# Dry Heaves in a 13 year old YLF



## Last Frontier Labs (Jan 3, 2003)

My old Goldie girl has had 5 episodes of dry heaves within the last week or 2. She will lick everything in sight and then heave with no production except maybe foam. The episodes usually last about an hour and have mostly occurred in the late evening-10/11 pm. She is eating, drinking, peeing, pooping normally. She eats 2 cups of food per day- 1 cup AM and 1 cup PM. I took her to the vet for a wellness check with thorough blood panels as the vet was aware of the heaving and knew that it is sometimes associated with liver problems.
She checked out completely fine. Bloodwork was totally normal.

Has anyone else ever dealt with dry heaves like this? There is no coughing to it--definitely not kennel cough.


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## Guest (Dec 10, 2009)

Last Frontier Labs said:


> My old Goldie girl has had 5 episodes of dry heaves within the last week or 2. She will lick everything in sight and then heave with no production except maybe foam. The episodes usually last about an hour and have mostly occurred in the late evening-10/11 pm. She is eating, drinking, peeing, pooping normally. She eats 2 cups of food per day- 1 cup AM and 1 cup PM. I took her to the vet for a wellness check with thorough blood panels as the vet was aware of the heaving and knew that it is sometimes associated with liver problems.
> She checked out completely fine. Bloodwork was totally normal.
> 
> Has anyone else ever dealt with dry heaves like this? There is no coughing to it--definitely not kennel cough.


Could that be associated with bloat?


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## JusticeDog (Jul 3, 2003)

I had a 7 year old with something similar. Treated with flagyl and pepcid. she had an overabundance of bacteria in her stomach for no known reason....... they said it would NOT have been all the deer poop she had been eating... 

The licking is nausea......


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## Last Frontier Labs (Jan 3, 2003)

It is definitely not bloat. (Eating, drinking, peeing, pooping are all ok.)
Yep, figured the licking was nausea.
This old girl has been healthy as a horse her whole life. Basically, a dream dog as far as health goes, hence the cause for concern. I'm thinking the next step will be to xray for tumors as that is the only thing I can think of that might be causing this... Just wondered if anyone else had experienced anything like it.

Interesting about the stomach bacteria. I'll look into that.


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## ErinsEdge (Feb 14, 2003)

I have a 12 yo old that had boughts of dry heaves, throwing up, for weeks. He gets a cimetidine once a day and probiotics and it seems better but he still does it. I think we could come up with stomach got upset and old dog stuff. If everything else is normal I would try the wait and see approach with an antacid and probiotics. I put him on a bland diet except I was cooking more for him than myself so don't spoil them too much.


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## Tim Sharpe (Mar 12, 2009)

Is your dog only dry heaving or are there bouts of hacking like she's trying to clear grass or something from her throat along with the dry heaves? If so she may have a sore throat, mine did. Vet gave her penicillen injection and amoxicyllin for a week. Cleared it up and everything's normal.


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## Last Frontier Labs (Jan 3, 2003)

No hacking or coughing.


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## WRL (Jan 4, 2003)

With the foam, is it white like dish soap?

WRL


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## Last Frontier Labs (Jan 3, 2003)

Not really white...mostly just like saliva with bubbles.
For the most part the heaving is non productive... a couple of times we have gotten the mucousy saliva. The thing that is odd is that I figured out I can get her to stop heaving if I feed her something.
All of this has just started out of the blue...never any problem with digestive issues in all of her 13 years. (And she has consumed some nasty things in her lifetime...)


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## WRL (Jan 4, 2003)

Last Frontier Labs said:


> Not really white...mostly just like saliva with bubbles.
> For the most part the heaving is non productive... a couple of times we have gotten the mucousy saliva. The thing that is odd is that I figured out I can get her to stop heaving if I feed her something.
> All of this has just started out of the blue...never any problem with digestive issues in all of her 13 years. (And she has consumed some nasty things in her lifetime...)


But it's not yellow like bile right?

WRL


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## Last Frontier Labs (Jan 3, 2003)

Nope, not yellow.


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## Guest (Dec 11, 2009)

What about trachea/laryngeal issues? I'm not sure the difference between coughing and hacking technically (except maybe that hacking is more severe than coughing?). Does she ever have the "old dog breathing" where it's louder and a little more "rumbly"?


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## WRL (Jan 4, 2003)

Last Frontier Labs said:


> Nope, not yellow.


This kind of sounds like what I went through with my old girl Bug.

The vet felt the white liquid/saliva looking stuff was from the lungs.

Is she breathing harder or doing the "reverse sneezing"?

WRL


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## HuntinDawg (Jul 2, 2006)

WRL said:


> Is she breathing harder or doing the "reverse sneezing"?


What is the "reverse sneezing" thought to indicate??


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## Last Frontier Labs (Jan 3, 2003)

No hacking or coughing, no reverse sneezing. She goes through the motions of throwing up, but doesn't actually throw up. With one episode, she did this for over 2 hours...wretching about every 5-10 minutes. Since I figured out that if I feed her, it will stop, I have just been doing that, but would really like to know what has brought this on so suddenly. Some of you have PM'd that it might be Gastric Reflux Disease and I will check with the vet about that.
I appreciate all your comments.


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## Guest (Dec 11, 2009)

I'm sorry, Sherri, I thought it was "hacking"... duh. I'd go do an xray and/or ultrasound if you haven't done one already. What about something as "simple" as a foreign body? Weird that nothing at all is coming up....


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## WRL (Jan 4, 2003)

Last Frontier Labs said:


> No hacking or coughing, no reverse sneezing. She goes through the motions of throwing up, but doesn't actually throw up. With one episode, she did this for over 2 hours...wretching about every 5-10 minutes. Since I figured out that if I feed her, it will stop, I have just been doing that, but would really like to know what has brought this on so suddenly. Some of you have PM'd that it might be Gastric Reflux Disease and I will check with the vet about that.
> I appreciate all your comments.


If there are no breathing issues (nothing to note a change) it does sound like a throat issue.

WRL


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## yorkerK1 (Sep 15, 2017)

*Wondering about what you discovered with dogs dry heaves*

I know it has been many years since you posted on this thread. But was wondering if you ever discovered what was the cause of the dry heaves. Our 13 year old chocolate lab has been doing the same as you described. No production either. While this has happened for the past year, it was only occasional, maybe 1 every couple weeks or so. But in the past few days his episodes are daily and numerous. The last 10 to maybe 45 seconds. He seams like he is trying to expel something - but nothing comes up. Over the past year there were a few times when he would produce a small amount of clear or white foam. but again that has been many many months ago. 

He still eats, pee's and poop's normally. Though in the past 6 months, he gets winded quite easily and pants after a 30 minute walk. 

On another note - where in Alaska are you. I lived briefly in Soldotna, and still have a relative there.


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## mwk56 (May 12, 2009)

I would suspect Laryngeal Paralysis as one possibility.

Meredith


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## yorkerK1 (Sep 15, 2017)

Thanks Meredith - I actually was just reading up on that, but most of the systems don't seem to fit his.


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## mwk56 (May 12, 2009)

I have had two girls with LP. One regurgitated and coughed A LOT before the other symptoms showed up. The other possibility I can think of is megaesophagus. Definitely need to get him to your veterinarian for a full work-up.

Meredith


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## dr_dog_guy (May 25, 2003)

with some recent experience with LP, I would have also guessed LP.


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## EdA (May 13, 2003)

yorkerK1 said:


> Thanks Meredith - I actually was just reading up on that, but most of the systems don't seem to fit his.


Wretching, gagging, and choking are common symptoms of laryngeal paralysis.


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## rboudet (Jun 29, 2004)

Several years ago my 10 year old started doing this, same symptoms. Went to vet and said everything looked fine. 6 months later she passed way. It was a tumor next to her lung and fluid was slowly building up.


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## mwk56 (May 12, 2009)

My LP girl also went through periods of obsessive licking--the carpet, the floor, the ground, the furniture. It was very odd and very frustrating/annoying.

Meredith


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