Hiccupping is normal. Animals get the hiccups just like humans, so if your dog gets the hiccups, there is no need to worry! However, if you think your fur baby may suffer from something other than hiccups, other conditions could be causing your pup to experience twitching or muscle spasms.
If your dog looks like it has hiccups but does not, it may be experiencing a different condition. Symptoms such as vomiting, gagging, sneezing, diarrhea, or not eating could be signs of something more serious.
Your dog may be experiencing a seizure if it begins jerking, collapsing, twitching, stiffening, drooling, tongue chewing, chomping, foaming at the mouth, or losing consciousness. These symptoms are problematic and should be addressed immediately. Contact your emergency veterinarian for help.
Before you read a more in-depth answer to this question, “Is Your Dog Hiccupping or Not,” check out: Is Your Dog at Risk of Being Strangled? (2023) and Why Does My Dog Burp in My Face? And How to Stop It! (2023).
Is My Dog Hiccupping or Something Else?
Dogs can get hiccups from over-excitement or eating too fast. Your dog’s diet, exposure to an irritant, medication, stress, or an underlying condition can also cause hiccups. However, they are harmless and usually resolve themselves within a few minutes.
Your dog may hiccup in their sleep during the night or when lying down. Hiccupping could also happen after eating or when your dog wakes up in the morning.
Hiccups are sudden and uncontrollable spasms or contractions of the diaphragm. When the diaphragm tightens, your pup quickly sucks in the air; the glottis closes, stopping airflow.
However, if your dog looks like it has hiccups but does not, it might be experiencing something entirely different. Here are the symptoms and causes of two conditions to consider:
Reverse Sneezing
The reverse sneeze is also known as snorting backward, inhaling sneezes, huffing cough, air gasping, honking cough, or paroxysmal inspiratory respiration. The reverse sneeze originates from a muscle spasm in the back of your dog’s mouth or the area where the mouth meets the throat.
The reverse sneeze can be defined as an involuntary, sharp respiratory reflex. Your dog does not forcefully expel air like a regular sneeze; instead, it sucks air in through the nose in a series of brisk, vigorous inhalations.
Causes
The cause of the reverse sneeze is unknown. However, irritation to the back of the throat is a common trigger. In addition, smoke, pollen, dust, odor, or another irritant can trigger reverse sneezing.
Other health complications could cause your dog’s reverse sneezing to increase. For example, a foreign body trapped in the airway, masses, tumors, allergies, and nasal mites are all health problems that can cause reverse sneezing.
Symptoms
Your dog will experience spasms lasting around 30 seconds. The opening of the trachea will temporarily narrow, and your dog will have difficulty inhaling. Your dog may make a noise like choking, snorting, or honking.
Your dog may also stand still with its neck and front legs extended. You may notice your dog’s abdomen or chest moving rapidly in and out. However, there is no reason to fret! You can try calming your dog down, but the sneezes should dissipate quickly without harming your beloved pet.
While researchers do not consider the reverse sneeze serious or dangerous, if your pet continuously reverse sneezes or shows other more severe symptoms, you may need to take your dog to the veterinarian for further diagnosis and treatment.
Acid Reflux
If your dog is continuously hiccupping and swallowing after eating, it may suffer from acid reflux or gastroesophageal reflux. Acid reflux is the number one cause of throat spasms, swallowing, gagging, and hiccupping in dogs.
Causes
Stomach or intestine fluid regurgitated into the esophagus irritates your pup’s throat. The burning acid causes pain and discomfort in your dog’s throat. Acid reflux requires immediate medical attention due to its severity.
Often there is an underlying medical condition causing the acid reflux. For example, your dog could suffer from a hiatal hernia, a weakened or damaged esophageal sphincter, kidney or liver disease, allergies, food intolerance, obesity, poor digestion, or other conditions.
Symptoms
Acid reflux commonly occurs after your dog has eaten. You may notice your dog sitting up and rapidly gulping, swallowing, licking its lips, having throat spasms, and heaving. This is because your dog attempts to push the acid and fluid back into the stomach. Acid reflux is dangerous and painful.
It is essential to consider these two conditions when deciding whether your dog is suffering from hiccups or something more serious.
Is My Dog Hiccupping or Gagging?
It is important to differentiate whether your dog is hiccupping, reverse sneezing, or something more serious, such as choking. Gagging is often a direct result of choking. Choking is life-threatening, so it is vital to take immediate action to save your dog.
Causes
Objects lodged in your dog’s throat cause choking. The foreign object becomes trapped, blocking your pet’s airway. Objects that can cause a blockage in your pet’s throat or trachea include plastic, toys, or food.
Symptoms
Your dog may show the following signs: wheezing, retching, coughing, gagging, pawing at the face, excessive drooling, bluish tongue or gums, and agitation.
Your dog will have trouble breathing. It may become frantic or distressed. You will need to remove the foreign object either with your hands or with a tool. If a veterinarian does not quickly treat your dog, it will lose consciousness due to a lack of oxygen.
If your dog collapses after choking, you must rush it to the emergency veterinarian. If it goes without oxygen for too long, your pet may die. Immediate treatment is necessary for your dog’s survival.
If you can remove the foreign object from your dog’s throat, your dog is likely fine and will recover on its own. However, you should monitor your dog during its recovery if the object damages its throat. If your dog swallowed the object, it may get stuck and need to be removed by a veterinarian.
What Should I Do if My Dog Is Hiccupping?
Usually, your dog’s hiccups will dissipate within a few minutes, and it will not require any medical care. However, you can take a few steps to ease your dog’s discomfort if the hiccups last longer than five to 10 minutes.
Here are five tips and tricks to consider:
Offer Your Dog Water
Typically, a sip of water is enough to cure your dog’s hiccups. In addition, the water will soothe your pet’s throat and stop the diaphragm spasms.
Pet Your Dog’s Stomach
Petting your dog’s belly can soothe any discomfort or unease during its hiccups. It may help your pet breathe more evenly as the hiccups pass.
Walk Your Dog
Physical exercises, such as running and jumping, will force your dog to breathe more heavily. This could help clear its airways and stop the hiccups.
Try a New Food Bowl
There are lots of food bowl designs created to slow the eating process. A bowl that slows down your dog’s feeding will help prevent hiccups and improve overall feeding quality and habits.
Check With Your Veterinarian
You may want to call your veterinarian just to confirm your dog is suffering from hiccups. The funny sound could mean something different, especially if coupled with any other unusual symptoms.
Why Is My Dog Twitching Like Hiccups?
There are multiple potential causes for your dog’s twitching. If your dog is twitching while asleep, it likely has a hypnic jerk. This phenomenon is normal and happens to many dogs. Your pup is probably dreaming about its favorite food or toy!
If your dog is twitching while awake, there are other conditions to consider. The muscle spasms could be a result of overexertion, physical injury, neurological damage, or hypoglycemia. The spasms may be painful, especially if they are continuous.
If the twitching continues even after rest and hydration, you will need to visit your veterinarian for a full examination. Once you understand why your dog is twitching, you can properly treat it and diminish its occurrences.
Why Is My Dog’s Body Jolting?
Numerous conditions could cause your dog’s body to jolt. Some of these conditions can be extremely dangerous, damaging, and severe, so contacting your emergency veterinarian for diagnosis is crucial.
Your dog could be suffering from a brain injury, muscle condition, dehydration, toxic ingestion, neurological disorder, tetanus, canine distemper, or genetic disorder. A physical examination of your fur baby, along with urine and blood testing, is necessary for proper diagnosis and treatment.
Is My Dog Having Seizures or Muscle Spasms?
The key difference between muscle spasms and seizures involves your dog’s mental state. During a seizure, your dog’s brain rapidly releases an excessive number of neurons. The seizure can even spread to other areas of the brain and become gradually more severe.
During a grand mal seizure, the electrical activity becomes abnormal within your dog’s brain. The seizure is widespread, convulsive, and violent. Your dog will collapse into jolting spasms of all four limbs, foam at the mouth, begin paddling, lose bowel or bladder control, and lose consciousness.
A focal seizure happens when abnormal electrical activity is restricted to one area of the brain. This seizure can look different in every dog. Your dog may just experience twitching in the lip, eyelid, or ear. Focal seizures do not typically require medical treatment and pass on their own.
Evaluating your dog’s mental state will give you a clue as to whether your dog is having a seizure. When a dog has muscle spasms or is shivering, it is still fully cognizant and aware of its surroundings.
During a seizure, your dog may become abnormally quiet, anxious, or unable to walk. They may appear confused, dazed, and unresponsive. If your dog has any of these symptoms along with the tremors, it may be experiencing a seizure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Most hiccups are not a cause for concern, but if your dog is still hiccupping after an hour, there might be a problem requiring a trip to the veterinarian.
Puppies are more likely than adult dogs to get hiccups, and they may hiccup for up to 15 minutes.
Your dog’s hiccups should naturally go away over the next 15 minutes. You can try giving your dog fresh water, rubbing its stomach, and switching to a slow feeder bowl.
Conclusion for “Is Your Dog Hiccupping or Not”
If your dog has hiccups, you do not need to worry. There are multiple ways to ease its discomfort until they pass. However, if your dog looks like it has hiccups but does not, it may need a full examination and treatment from your local veterinarian.
When you understand your dog’s body language, it is easier to distinguish your dog’s needs. Learning the signs of choking, acid reflux, seizures, and other conditions will enable you to properly care for your precious fur baby. Your pup deserves to live and long and happy life!
If you find this guide, “Is Your Dog Hiccupping or Not,” helpful, check out:
- Why Does My Dog Cough After Drinking Water? (2023)
- What to Do If My Old Dog Is Coughing and Gagging? (2023)
- Why Does My Dog Yawn When I Pet Him? 5 Reasons! (2023)
Learn more by watching “My Dog Has Hiccups! Is It Normal Or Should I Be Worried?” down below:
Garrett loves animals and is a huge advocate for all Doodle dog breeds. He owns his own Goldendoodle named Kona. In addition, he volunteers at the Humane Society of Silicon Valley, where he fosters dogs and helps animals. Garrett enjoys writing about Doodles and believes that dogs can teach humans more about how to live than humans can teach a dog.
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