My previous girl had a paralyzed larynx and exhibited this behavior Please have your vet check him out. My girl sounded like she had smoked a few packs when she coughed also. You might want to consider changing vets if they just put him on ABX without testing him. Best of luck
I know that millions of different things can look similar especially when you're not a medical expert but this comment got me a little worried since my boy started making these almost exactly. He sometimes coughs and sometimes his breaths will make a very "bassy" noise when he gets too excited at times kinda similar to that "smoker sound". I always thought it was because of his age since it comes and goes and moreover linked to excitement or intense physical activity so i wasn't that worried because it doesn't affect him at all other than the noise he makes. I was gonna take him to a vet but i think I'll have to get him sooner than planned just in case.
Our girl was @ 11 when she started the raspy cough and was diagnosed with the paralyzed larynx. She was in good spirits and was monitored closely by our vet. Kimlendius, Ithought the same until we notified our vet. Good luck
Oh thank you for this information! I just did a little research and turned out if it is the case, there's no cure but unless it's something severe or caused by something like a tumor etc. it looks manageable with a little bit of care.
Mine is currently 14 and has started doing this just a while ago but gotten stronger. The things I've read from medical papers and articles fits almost perfectly but you never know without an exam of course. So I'll be doing that as soon as possible.
Just in case, until I'll make sure with my vet, did you do anything else or needed something? I've already limited his exercise since his breathing gets louder and "bassy" when he gets tired anyway but he's as energetic and healthy as a 14 year old can possibly be so far and that's the only "symptom" we got. Would be great to know until i get back and got him to the vet.
Again, thank you so much for making me aware of such a thing even if it's just a possible thing for now.
No, our vet said we didn’t need to do anything differently, just monitor her. It’s fairly common , sadly. Shortly after, she was dx’d with bone cancer 😥. We did a lot for that-chemo, radiation, cbd, acupuncture and lots of pain meds. She had 6+ months of quality of life before she decided it was time to be with her sister.
Oh, so sorry to hear that and sorry for your loss as well. You seem like you made everything for her so at least that should be a little bit of comfort out of this. I also have a bit of history with cancer thanks to my family's great genetics so i can somewhat relate.
Meanwhile, till i get back and be able to get him to a vet I'm still looking for the disease but so far the "smoker breathing" seems like very different. My fear was that so far it seemed nothing serious at all but it could just turn out as cancer since I'm familiar with lung cancer so i automatically thought it would be either nothing but an age related thing or cancer and I'm now learning about this. Though this breathing sounds very different than mine's. He doesn't seem like he's having any problem with breathing but being loud like you would when you get cold bad and it goes away. But now i learned something which is a possibility that i should be aware of. So again thank you for letting me know! And also sorry for your loss.
Thank you. She was a very well loved girl & we still miss her. The paralyzed larynx was very minor,
compared to the rest. I hope your pup is well and still has many more good years with you❤️.
Thanks! Gonna take a couple days to get back and take him to the vet but while waiting i talked to a friend of mine who's also vet. According to him, it doesn't sound like it since the noise comes from mostly while exhaling instead of inhaling and from the chest and since he has no discomfort for whatsoever, asked me just to monitor him just in case like i've been doing anyway until further exams. So it might just be something related to his age. We'll know more wen i get back.
But thank you again for making me aware of such thing.
Mine does this if I give him one of those marrow bones. Like he hacking up something that’s stuck in his throat. He’s still playful, eats and drinks normally so it doesn’t bother me too much.
Mine will do this after he eats a longish piece of grass and it gets stuck in his throat. The irritation makes him hypersalivate and sometimes he'll have watery vomit. You can try gently putting a couple of fingers down his throat and seeing if you can dislodge anything.
Let us know how this turns out. I had a golden that did this occasionally, but it was far from being chronic. But I never know when it may happen again so I'll be interested in what you find out with further vet assessment.
We are in line to see a specialist at Cornell but have 25 cases ahead of us :( Thank you everyone for all of your comments, insight and well wishes. You don’t even know how much I appreciate all of your support. I will keep you posted once we get to the bottom of it. Hopefully this feed will help other dog/golden retriever owners as well!
Yup. My pup did the same sporadically and was just diagnosed with acid reflux after ruling out other possibilities with X-rays, etc. Started soaking his kibble before giving it, dividing meals in two to slow pace of eating and he gets a Prilosec occasionally as needed. It’s been a big improvement. I would suggest getting a second opinion.
My oldest does this a lot. Usually he throws up a little later. He has thyroid disease and this is a side effect he gets when the medication isn’t correct dosed. You should have him checked out at the vet.
A friend of mine’s golden does this! Becomes absolutely obsessed with eating dead leaves and then hacks them back up. Unfortunately no idea what it is, and it happens very sporadically.
Does his breath smell worse than usual? If so it could be GERD (heartburn). If that's the case then you were on the right track when doing the chicken and rice but you might try smaller meals. There are some kibbles designed for GERD issues but they are usually prescription. If you can (and I know this is hard to tell a dog to do) get him to sleep with his head elevated on something like a pillow
It does! It’s been really bad lately but I noticed it had gotten a little better for the last 2 weeks. I have been giving him Pepcid but even when I have heart burn it doesn’t work great when GERD is already in action. :( I’ll ask my vet about a solution for that!
My dog did this and it turned out to be GERD. The vet recommended we change to a different food (which we did) and she had us give her a Pepcid tablet (OTC) 30 minutes before her meals for several weeks while she transitioned and her tummy got used to the new food. Hasn’t had the issue since. I’m just mentioning it to let you know it might be something easy and inexpensive to treat. Definitely check with your vet before giving your dog any medication. Best of luck to you and your beautiful golden boy. : )
Royal Canin Digestive Care for large dogs (both wet and dry food). We also give her Synacore pre/probiotics (recommended by vet - I buy them on chewy) and a fish oil supplement (I just buy the big bottle from Costco).
My dog (half golden) did this occasionally too, including licking the floor. The only thing that would help him in these fits is take him out and let him eat a bunch of grass. It's the only thing that he'd want too. My vet pretty much said "Yeah those things happen sometimes". It took me a while to realise, but for my dog it's related to butterfat/milkfat. So I'd say it's a stomach/GERD/heartburn type thing, possibly related to food. Definitely seek out another vet willing to get to the bottom of it, just thought I'd share my experience.
OP literally says they are on a wait list to see a specialist. Seeing if others have experienced similar isn’t a bad thing to do while waiting if previous vets aren’t concerned.
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Almost as if he’s got dry mouth or something? People do this when they have that issue. As for eating grass? Dogs will do that when they have indigestion, which isn’t that unusual.
Had this happen a few times. Maybe once a year. Vet couldn’t give an answer (not surprising). Only thing I could correlate is the dog getting a large variety and quantity of snacks/treats in the days leading up, probably leading to upset stomach.
So it is 100% acid reflux.
We had been feeding purina pro plan sensitive stomach and everything was fine but then all of a sudden they must have changed something. I switched him over slowly to Royal Canin Canine Care Nutrition Large Digestive Care Dry Dog Food along with some rice and ground turkey mixed in for a while during the transition & then checked with my vet to make sure it was ok to give him 2 Famotidine(Pepcid) a day. Which he confirmed was fine. We have stuck to this and haven’t had an issue since this post. 🤞🏼
He does still swallow here and there when I skip the Famotidine (skipping it from time to time bc I want to try to Wean him off of it at some point going to try to add in a probiotic at some point).
Thanks so much for the response and putting my mind at ease. Of course, we’ll still visit the vet but it’s a relief to know it could be as simple as acid reflux. We feed our Goldens the Royal Canine Golden Retriever formula and haven’t had a problem up to this point. Glad your pup is doing better! Many thanks!
My previous girl had a paralyzed larynx and exhibited this behavior Please have your vet check him out. My girl sounded like she had smoked a few packs when she coughed also. You might want to consider changing vets if they just put him on ABX without testing him. Best of luck
Agree, giving antibiotics “just in case they have something” just means they don’t know what to do and have no answers
I know that millions of different things can look similar especially when you're not a medical expert but this comment got me a little worried since my boy started making these almost exactly. He sometimes coughs and sometimes his breaths will make a very "bassy" noise when he gets too excited at times kinda similar to that "smoker sound". I always thought it was because of his age since it comes and goes and moreover linked to excitement or intense physical activity so i wasn't that worried because it doesn't affect him at all other than the noise he makes. I was gonna take him to a vet but i think I'll have to get him sooner than planned just in case.
Our girl was @ 11 when she started the raspy cough and was diagnosed with the paralyzed larynx. She was in good spirits and was monitored closely by our vet. Kimlendius, Ithought the same until we notified our vet. Good luck
Oh thank you for this information! I just did a little research and turned out if it is the case, there's no cure but unless it's something severe or caused by something like a tumor etc. it looks manageable with a little bit of care. Mine is currently 14 and has started doing this just a while ago but gotten stronger. The things I've read from medical papers and articles fits almost perfectly but you never know without an exam of course. So I'll be doing that as soon as possible. Just in case, until I'll make sure with my vet, did you do anything else or needed something? I've already limited his exercise since his breathing gets louder and "bassy" when he gets tired anyway but he's as energetic and healthy as a 14 year old can possibly be so far and that's the only "symptom" we got. Would be great to know until i get back and got him to the vet. Again, thank you so much for making me aware of such a thing even if it's just a possible thing for now.
No, our vet said we didn’t need to do anything differently, just monitor her. It’s fairly common , sadly. Shortly after, she was dx’d with bone cancer 😥. We did a lot for that-chemo, radiation, cbd, acupuncture and lots of pain meds. She had 6+ months of quality of life before she decided it was time to be with her sister.
Oh, so sorry to hear that and sorry for your loss as well. You seem like you made everything for her so at least that should be a little bit of comfort out of this. I also have a bit of history with cancer thanks to my family's great genetics so i can somewhat relate. Meanwhile, till i get back and be able to get him to a vet I'm still looking for the disease but so far the "smoker breathing" seems like very different. My fear was that so far it seemed nothing serious at all but it could just turn out as cancer since I'm familiar with lung cancer so i automatically thought it would be either nothing but an age related thing or cancer and I'm now learning about this. Though this breathing sounds very different than mine's. He doesn't seem like he's having any problem with breathing but being loud like you would when you get cold bad and it goes away. But now i learned something which is a possibility that i should be aware of. So again thank you for letting me know! And also sorry for your loss.
Thank you. She was a very well loved girl & we still miss her. The paralyzed larynx was very minor, compared to the rest. I hope your pup is well and still has many more good years with you❤️.
Thanks! Gonna take a couple days to get back and take him to the vet but while waiting i talked to a friend of mine who's also vet. According to him, it doesn't sound like it since the noise comes from mostly while exhaling instead of inhaling and from the chest and since he has no discomfort for whatsoever, asked me just to monitor him just in case like i've been doing anyway until further exams. So it might just be something related to his age. We'll know more wen i get back. But thank you again for making me aware of such thing.
Absolutely & I wish the best for your pup. My girl did not exhibit any discomfort either. I’m glad you have a vet appt for him. Please post an update
Definitely a throat/mouth/digestion issue.
https://preview.redd.it/wagql7p8asfc1.jpeg?width=2822&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cf45a0a31272040279c5fbb3936f5f3693ced6e2
Mine does this if I give him one of those marrow bones. Like he hacking up something that’s stuck in his throat. He’s still playful, eats and drinks normally so it doesn’t bother me too much.
Mine will do this after he eats a longish piece of grass and it gets stuck in his throat. The irritation makes him hypersalivate and sometimes he'll have watery vomit. You can try gently putting a couple of fingers down his throat and seeing if you can dislodge anything.
Let us know how this turns out. I had a golden that did this occasionally, but it was far from being chronic. But I never know when it may happen again so I'll be interested in what you find out with further vet assessment.
We are in line to see a specialist at Cornell but have 25 cases ahead of us :( Thank you everyone for all of your comments, insight and well wishes. You don’t even know how much I appreciate all of your support. I will keep you posted once we get to the bottom of it. Hopefully this feed will help other dog/golden retriever owners as well!
Do an X-ray to rule out any masses and esophagus issue, ask about the possibility of acid reflux.
Thank you! Will do!
Yup. My pup did the same sporadically and was just diagnosed with acid reflux after ruling out other possibilities with X-rays, etc. Started soaking his kibble before giving it, dividing meals in two to slow pace of eating and he gets a Prilosec occasionally as needed. It’s been a big improvement. I would suggest getting a second opinion.
My oldest does this a lot. Usually he throws up a little later. He has thyroid disease and this is a side effect he gets when the medication isn’t correct dosed. You should have him checked out at the vet.
A friend of mine’s golden does this! Becomes absolutely obsessed with eating dead leaves and then hacks them back up. Unfortunately no idea what it is, and it happens very sporadically.
Does his breath smell worse than usual? If so it could be GERD (heartburn). If that's the case then you were on the right track when doing the chicken and rice but you might try smaller meals. There are some kibbles designed for GERD issues but they are usually prescription. If you can (and I know this is hard to tell a dog to do) get him to sleep with his head elevated on something like a pillow
It does! It’s been really bad lately but I noticed it had gotten a little better for the last 2 weeks. I have been giving him Pepcid but even when I have heart burn it doesn’t work great when GERD is already in action. :( I’ll ask my vet about a solution for that!
My dog did this and it turned out to be GERD. The vet recommended we change to a different food (which we did) and she had us give her a Pepcid tablet (OTC) 30 minutes before her meals for several weeks while she transitioned and her tummy got used to the new food. Hasn’t had the issue since. I’m just mentioning it to let you know it might be something easy and inexpensive to treat. Definitely check with your vet before giving your dog any medication. Best of luck to you and your beautiful golden boy. : )
Thank you!! 😊
You’re welcome.
Also what food did you guys switch to?? He’s been through so many (I’ve transitioned them all VERY slowly) but no luck with anything yet.
Royal Canin Digestive Care for large dogs (both wet and dry food). We also give her Synacore pre/probiotics (recommended by vet - I buy them on chewy) and a fish oil supplement (I just buy the big bottle from Costco).
My golden does this all the time. Only last a min or so. Usually rubbing his neck helps.
My dog (half golden) did this occasionally too, including licking the floor. The only thing that would help him in these fits is take him out and let him eat a bunch of grass. It's the only thing that he'd want too. My vet pretty much said "Yeah those things happen sometimes". It took me a while to realise, but for my dog it's related to butterfat/milkfat. So I'd say it's a stomach/GERD/heartburn type thing, possibly related to food. Definitely seek out another vet willing to get to the bottom of it, just thought I'd share my experience.
Looks like maybe some indigestion came up and coated the mouth.
Talk to your vet
Read. OP has been to the vet but the vet didn’t know what was happening and brushed it off.
Then needs to get second or third opinion, from another vet
OP literally says they are on a wait list to see a specialist. Seeing if others have experienced similar isn’t a bad thing to do while waiting if previous vets aren’t concerned.
Just a friendly reminder of our rules: 1. No Advertising: this includes GoFundMe, Instagram, etc. 2. No Impersonation: don't post photos of other people's dogs. That's not cool. 3. No Breed Hate: this subreddit is not a discussion forum for breed hate of any kind. There are dedicated subreddits for that so please take it elsewhere. *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/goldenretrievers) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Almost as if he’s got dry mouth or something? People do this when they have that issue. As for eating grass? Dogs will do that when they have indigestion, which isn’t that unusual.
Mine did this a lot. He lived a long, healthy life
My Golden with Megaesophagus was doing the same.
Had this happen a few times. Maybe once a year. Vet couldn’t give an answer (not surprising). Only thing I could correlate is the dog getting a large variety and quantity of snacks/treats in the days leading up, probably leading to upset stomach.
He just started this up beginning of Jan! But hadn’t had it happen for about a year!
Did you get a resolution on this? My golden is doing the same thing. I stumbled upon your post while searching for these symptoms.
So it is 100% acid reflux. We had been feeding purina pro plan sensitive stomach and everything was fine but then all of a sudden they must have changed something. I switched him over slowly to Royal Canin Canine Care Nutrition Large Digestive Care Dry Dog Food along with some rice and ground turkey mixed in for a while during the transition & then checked with my vet to make sure it was ok to give him 2 Famotidine(Pepcid) a day. Which he confirmed was fine. We have stuck to this and haven’t had an issue since this post. 🤞🏼 He does still swallow here and there when I skip the Famotidine (skipping it from time to time bc I want to try to Wean him off of it at some point going to try to add in a probiotic at some point).
& thank you again to u/50FirstCakes who really helped solve the issue!
I’m so glad it helped your lovely sweet pup too! 🫶🏼
Thanks so much for the response and putting my mind at ease. Of course, we’ll still visit the vet but it’s a relief to know it could be as simple as acid reflux. We feed our Goldens the Royal Canine Golden Retriever formula and haven’t had a problem up to this point. Glad your pup is doing better! Many thanks!