My dog is gulping, gagging, and eating strange items. What's wrong?

It's possible Milly may have something caught in her throat or nose (such as a grass seed), or has gotten into something causing her to feel nauseated (dogs will drool, swallow and gulp if they feel ready to vomit). If the symptoms continue or she starts gasping for air/turning blue, it is best to seek veterinary care immediately.

He might have eaten something spoiled that is causing this. withhold food for 12 hours then offer Archimedes boiled boneless chicken and rice every 6 hours in small portions. if he is eating and not vomiting, continue with this diet for 2 days. After 2 days, you can put him back gradually on his normal food. If the symptoms do not improve, take him to the vet to get treatment.

It sounds like Biggy (love his name!) is nauseous and may be dry heaving. This sounds most like an intestinal issue to me, but take a quick look in the roof of his mouth to make sure there isn't a toy or stick stuck there. He could have a foreign body, a functional or mechanical blockage, irritation from intestinal worms or eating some different/bad, stress, toxin, or other issue. If he looks like he's trying to throw up and nothing happens, I would recommend taking him an emergency clinic for an exam and x-rays. If he's not retching and he's eating, it may not be an emergency, but I would want him to be evaluated first thing on Tuesday. Any change in appetite, vomiting or trying to vomit, diarrhea, or lethargy means he needs to go sooner. I hope Biggy is back to normal soon!

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.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Sampson. I recommend that he sees his veterinarian. There is the potential that he is choking on a portion of the plastic bag. He could also be experiencing an upper respiratory tract infection that is characterized by a hacking gagging cough. Some dogs will hack up a white foamy material. His veterinarian should be able to differentiate between these scenarios given his exam findings. I hope this information helps!

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!

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.