My 3year old German shepherd gust straight to lick his lips and swallow. He is making a weird noise when he swallows it gets loud louder then goes quiet. Is he going to be ok?

I switched my dog from a regular diet to vegan. She kept licking her lips and swallowing continuously, also her breath seemed a little bad. I researched and ended up giving her digestive enzymes. She is totally 100% better. I saw improvement the first day, then by the third, she was done. I gave her NaturVet Digestive Enzymes, here is a link.....[www.chewy.com]