Hard swallowing, possible acid reflux or allergies

[Alex]

For the past couple of months Chance has been waking up at night and what it sounds like hard swallowing saliva. His breath sometime smells like garbage, but not all the time.

I can't really tell if it's acid reflux or just excessive saliva production. He is a fast eater and we have been adding a bit of water into his kibble as he would inhale his food and then vomit it back after eating. He is also on anti-seizure meds twice a day that he takes in a form of a pill smudged in unprocessed coconut oil. His poop is regular and is fine.

A few thoughts I have of the root cause and would appreciate other members input.

1. Acid reflux - what are some of the remedies that worked for you
2. Post nasal drip due to allergies - what are some of the remedies that worked for you

What else?

[tanza]

Pepcid has always worked for me...

[DebraDownSouth]

The generic for pepcid or zantac work great. Cara has been on them most her life as she is a hyperacid producer.

The mouth smell.. do you get the teeth cleaned yearly... not the awake cleaning, but actual under anesthesia real cleaning? If not, do so as bad teeth can cause a lot of problems.

If you can, give more meals but smaller to help keep the stomach acid working on food. We feed Cara 2 meals, plus midday snack and slightly larger snack before bed. If we don't, we get yellow bile throw ups.

[LifewithAva]

Ava also has these issues, though she hasn't been diagnosed with anything specific. She gets fed smaller meals morning and night, with a Kong filled with kibble and a surprise (cheese, cream cheese, yogurt, etc.) at lunch and a tablespoon of kibble at bedtime. She also gets a dental chew mid-afternoon and a probiotic and fish oil with her evening meal. This controls it... but she still throws up yellow bile about one morning a month. No way to tell which morning it's going to be until I awake to that telltale sound. (You all know the one.)

She takes a dye-free Benadryl capsule, as needed, for allergies. The pharmacist recommended the generic version, so I've given her both and they really help.

[DebraDownSouth]

@LifewithAva said in Hard swallowing, possible acid reflux or allergies:
This controls it... but she still throws up yellow bile about one morning a month. No way to tell which morning it's going to be until I awake to that telltale sound. (You all know the one.)

If the bile is always overnight, I suggest you make that last bedtime treat about double what it is or even triple so that her stomach acid has something to work on. I always give Cara her acid reducer before bed, not in the morning, because that's the longest she goes without food.

[LifewithAva]

@DebraDownSouth Thanks, Debra! Yes, the bile is always in the early morning-- usually when I'm hoping to sleep in. I'll up her bedtime snack and see if that helps.

Alex, the hard swallowing is often caused by nausea. The dog is trying not to throw up. In Ava's case, it means her stomach is empty. If I feed her or give her a treat, it stops.

[DebraDownSouth]

Is the feeding bigger at night helping?

[Alex]

Thanks everyone for suggestions. We have been feeding both Chance and Kiya 4 times a day instead of 2, and it seems like Chance has less of the hard swallowing and tooting, but its still there. It will probably take a bit of time to go away. We now feed 1/4 cup in the morning, 1/4 cup in the early afternoon, 1/4 cup dinner and 1/4 cup before bed. Will try pepcid next.

[LifewithAva]

@DebraDownSouth She hasn't thrown up bile since I increased her night feeding, but she was only doing it once a month or so. I've never really known what brings it on. I also bought some Pepcid to have on hand.

[Baba Bamidele]

Cosette does the throwing-up-bile thing on occasion, and in her case, it always seems tied to overexcitement. We've been working with her to get her used to cohabitation with our cat, and she's puked up bile in at least two instances when we picked the cat up or the cat ran across the floor, and we had to calm the dog down and take her attention away from chasing. Just another data point for you that may be helpful!