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Why is my Shih Tzu dry heaving and aggressive only at night?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Shih Tzu | Male | neutered | 10 lbs

My 4 year old ShihTzu has bouts of dry reaching at night - he gets highly distressed, pacing around the room dry reaching (clear phlegm). He won’t go to bed & hides under my bed looking v distressed until finally he gets seriously aggressive with me (snarling) – won’t allow me to get near him which is totally out of character. His behaviour is getting far worse & has bitten me for the first time last week. The next morning he’s back to his lovely self as if nothing had happened. HELP! :-(

1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

Jessica Desrosiers

Answered By Jessica Desrosiers

Veterinary Technician

Published on January 9th, 2017

It sounds like Darcy is not feeling very well. Retching, hiding and sudden changes in behavior can all indicate pain or illness and should be checked out by a vet. It is best to schedule a veterinary appointment ASAP especially if this has been going on for more than a day. Your vet can check for common illnesses and painful spots that may be causing his behavior. If he checks out health and the behavior continues, speaking with a certified veterinary behaviorist is your next best step as aggression toward people can be hard to treat without professional help.
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