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My Yorkie chokes and throws up water after drinking. Is this normal?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Yorkshire Terrier | Male | unneutered | 1 year and 7 months old | 6 lbs

Hello!, my little Yorkshire terrier I believe is having some issues, I don't know if he is drinking his water way too fast or there is another issue happening, but he will drink from his water bowl and start chocking and having a sneezing fit to the point of where he's chocking and sniffling his nose roughly to where he either coughs up water or throws up his water and what food he has that day.....is this just there breed? Or should I be concerned, he doesn't do it everyday, but just enough

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Jeffrey Milner

Veterinarian

Published on August 6th, 2017

This does not sound like a breed-specific issue or a normal behavior. It sounds like Chopi is either drinking his water too quickly / too vigorously, or he is having trouble swallowing it for one reason or another. Depending on how often this is occurring, this might be something worth having checked out by you veterinarian. There are definitely structural issues in the mouth, esophagus, and upper respiratory tract that can result in difficulty swallowing. If it is a behavioral issue / OCD resulting in overly quick water consumption, there are device you can obtain that attempt to limit how quickly your dog laps up the liquid. You can also physically limit how much he drinks by simply moving the bowl away manually. I don't think this is something that you need to be running off to the vet about right away, but definitely something that is worth continuing to monitor for any worsening or changes. Hope this helps!

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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