Why does my dog dry heave when startled or late at night?

Poor guy. This sounds like Bennett may be experiencing some acid reflux. Typically this affects pets when they have an empty stomach (at night) or early morning. Ask you vet about doing a trial run with some antacids to see if this helps. You can also feed him a late night snack (small meal) to see if this helps Otherwise consider having some bloodwork ran to check his organ function for any further clues. I hope that Bennett is just experiencing acid reflux and can be managed well soon! Best wishes and take care.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Chronic heaving / gagging can be caused by problems with larynx or trachea, like laryngeal paralysis, chronic infection / inflammation, laryngeal mass, mass on the neck and more. A visit at your local vets is recommended to establish diagnosis and implement treatment as required. Your vet may want to examine the throat under sedation and/or take radiographs of the neck and chest.

There could be a few different things causing his vomiting. It can be from a virus, a foreign body, an intestinal upset or even pancreatitis. I would recommend bringing him to the veterinarian for some testing to make sure it is just an intestinal upset. They can discuss with you antacids and a prescription bland diet. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The material you are describing is most likely bile, which can happen if an animal is hungry. Abbey may be eating dinner too early and getting hungry before going to sleep for the night. I recommend trying to feed her dinner a little later than normal. The signs you are describing can be unrelated to hunger, especially if Abbey does not eat meals. Vomiting can be caused by intestinal inflammation, hormonal conditions such as Addison’s disease or low thyroid levels. I recommend changing Abbey’s mealtime (if she is fed meals) for a day or two to see if this helps resolve the issue. If not, she should be seen by her vet to rule out the conditions above.

It sounds more like your dog is experiencing severe and productive cough. as this happens only during the night i would recommend getting it checked by your vet, it could be a heart problem, an infection or a lung disease.

Dry heaving/coughing at night is usually a sign of heart disease, this could explain the lack of appetite as well. you need to take him back to the vet he will need an xray done to evaluate the heart and lungs.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Hoyt. He could be dry heaving because he's nauseous. Feed him a bland diet of boiled white meat chicken (no bones) and white rice in small amounts several times a day for a couple of days. Then slowly add back in his normal diet. If he keeps dry heaving, he vomits the bland diet, develops diarrhea, stops drinking water, starts vomiting water, or becomes very lethargic, he will need to see a vet right away. Best of luck.