My puppy is gagging and choking, but not throwing up. What's wrong?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This could be secondary to an allergy, a reverse sneeze or coughing. I would recommend having her examined by a veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. A thorough examination will help rule out multiple causes and even considering having x-rays performed would help rule out multiple causes. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Gizmo is so handsome! This is concerning for a gastrointestinal issue. Your veterinarian could proceed with further diagnostics to investigate this. This may entail bloodwork, neck x-rays and abdominal imaging. Treatment would depend on findings. Hopefully it is nothing serious. Good luck and have a good night!

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.

Hello, at 5 months of age the most common reason for coughing/choking is kennel cough. I suggest you get him to a vet for an exam and medications. This can progress to a pneumonia quickly and in a small 2# dog this can be extremely serious. I am very worried about this as you stated he was weak and lost his appetite. I don't suggest that you continue to perform any "first aid" for choking on a dog this small as you can easily injury him. I assure you that it is very unlikely he has something stuck in his throat. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

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.

Inhalation of even a small amount of milk in a tiny little puppy like this can be deadly if treatment is not instituted right away. Aspiration pneumonia is one of the most common causes of death in bottle babies. If you are noting significant coughing / choking, I would also keep an eye out for increased respiratory noises. This would include wheezing and raspy hoarse noises. If you hear this, it would probably be a good idea to stop feeding until you get him to the vet. At that point, the doctor will decide if providing additional nutrition orally is worth the risk, versus injectable nutrition. Hope this is help.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Chance. I recommend that he sees a veterinarian. If he is having abdominal contractions, this usually indicates vomiting. Regurgitation can also happen where the food passively slips up. In this case, there are not abdominal contractions and the puppy seems surprised when it happens. Finally, if a puppy has a respiratory tract infection, coughing can bring up a white foamy material or sometimes food if he gags. The veterinarian will examine him and determine which of these scenarios are occurring and how best to treat him. I hope this information helps!