FlowerSTL Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 Hello - Looking for advice about my greyhound, who is 5 years old and has a hard time keeping water down. Here are the facts: She eats, poops, plays, exercises, sleeps, etc., all regularly. This ONLY thing remarkable about her is that after drinking water, she will usually heave it back up within a few seconds. She always keeps her food down without issue. She is also not dehydrated because (1) she still can keep water down about half the time and does so every day; and (2) I wet her food and she gets hydration via that route as well. I've taken her to the vet who has assured me this is not an emergency situation or cause for alarm. The vet has also ruled out tracheal collapse, pharyngeal laryngitis, and mega-esophagus. Heart size is normal, etc., etc. There is no obvious medical reason for this according to the vet. I have tried adjusting the height of her bowls at all different levels. No height has fixed the issue, but having her water bowl on the floor seems to work best for her and lessen the frequency of spitting up. I have researched the issue on this forum and it seems others have experienced it too, but there never seems to be a clear answer, and much of the conversation about his issue is several years old. Was wondering if maybe anyone has any more recent solutions/suggestions? I've seen posts about trying Gatorade instead of water, trying a Cerenia injection, etc., but have not tried any of that yet . . . Thanks in advance for your input! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnF Posted February 6, 2021 Share Posted February 6, 2021 What temperature is the water? If Peggy goes and drinks the water from the bowl in the garden when it's near freezing she will gag on it too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyRunDog Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Grace gags occasionally too. Are you using a raised stand for her water and food bowls? Quote Grace (Ardera Coleen) b. 18 June 2014 - Gotcha Day 10 June 2018 - Going grey gracefullyGuinness (Antigua Rum) b. 3 September 2017 - Gotcha Day 18 March 2022 - A gentleman most of the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
organistswife Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Please do. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mercsmom Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Following. I have the same issue, or rather, Mercury does. Quote Momma to Jupiter. Mummy to my Bridge Angels, Mercury and Liberty, the world's best blackngreylabhound Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlowerSTL Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 Thanks for everyone’s responses so far! Water is room temperature, and yes, she has raised bowls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShebasMom Posted February 7, 2021 Share Posted February 7, 2021 Maybe drinking the water too fast at times? If so, perhaps someone on this forum can give you some tips to slow the drinking down? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlowerSTL Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 Unfortunately this happens even when she drinks very slowly. She doesn’t typically gulp her water super fast. She is an enigma! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeyRunDog Posted February 8, 2021 Share Posted February 8, 2021 Enigma and greyhounds go together like greyhounds and sofas I don't know how long you've had her or how long this has been going on, but having done a quick Google search of "Dogs gag when drinking water" the most common reason seems to be Kennel Cough but I guess as you've already had the vet look at her he would have noticed that. I would be wary of giving her Gatorade as it contains Acesulfame K, a cancer causing sweetener. It might be a condition you both have to live with and hopefully she'll grow out of it. Quote Grace (Ardera Coleen) b. 18 June 2014 - Gotcha Day 10 June 2018 - Going grey gracefullyGuinness (Antigua Rum) b. 3 September 2017 - Gotcha Day 18 March 2022 - A gentleman most of the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlowerSTL Posted February 9, 2021 Author Share Posted February 9, 2021 On 2/8/2021 at 12:46 AM, HeyRunDog said: Enigma and greyhounds go together like greyhounds and sofas I don't know how long you've had her or how long this has been going on, but having done a quick Google search of "Dogs gag when drinking water" the most common reason seems to be Kennel Cough but I guess as you've already had the vet look at her he would have noticed that. I would be wary of giving her Gatorade as it contains Acesulfame K, a cancer causing sweetener. It might be a condition you both have to live with and hopefully she'll grow out of it. Helpful to know about the Gatorade - thank you! And agreed as far as potentially just having to live with it; one seasoned greyhound owner advised me she might just have a mild, benign birth defect. One thought I had was to potentially try adding Thick-It to her water in the event she is experiencing some sort of dysphagia when it comes to fluids. I read that dogs can have it; don't know about greyhounds specifically so if anyone has thoughts about that, please feel free to share! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlowerSTL Posted April 1, 2021 Author Share Posted April 1, 2021 Update for anyone interested and/or experiencing the same issue. Flower's cough is not 100% cured, but is currently so much better than it was several weeks ago. She's gone from hacking hard and spitting up multiple times a day to just light huffing and puffing when she takes a drink and almost no more spitting up! I am not 100% sure of why she has improved, but here are some things I've tried in recent days/weeks that could be the cause for her improvement: 1. The vet thought perhaps she was experiencing some inflammation in her larynx, so she gave her a dexamethasone shot and a round of prednisone. 2. I've started her on a probiotic (she has a sensitive tummy). In the event she is puking up the water because she's got GI issues, maybe this is helping/will help. 3. A humidifier by her bed (the things we do for them!). If her throat is irritated due to dryness, maybe this will help. I have noticed that when I adopted her in September 2020, her cough was not bad, but then got much worse over the drier winter months. Perhaps it's getting better now because the weather is getting warmer and more humid? I hope this is helpful to anyone experiencing the same issues! If I learn anything else, I will share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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