Coughing During Dinner, And The Signs Of Bloat

[Guest dme]

My greyhound starting coughing during her dinner, which I recognized as a possible symptom of bloat. It seemed like maybe a piece of food had gone down the wrong way, and she was coughing/snorting to get it out. She continued coughing here and there, but she finished her dinner. Her tail was wagging the whole time.

 

After dinner she went to lay down and nap, and she seems to be exhibiting normal behavior - she's not panting and doesn't appear to be in pain, isn't panting and not drinking lots of water. But she still coughed occasionally, maybe half an hour later.

 

I don't think she has bloat, but I'm curious when coughing after eating is "too much" coughing, and when I should worry. And do your greys ever simply get something stuck in their throats?

[greysmom]

You can put some water in with the kibble to help it go down easier. I have one who eats *very* fast, and will choke/cough on dry kibble. But the water helps. Your girl may well have abraded her throat, or still have a small piece caught, which is why she continues to cough.

 

Signs of bloat include, panting, pacing, a very fast heartbeat, an inability to settle down, a drum tight belly, unproductive vomiting (not just coughing), and or straining to go potty with no producing. They may also try to drink/eat but are unable to do so.

[Guest Houston1219]

On a lighter note (nothing constructive to add here) when they finally do cough it up, spit out the whole intact piece of kibble, the gross factor is through the roof, but it's hilarious.

 

Hack, hack, hack... *poof* piece of kibble rolls across the floor.

 

Dog: Hey, look! Food! *Munch Munch*

[Guest dme]

Thanks for the good advice! I think it was just a piece of dry food that scraped her throat -never seen it before, so it got my attention, but she's snoozing as normal now.

[maria]

thank goodness!!

[brindlehound]

This has happened to Magic at times too. I'm glad it was nothing horrible.

[quarrystepper]

How long have you had your pup? We have lots of gulpers in our house and swear by the stainless steel ball in the food bowl (Google search for "portion pacer" to see what I mean). It doesn't slow their hoovering much, but at least they can't chomp down on 1/4 cup of food in a single bite anymore.

 

I'm certain there is a medical explanation for this, but Kali will do the reverse sneeze after eating at least twice a week and has never experienced distress or had food reverse direction. *fingers crossed*

[juliemac]

If you have a small ramekin, you can place it upside down in his food bowl to give your hound something to work around to get to all of the food. Also, add a 1/2c water (or other liquid) to the food ... it might slow down the inhalation process, and can give the necessary moisture to the food to avoid problems (you don't need to soak the food unless you want soft kibble).

 

Glad the problem was not bloat!!

[sobesmom]

Bloat is actually not that common in track dogs. Many greys are gulpers, so getting a chuck stuck is not uncommon. Put some water in the food to make it go down easier. Greys don't chew - the swallow whole.

 

It's not a big deal - and it's not bloat - it's just the reaction of a gulper. No biggie.

[Guest Prairie]

Do you place her food bowl on a raised platform while she's eating? Try it. It might eliminate the problem.

As other post-ers suggested, adding a bit of water may help, too.

 

(I totally understand your concern--as a former vet tech, I've seen quite a few bloat cases and will do anything to prevent it!)

[Guest chickenpotpie]

Lucky has gotten the odd kibble stuck....and one that flew out of her mouth across the room Add water to the food and it should be fine.

[Time4ANap]

I'm just seeing this now but wanted to post the link to a Bloat Symptom Chart that I keep on our refrigerator, just in case.

 

Print it out and put the numbers for your vet and E-vet in the space provided. Then put it on the refrigerator or mount in a prominent place where you can find it when needed.

[quarrystepper]

Given all the advice to add water, is it safe to assume that the whole "don't add water to kibble that uses citric acid as a preservative, because it starts to break the kibble down too fast" advice (which I have read elsewhere on GT) is actually not a real thing to be concerned about?

[KF_in_Georgia]

Melody & Drew: How fast is "too fast"? Unless water breaks down the kibble in the first 30 seconds, kibble at my house has gone on to face a more serious breakdown than water will inflict.

 

Regarding the coughing: When we near the bottom of a bag, there's lots of crumbs. If that winds up in the dogs' dishes, the dogs are liable to cough and choke some. They're used to inhaling kibble, and they aren't prepared to be inhaling crumbs instead.

 

And a warning to dme (the original poster): If they cough enough, dogs are apt to cough up dinner that's gone down the wrong way. Then they'll eat it again. Gross, but at least you don't have to clean up a pile of soggy kibble. And for those of us who really don't like touching soggy kibble with our bare hands--I use a poop bag over my hand to scoop up unwanted kibble, bag the kibble just like poop, and knot the bag so I don't have to smell the stuff loose in the trash can. (I can cope with pee, poop, and blood. Something about vomited food, though...)

[quarrystepper]

Melody & Drew: How fast is "too fast"? Unless water breaks down the kibble in the first 30 seconds, kibble at my house has gone on to face a more serious breakdown than water will inflict.

 

I agree, which is why I was surprised to read that advice offered with such seriousness on previous food threads (like post #11 here). Seemed relevant to mention since the OP is concerned about risk factors for bloat.

[KF_in_Georgia]

The article quoted blames the increased risk on citric acid more than on the water. The citric acid increases bloat risk 3x; owner-moistened food that contains citric acid increases bloat risk 4x.

 

Out of curiosity, I checked what I feed. My guys get Iams in the green bag (everything else gives soft poop). I usually buy the mini-chunks rather than the large breed version. It turns out that the large breed formula contains citric acid (as the last ingredient); the mini-chunks doesn't have citric acid.

[RaineysMom]

Bloat is actually not that common in track dogs. Many greys are gulpers, so getting a chuck stuck is not uncommon. Put some water in the food to make it go down easier. Greys don't chew - the swallow whole.

 

It's not a big deal - and it's not bloat - it's just the reaction of a gulper. No biggie.

our first two, Anubis and Rainey, both bloated. More common than you think....at least it is at our house....

[sobesmom]

our first two, Anubis and Rainey, both bloated. More common than you think....at least it is at our house....

 

our first two, Anubis and Rainey, both bloated. More common than you think....at least it is at our house....

I'll stand corrected. I've heard of very few track greys bloat. But - you obviously have experience, so I'll defer to your knowledge.