My dog is gagging, wheezing, and vomiting. Could something be stuck?

It sounds like Maximus may have a respiratory infection such as kennel cough, which often causes coughing and gagging without anything coming up. Or, he could be feeling nauseous and trying to vomit - if his stomach is empty, sometimes this gagging can be non-productive. If he is acting normal otherwise and this problem just started today, you can try withholding food for the rest of the day and offering a small amount of plain boiled chicken and rice this evening to help settle his stomach. If this doesn't help, or if he continues to have repeated episodes of coughing or gagging throughout the day, then I would recommend having him examined by a vet - he/she can determine whether Maximus has a respiratory infection or a stomach problem and get him started on appropriate medication to treat it.

Puppies are notorious for swallowing anything that crosses their path. They don't have hands, so they explore everything with their mouths. He may have swallowed something that is stuck, there may even be a piece of string looped around the base of his tongue. Hopefully your vet did a thorough oral examination, including lifting the tongue in order to see underneath. This area is very hard to see and string can hide there very easily. It could be a long human hair that is bothering him. If you find string, thread or hair in his mouth that goes down his throat, DO NOT PULL IT. Same goes for any you may see as he tries to defecate. NEVER pull on any linear foreign body. It could be looped around some soft tissue out of sight and you will cause more damage. Any stringlike material caught around the tongue should be cut with a pair of safety scissors and allowed to go on down. If this happens, let your vet know what is going on and if he develops any other symptoms, such as vomiting, diarrhea, lethargy, loss of appetite, get him back in to see your vet right away.

If the suspicious is a foreign body (fishbone) stuck in the airways I recommend to seek veterinarian attention asap, this is an emergency situation. The vet will explore the upper airways and remove the foreign body. In the meantime keep Zarek calm to reduce his stress in this difficult situation. Good luck. Please post again on the forum if you would like to discuss it further. I hope my answer was helpful.

If Mack has a habit of eating things that are not food, that could be causing the coughing, gagging, and vomiting. He may have eaten something that has upset his stomach. I do think he needs to see a vet for this, and I think it would be best if you take him into the vet first thing in the morning. X-rays are a good idea to see if there is anything in his stomach that could be causing this. I hope this helps!

If Brody exhibits this gagging and retching behavior consistently (without stopping) then I would recommend taking him in to be examined by your veterinarian. If there is something stuck in the throat or the back of the mouth the behavior will be continuous until whatever is stuck is removed. If this behavior is only intermittent and/or only occurred the one time then I would not be too concerned. Brody could have swallowed something wrong or could be suffering from allergies or the beginning of a respiratory infection. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Aww Marty is so handsome!! So part of this equation is how often is this happening? Is it just once or twice a week? In that case, I’m in the camp of “continue to watch and wait”. If this is daily or multiple times a day some further investigation is needed. You need to discuss the following with your vet but some possible next steps include: Recheck X-rays if it has been 3 months or more since his last set. If not done before, also include views of the neck as sometimes a mass in the throat or neck can cause this. Testing for locally occurring fungal diseases if applicable and/or trial treatment with an antifungal medication. Trial treatment with a short course of steroids. CT scan if available in your area. Sedated/anesthetized laryngeal exam. Best wishes to you and Marty!

In a dog this young that you describe as chewing and tearing apart everything I would be most worried about a gastric foreign body that is intermittently causing a blockage. Pieces of toys or trash that are swallowed can get stuck in the pylorus - that's the part of the stomach that leads to the small intestine - and this causes vomiting. The vomiting will often temporarily dislodge the object, allowing things to return to normal for a while, only to block the outflow again. I'd urge you to get Max x-rayed at your vet. A barium series may be required to completely rule out a partial obstruction.