Gurgling, regurgitation, and burping/gas

[GreytMom]

Hi all - I'd like your thoughts. I know there is a lot of wisdom and experience on this site.

Short version.... Brin is an 11 yo F grey, I've had her for nearly 6 yrs. Been quite healthy except for nerve pain in her back - so she has been on Gabapentin 100mg am, 300mg pm for past year. (Also has been on a fish oil supplement and Cosequin-DS the entire time i've had her.)

*Started regurgitating water consistently about a year ago - vet warned food could soon follow so to get it under control quickly. I had been using a 15" elevated feeder/water dish, but 1 yr ago got a  20" elevated feeder/water dish. Problem solved for about a year.

*Recently - several episodes of regurgitating water (but no where near as consistently as a year ago... at least not yet), lots of gurgling when drinking, more burping than usual, more gas than usual. My pretty obvious conclusion - seems she is swallowing a lot of air when drinking. 

*This morning - regurgitated all her breakfast (I think... didn't see it happen but I believe regurgitation rather than vomiting) within about 5 minutes of eating. There were three piles, whereas with water it is only once and immediately after drinking - as in within a foot of the water dish. I feed dry kibble (Taste of the Wild, Pacific Stream) with a bit of water. (Same food entire time I've had her.) She had been begging for breakfast so seemed to be feeling well and was hungry.

*I gave her 20 or so pieces of dry kibble a few hours later and she did fine. A treat or two. Fine. A tiny bit more dry kibble a few hours later. Fine. 

So, what's the diagnosis? Gastric reflux? I started her on famotadine this afternoon. I put her on it a year back also. I think it helped. I'm guessing reflux or megaesophagus. Hoping just reflux, because with her back I can't keep her standing or upright for an hour after eating if it is megaesophagus, her back won't take that. 

I'm getting ready to feed her dinner. Will give her less than usual and without the water. If it comes up, we will see the vet tomorrow. But, I know there is much knowledge on this site so I'm wondering what your thoughts and experiences are. Thanks in advance!

 

 

[Frank]

My Bulldog did this. He was diagnosed with a stomach hernia. He didn't appear to vomit. It was almost like a quick, massive burp and then all the water came up. Vet told me to give him original strength Pepcid 20 to 30 minutes prior to eating as well as another pill he prescribed. Unfortunately it was so long ago I don't recall the other medicine he was taking. Sorry. Once he was on those meds he had no other problems. 

[GreytMom]

Hey Frank - says you are new - so welcome! 😊 And thanks for sharing your experience. Sounds similar and I hadn’t thought of a hernia - but glad to hear there may be a med to help. I did giver her Pepcid (famotidine) before dinner and that stayed down so hope that works. 🤞

[Frank]

Thanks for the welcome. I've been lurking for quite a while now and researching Greyhounds for my potential next dog. I tend to do a lot of research before pulling the trigger. I had to put down my Bulldog last July, he was almost 10. I figure with the ban on racing in Fl. there will be a lot of Greys that need a home. So hopefully around February of next year I will be seriously looking to adopt. I don't say much on here because I don't have the knowledge base to contribute but your issue hit home and I thought my info would help.Now back to lurk mode 

[BatterseaBrindl]

I would start feeding her smaller meals, a few times a day and see how that goes.

Perhaps limit how much water she can drink at once.

Have you talked to your vet about this lately?

[greysmom]

Yes, definintely keep on with the acid reducer before eating, and start with several smaller meals every two or three hours.  Megasophagus is a possibility, and also Laryngeal paralysis, but it could also just be reflux.  If you have access to a specialty hospital/clinic you might try investigating this with a specialist.  Regular vets are great (for the most part), but they can't keep up with every new piece of info in every field, so an internal medicine specialist might be the way to go.

The other thought I had was that she may just be eating/drinking too quickly.  There are bowls you can buy to slow her down, but you can get the same effect by putting an upside down cereal bowl in her food bow, feeding her in a muffin tin, or spreading her food out on a cookie tray.  A *small* amount of water or broth on her food may also help - not soupy, but enough to moisten the kibble and help them get all the way to the stomach the first time.

I also mention this just as something to think about - some of her symptoms sound like those of dogs dealing with Nutritional Dilated CardioMyopathy.  Often heart issues will hide or begin as digestive problems.  Taste of the Wild is on the list of grain free foods that are implicated.  Your vet should have further info on what and how to investigate this avenue further.

[GreytMom]

21 hours ago, Frank said:

Thanks for the welcome. I've been lurking for quite a while now and researching Greyhounds for my potential next dog. I tend to do a lot of research before pulling the trigger. I had to put down my Bulldog last July, he was almost 10. I figure with the ban on racing in Fl. there will be a lot of Greys that need a home. So hopefully around February of next year I will be seriously looking to adopt. I don't say much on here because I don't have the knowledge base to contribute but your issue hit home and I thought my info would help.Now back to lurk mode 

Thanks for coming out of lurking mode to comment. I think if I’d lurked here before I got a greyhound I might never have gotten one! But, tons of us have had multiple hounds. (I’m on #’s 2 and 3 currently. Having narrowly avoided a #4 multiple times.) So, despite some of the issues they are amazing dogs... IMHO. 😉 Sorry about your pup. Bulldog to greyhound? Wow. What a difference! Best of luck on your upcoming adoption. 😊

[GreytMom]

Batterseabrindl and greysmom - thanks for your thoughts and suggestions. I did smaller meals more often Fri/Sat, she has been fine, but I can’t really manage that during my Mon-Thurs work week. So, this morning I gave her a regular amount to see what would happen, and she seemed fine. Well, coughed a piece out of her throat but that’s pretty normal for her. And probably a symptom of whatever the problem is. She doesn’t eat very fast or drink a lot at one time, so I think this is more health-related than behavioral. My vet, who is phenomenal, (only took years to find her!) wasn’t too worried about the grain-free food, but we didn’t really discuss that in relation to her choking/coughing/regurgitation. It was our first visit with the new vet so there was a lot to cover. We didn’t focus too much on any one thing. I have to take my other grey for shots in a few weeks and will talk to her again. If things get worse we will get in sooner - but she seems to be doing ok again. And, yes, there are two very good specialty clinics nearby so we will go there if necessary. She has seen the neuro at one of them, so it wouldn’t be a new thing for us. I’m off to look up symptoms of laryngeal paralysis and nutritional dilated cardiomyopathy, while holding out hope it’s just reflux. Thanks again. 😊