# Terrifying...



## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

I thought something horrible was happening to Millie tonight. It was terrifying and I still don't quite know what happened.

She had just finished her dinner (boneless pork), 

she took a quick drink of water, and
then I started brushing her ears like I always do after she eats - the snood
makes them disheveled.

Anyway, suddenly she threw her head down (while standing up) and started making
a weird reverse-sneeze, labored breathing sound while unsuccessfully attempting
to vomit. Her body became very rigid and tense - like a rock. She was standing
wide and even her legs were tense. Her ribs were protruding from her body - I
could see every last rib. She literally looked like she was bloating by the
second. Her body was contorting and changing shape.

I have seen reverse sneezing episodes and that is not what this was.

I ran upstairs in a panic to get my shoes and purse so we could race to the vet.
I couldn't move fast enough. Anyway, I got back downstairs and she was laying on
the ground trying to throw up still. Finally, a tiny amount bile came up as I
was calling the vet. While I was talking to them, she slowly returned to normal.

The image of her ribs protruding so much and her in so much labor will never leave my mind...


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## 3Musketeers (Nov 4, 2010)

Did she by any chance swallow the piece whole? :/


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

3Musketeers said:


> Did she by any chance swallow the piece whole? :/


You know, I was right next to her while she ate, and my ears were listening but I didn't actually see her. I would venture to guess most likely she did. It was very well thawed out and slimy and only a small piece (about 5 oz). 

The vet suggested perhaps she still had a little bit in her throat and had a partial air blockage. 

It's just weird, though, that she took a drink of water and everything first.

It is also very scary that IF she was choking, it did not even cross my mind. I would have been the only one with the power to save her and I wouldn't even have known what was wrong. :frown:


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## luvMyBRT (Mar 8, 2010)

That sounds so scary! I am so glad that she is okay....I would have freaked out too. Was it right after she drank? I too wouldn't think that she would take a drink if she was choking....I hope it doesn't happen again.


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Tess my IG does this sometimes when I feed her boneless. She is a gulper. You can always see her ribs but when this happens she gets a HUGE indent after her ribs and looks scary skinny. She tries to throw up a few times, eventually does it, and re-eats it. She always has a wide stance when doing this. I bet Millie DID throw it up but since she is a big dog and it was a small meal, she threw it back up in her mouth and reswallowed it and was fine.


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## sozzle (May 18, 2011)

You know when that happens to us, we've swallowed something and it gets stuck and it's absolute agony until it's gone down (peanut butter can do that to me), maybe it was something like that, after all dogs do eat very quickly. I'm glad she returned to normal, how terrifying for you.


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

bishopthesheltie said:


> You can always see her ribs but when this happens she gets a HUGE indent after her ribs and looks scary skinny.


Yes yes yes yes!!! This is what happened! Seeing her ribs and her loin tightened up like that was terrifying!


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## Caty M (Aug 13, 2010)

Usually I will cut up her boneless meal into two smaller pieces now. She doesn't chew at all still unless it's a bone in meal, and even then not much. Maybe I just got spoiled by Bishop who chews a piece of meat the size of a penny!


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

bishopthesheltie said:


> Usually I will cut up her boneless meal into two smaller pieces now. She doesn't chew at all still unless it's a bone in meal, and even then not much. Maybe I just got spoiled by Bishop who chews a piece of meat the size of a penny!


I think that is what I am going to do. Yesterday she and Henry each swallowed an entire 8 oz. fish (minus the head) whole. They just slurrrrrrrrped it down. I think with boneless, especially when it is that small and completely thawed out I might just cut it up smaller. The chewy stuff like green tripe, ribs, necks and even bigger hunks of meat get their teeth plenty clean. Honestly, lately, most of their boneless has been ground venison because I got a bunch on sale. Maybe they forgot how to chew unless there is bone LOL.


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## whiteleo (Sep 7, 2008)

My Cayenne does this often if she has eaten something too fast or not chewed something enough, bone included, this is just them trying to bring it back up (reguritating) I can't even remember the first time this happened but I'm sure I was horrified, now it is something I can expect to happen.


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

This has happened to Akasha, Zuri and Freya. They all gulp their meals regardless of what they are fed. They have had these kinds episodes before and its definitely made me nervous. I just make sure that the pieces of meat they get are either small enough to swallow whole, or have to chew before swallowing. They haven't had an issue in about six months (a month after Freya joined us). 

Its just another case of why "know thy dog" is just so important with raw feeding.


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## magicre (Apr 7, 2010)

that is exactly what it sounds like. your vet nailed it.

i'm sorry you got so scared...and sometimes it can be very scary as it happens and you feel so helpless..

if this should ever happen again, g'd forbid, make sure she has a straight through for her airway, even if it means getting behind her and lifting her up so she's standing. that way, you're prepared to do a heimlich. had she been totally blocked you would need that position to help her expel it.

i'm glad it worked out. i'd be very scared too.


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## Celt (Dec 27, 2010)

huh, my oldest iggie, Blaise does this sometimes (without any vomiting), but it has nothing to do with eating. Sometimes it happens after he drinks (especially if he's "gulping", but it's happened just out of the blue too. It is frightening (down right terrifying) but it doesn't seem to bother him any. I just assumed he was having a particularly rough reverse sneeze/coughing fit. Maybe I should take him in and get him checked out.


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## trikerdon (May 14, 2011)

Caty M said:


> Usually I will cut up her boneless meal into two smaller pieces now. She doesn't chew at all still unless it's a bone in meal, and even then not much. Maybe I just got spoiled by Bishop who chews a piece of meat the size of a penny!


Sheba is a gulper so I cut up her boneless meals into smaller bite sized chunks. I have seen her swallow a 4oz piece of boneless port like it wasn't even there.....


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## chowder (Sep 7, 2008)

I don't know if dogs get them, but with humans you can have esophageal spasms. They happen during eating certain foods (it happens to me if I eat steak or anything not chewed thoroughly). They can be very painful and cause a 'reverse sneeze' type of choking sound and vomitting until they pass. It could have been something like this. You can avoid them in humans by having real small pieces of well chewed food. So that could relate to her gulping her food. 

I'm glad that my guys are methodical chewers. That must have been really scary!


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## CorgiPaws (Mar 31, 2009)

Annie does this! She also did it the first month when she was kibble fed as a puppy too, except then it was almost every meal. I'm not sure if it's the gulping in and of itself, or they way it sits in the stomach. It only happens to her with boneless meals, and the more "ball" shaped the chunk is, the more likely it is to happen. The Pork I buy is whole pork legs that are about 20lbs each, and I cut them down for meals in huge chunks, and save the bone for a rainy day. If I give her one that is more of a "strip" than a "ball" then it pretty much never happens, but either way she almost always gets annoyed with chewing it and swallows whole- no matter the shape. 

She gets all sucked in, her rib cage looks HUGE, her legs stand wide, almost bowed, and her tummy is sucked in big time. She tries to regurgitate a few times, and then actually does... re reats it, and either repeats the process, or it settles well and she's fine.


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

PuppyPaws said:


> Annie does this! She also did it the first month when she was kibble fed as a puppy too, except then it was almost every meal. I'm not sure if it's the gulping in and of itself, or they way it sits in the stomach. It only happens to her with boneless meals, and the more "ball" shaped the chunk is, the more likely it is to happen. The Pork I buy is whole pork legs that are about 20lbs each, and I cut them down for meals in huge chunks, and save the bone for a rainy day. If I give her one that is more of a "strip" than a "ball" then it pretty much never happens, but either way she almost always gets annoyed with chewing it and swallows whole- no matter the shape.
> 
> She gets all sucked in, her rib cage looks HUGE, her legs stand wide, almost bowed, and her tummy is sucked in big time. She tries to regurgitate a few times, and then actually does... re reats it, and either repeats the process, or it settles well and she's fine.


Interesting. This was definitely a ball shape.


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