Why does my dog have hiccups sporadically, not just after eating?

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Hiccups are spasms of the diaphragm and can occur from excitement, eating or drinking too fast (swallows air), stress or fatigue. If Axie is eating and drinking and NOT retching or vomiting I would think he should be fine. Also be sure he can rest comfortably and his belly isn't swollen. If he won't eat or is vomiting or retching you should contact the owners and take him to a Vet. If all else is fine maybe check in on him an lunch. Good luck!

Puppy hiccups are quite common and typically become less frequent with age. Often this is due to gulping air with excitement or eating/drinking to fast. If the latter is the case you can try feeding on a plate with a cup or rock in the middle to make her eat around it thus slowing her down. I hope this helps and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

This doesn't sound like anything to be particularly concerned about, as long as the hiccups are not occuring all day long. Hiccups are usually caused by some kind of irritation to the phrenic nerve that leads to the diaphragm, so perhaps when she lays down, she is causing irritation to the nerve. It is quite odd though and isn't something we see very often in veterinary medicine. It isn't something that we can necessarily test for either or treat for in general. If you still want to look further into other possible causes however, then a referral to an internal medicine vet will likely be the next best step for Zelda. Even with that said, it is a good chance that this is a symptom that the vet will recommend benign neglect (just monitor). Thanks for visiting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach and I hope that Zelda is ok moving forward. Take care!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Luffy. Hiccups are very common in puppies. Eating fast may contribute, but it seems to be something that affects the majority of puppies. He should outgrow it given time. I hope this information helps!

Dogs can definitely have hiccups, although it's much more common to see them happening in younger puppies than in dogs Boudreax's age. However I'd have to say with what you are describing - the entire body twitching and his inability to get comfortable -that doesn't really sound like hiccups to me, but something different. I would be wondering if it was possible for Boudreax to have gotten into something toxic? These signs sound almost neurologic in nature- i.e. there's something that's not right with his nervous system. If his breathing changes, or it he becomes unresponsive, I would take him in right away. If he's still not "normal" by early this afternoon, I would make an appointment for him to be seen today.

Usually eating/drinking too fast or swallowing some air when eating/drinking. It is not anything I would be concerned about unless the hiccups persist for a long period or time or he starts vomiting. If he is a fast eater/drinker you can do things to make him eat/drink slower like put large, smooth rock into his bowl so he has to eat/drink around it. This will slow him down.

There are some very rare disease that can cause difficulty swallowing that might also cause a hiccup noise, and they can be very difficult to diagnose. If the abnormal swallowing gets worse you may want to ask about referral to a specialist. There is not any specific treatment for hiccups.