Dog and Puppy Hiccups Guide

Humans and dogs alike can suffer from hiccups. While dog or puppy hiccups can be endearing to us, they can be annoying for your dog.

Here’s some insight on dog hiccups, from what exactly happens when a dog hiccups to why dogs get them and when you should be worried about them.

What Are Dog and Puppy Hiccups?

Hiccups in dogs and puppies are caused by rapid contraction of the diaphragm. The diaphragm is a thin, strong muscle that separates a dog’s chest cavity from their abdomen. It’s the primary muscle involved in breathing.

When a dog breathes in, their diaphragm contracts and moves downward, making space in the chest cavity for their lungs to expand. When a dog breathes out, their diaphragm relaxes and moves up into their chest cavity as their lungs contract. Diaphragm movements are usually smooth and regular, but when the diaphragm suddenly spasms, the result is a hiccup.

A hiccup is a small spasm that can cause slight movement and a quick “hic” noise. Hiccups are involuntary, and once triggered, this reflex causes a contraction of the diaphragm followed quickly by closure of the vocal cords (specifically the glottis), which results in the “hic” sound. This contraction (or myoclonic jerk) of the diaphragm may repeat several times per minute.

Do Hiccups Hurt Dogs?

Although they can’t speak to us, we can tell from a dog’s reactions that hiccups do not hurt. They can be annoying when they last for long periods, but dogs tend to remain calm during these contractions, with no signs of stress, anxiety, or pain. Hiccups can last for only a few seconds to hours in rare instances, but they normally do not require any treatment.

Why Do Dogs Get Hiccups?

Unfortunately, researchers don’t know why humans or dogs hiccup. One theory is that hiccups are leftover mechanisms from when we were developing in the uterus. Fetal hiccups have been documented in many species. Some scientists believe that hiccuping in the womb could be a passive test of breathing muscles.

Dog hiccups are thought to be caused when a dog swallows too much air. This can happen when dogs eat or drink quickly, experience stress, engage in heavy play, become excited, and/or inhale something irritating or caustic. Severe anxiety or rapid breathing can also cause contractions in a dog’s diaphragm.

Why Do Puppies Get Hiccups?

Puppies are much more prone to hiccups than adult dogs. This is because they tend to ingest more air due to their higher levels of exertion and excitement. Puppies can also start hiccuping when they are tired, cold, or excited.

Another possibility is that puppies’ muscles are weaker, and their bodies are not fully matured, making them more prone to muscle contractions. It is normal for a puppy to hiccup, even daily, as long as the hiccuping only last for a few minutes and is not coupled with drooling, lethargy, coughing/wheezing, or hard swallowing.

How to Get Rid of Dog Hiccups

Most hiccup episodes last only a few minutes. If they last longer, or your dog seems agitated by them, you can offer them room temperature water or water with a small amount of honey, maple syrup, or Karo® syrup. Adding these forms of sugar can be a happy distraction that will hopefully help calm your dog’s breathing.

Sometimes the swallowing reflex can interrupt the hiccups. You can try to massage your dog’s chest and throat to stimulate swallowing.

Encourage walking or light exercise to help change your dog’s breathing patterns. If your dog likes tummy rubs, you can place them on their back and give a loving belly rub to try to stop the hiccups.

Do not offer your dog food or water when they are lying on their back, as this can lead to aspiration of unwanted material into the lungs.

Do not give your dog large meals or solid meals during violent hiccups, as this can lead to choking and aspiration pneumonia.

If you have a puppy that’s prone to getting hiccups because they eat or drink too quickly, try to slow them down. Offer small amounts of water in frequent sessions. Also, offer small amounts of food and then wait a couple of minutes before offering more food so they swallow less air while eating. You can also try one of the many slow feeder options that are designed to slow down fast eaters.

When Should You Worry About Dog Hiccups?

Dog hiccups usually go away on their own. In rare cases, they can be a sign of a more serious medical problem such as:

• Asthma/respiratory issues

• Pneumonia

• Heart problems

• Heatstroke

• Foreign body ingestion

• Nausea and upset stomach

Take your dog to a veterinarian as soon as possible if:

• The hiccups last more than a few hours

• Your dog seems to be in pain

• Your dog is not eating or drinking

• Your dog is drooling excessively

• Your dog starts to vomit

• The hiccups change to a wheezing sound

• Your dog is having difficulty breathing

Featured Image: iStock. com/Ridofranz

WRITTEN BY

Katie Grzyb, DVM

Veterinarian

Dr. Katie Grzyb received her Doctorate of Veterinary Medicine from Ross University in 2009. She continued her clinical training at…

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Should You Be Alarmed About Your Dog’s Hiccups?

Dog hiccups are cute, but should you be worried? Does it have any underlying conditions that may be a cause for concern? Most of the time, dog hiccups are perfectly normal and will resolve themselves in a few minutes. However, once the hiccups start to last for hours and begin to affect your dog’s quality of life, you should consider taking your fur baby to the vet.

Understanding dog hiccups

We’ll first look at the anatomy involved in the respiration process of dogs to know more about their hiccups. When your dog breathes in, the diaphragm contracts and moves downward to make more room in the chest cavity for the lungs to expand. The diaphragm relaxes and moves up the chest cavity once your dog exhales.

If the diaphragm spasms, it interrupts this smooth internal process, resulting in dog hiccups. But what can cause these spasms? Let’s look at a few of them.

What causes dog hiccups?

Common causes of dog hiccups include:

• Eating & drinking quickly
• Stress
• Overexcitement
• Stomach gas
• Spicy, hot, or cold food
• Medications

Eating or drinking too quickly

When your pooch is eating or drinking too quickly, they’re most likely going to swallow more air and start to hiccup. This sudden air intake, otherwise known as aerophagia, will cause stomach distention and irritate the muscle diaphragm, causing it to contract.

You should also refrain from giving your dog extremely hot or cold food as these will irritate the esophagus and its phrenic and vagus nerves, which also cause dog hiccups.

Stress and overexcitement

Stress and overexcitement can also induce hiccups in dogs. Their heart rate and cortisol levels increase, which will then irritate the diaphragm. They’ll also take shorter and shallower breaths due to stress and excitement. They’ll then start breathing using their chest instead of their diaphragm.

Stomach Gas

In some cases, dog hiccups can be good for your dog. Hiccups are one way for the body to get rid of excess gas in the stomach.

Spicy Food

Eating spicy food is another common cause of dog hiccups. Spicy treats will always cause stomach gas. It will lead to excessive thirst, and it might prompt them to drink water too quickly. Lastly, capsaicin, a common ingredient in spicy food with chili, will encourage neuron activity in the diaphragm, causing contractions that lead to hiccups.

Medications

Medications like corticosteroids, benzodiazepines, and antibiotics may also induce hiccups in dogs. These medicines can irritate the esophagus and cause acid reflux.

All of these factors will cause normal dog hiccups. However, under rare circumstances, these hiccups can be caused by other serious underlying issues like:

• Pneumonia
• Bronchitis
• Esophageal tumors
• Respiratory defects
• Heatstroke
• Pericarditis
• Asthma

If your dog’s hiccups last for more than an hour and start to have irregular or labored breathing, it’s best to take it to the vet. If possible, try recording the incident as this will help your vet get a clearer picture of the severity of the condition of your dog.

How to Get Rid of Dog Hiccups

Normal hiccups usually last around 10 to 15 minutes to up to an hour. While it’s no cause for immediate concern, you still want to get rid of this discomfort.

So how do you get rid of dog hiccups? Before doing anything else, always consider what prompted the hiccups in the first place. Knowing what triggered it will inform you what to do next.

Milk

If your dog accidentally ate spicy food, give them milk that contains casein. Casein is a protein that breaks down capsaicin in the spicy treat that irritates the diaphragm.

Calm Them Down

Try relaxing your dog while they’re dealing with hiccups by making them lie down and giving belly rubs. This may hopefully slow down their breathing pattern and bring it to a steady rhythm. If your dog is dealing with stress like separation anxiety, you can do the same method. However, you might want to train your dog to manage their separation anxiety to lessen the instances of their hiccups.

Rice, Grains, & Bread

Another potential cure for dog hiccups is having your pooch eat food like rice, grains, and bread. These can get rid of the hiccups as they can swell in the stomach and cause distention. In turn, it places pressure on the diaphragm to prevent hiccups from occurring.

Drinking Water

If the cause of the hiccup is diaphragm irritation, give your dog something cool to drink. It can also restore their normal breathing pattern, as well as bring down their temperature if they’re heavily panting due to heat or exhaustion.

Liquid Sweets

Another effective way of calming your dog down and bringing their breathing pattern to normal levels is giving them liquid sweets. Honey or maple syrup are good options as their sweetness may distract your dog from stress and overexertion.

Do not give them solid sweets. Since dog hiccups are involuntary, solid food might cause choking. Moreover, do not give them sugar-free products as they contain xylitol, which can be dangerous and even fatal to your dog.

Slow Feeder Dog Bowls

Try using a slow-feeder dog bowl to prevent your dog from eating too quickly. This will also help them control their food intake and avoid gaining extra pounds, which can create a host of problems of their own.

When to Call Your Vet

As mentioned earlier, hiccups lasting for an hour can be a sign of different health issues. Consult with your vet once the hiccups won’t stop or disappear to prevent your dog from having more health complications.

For more dog health information, visit the TPLOInfo blog.

why it happens and how to treat – Pro Palliative

Contents

Why does hiccups occur? What is her mechanism?

How long can hiccups last?

How is hiccups treated?

How can you help a person with hiccups at home?

Do folk remedies work?

What if the hiccups don’t go away for a long time?

Is it always worth worrying if a patient has hiccups?

Should information about hiccups be recorded?

If hiccups usually occur after eating, what should I do?

Hiccups are one of the extremely unpleasant manifestations of various diseases. We tell in detail why hiccups occur, how it is treated. Is it dangerous, and when you need to see a doctor, and when you can just wait it out or cope with “folk” ways.

Why does hiccups occur, what is its mechanism?

With convulsive contractions of the diaphragm – the muscular septum that separates the chest and abdominal cavities, there is a short-term increase in the size of the lungs. And the air that is around us rapidly enters the respiratory tract: this is how hiccups occur – an involuntary short breath.

The work of the diaphragm, its contraction and relaxation are regulated by nerve impulses that reach the muscular septum through the phrenic nerves of the same name.

Hiccups occur when they are irritated by toxic substances, such as smoking, drinking alcohol and taking certain drugs. Also, hiccups can be caused by compression of the nerves by a tumor of the esophagus or a stomach filled with food. The brain also controls the function of the diaphragm, so epilepsy, encephalitis, Parkinson’s disease, the effects of a stroke, as well as trauma and brain tumors can lead to hiccups.

How long can hiccups last?

Hiccups are an involuntary short breath with a characteristic sound; in medicine, hiccups are referred to as one of the types of abnormal human breathing. There are short-term hiccups, lasting up to 15 minutes, which disappears on their own. And also longer up to two days: such hiccups are called persistent. Up to several months – this is intractable hiccups, which is rare, but can cause significant discomfort to a person and reduce his quality of life.

How is hiccups treated?

Hiccups are not an independent disease, but a symptom, therefore, in order to effectively treat hiccups, it is necessary to act on its cause. Removal of a tumor that compresses the phrenic nerve, diagnosis and treatment of diseases of the nervous system and brain, rehabilitation after a stroke or injury helps to cope, including with hiccups.

Lifestyle changes, such as quitting smoking and drinking alcohol, reduce the toxic effect on the nerve endings in the diaphragm and hiccups do not occur. Normalization of blood glucose levels in diabetes mellitus, hormone levels in thyroid diseases, toxins in kidney pathology are important measures to rid a person of hiccups.

Regardless of the cause, drugs that have a muscle relaxant effect help to cope with a painful symptom when there is a blocking of the nerve impulse to the muscles, including the diaphragm, and their relaxation. In some cases, antiemetic and anticonvulsant drugs also help, but you can take them only as directed by your doctor.

Everything about caring for a seriously ill person at home We collected all the most important materials on how to care for a seriously ill person. Please read them carefully to help make caring for your loved one safe and competent

How can you help a person with hiccups at home?

Short-term symptomatic hiccups go away on their own, but you can use “folk” remedies to eliminate it.

It is important to provide psychological support to relatives and friends, to be close to a person with severe symptoms.

In the event that the underlying condition that causes hiccups cannot be cured, there should be medications at home and your doctor’s advice on how to take them that can help get rid of hiccups.

Do folk remedies work – hold your breath, drink water in small sips, etc.?

Yes, folk remedies for hiccups can be used, but they are not proven to be effective or have a clear advantage over other treatments, such as drugs. Holding the breath leads to an increase in the level of carbon dioxide in the human body, which weakens the contractions of the diaphragm and stops hiccups.

Drinking water in small sips, sucking on an ice or sugar cube, and inducing vomiting may also help. In this way, a person stimulates the vagus nerve, which affects the contraction of the muscles of the diaphragm.

Some patients manage hiccups with exercise that relaxes the muscular septum. For example, you can sit on the floor for several minutes to clasp your knees with your hands and pull them to your chest.

What if the hiccups don’t go away for a long time?

People with persistent hiccups should see a doctor and get tested, as hiccups can be a sign of a serious illness. Diagnostic algorithms include a full patient survey and examination by a doctor, blood tests and a number of instrumental examinations (ECG, fibrogastroduodenoscopy, electroencephalography, and others).

Is it always worth worrying if a patient has hiccups?

No, not always. If the hiccups are short-term and go away on their own, then there is no cause for concern. Persistent and intractable hiccups are an alarming symptom and require specialist advice.

Diary of observations of the condition of a seriously ill person How to manage, what symptoms and indicators should be recorded

Should I record information about hiccups? Is it important for doctors?

Yes, it can help the doctor diagnose diseases, as hiccups are an important symptom. First-time hiccups, regularly recurring episodes of even short-term hiccups, its connection with any event or condition in a person’s life can be important information for diagnosing the disease.

If a person usually has hiccups after eating, what should I do?

Eating smaller meals throughout the day and standing up may reduce the chance of hiccups after eating. In the presence of diseases of the stomach or intestines, certain medications may be taken to prevent hiccups. Consult your doctor about this possibility, please do not self-medicate.

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What processes in the body are indicated by hiccups, yawns and stretching?

What processes in the body signal hiccups, yawning and stretching?

Vitebsk News

Health

November 12, 2015

Views: 32556

Yawning

The reason for this is hypoxia, when the brain lacks oxygen. That is why we need not a simple, but a forced breath (strong and deep), during a yawn we inhale much more air than with a normal breath. The airways open up and a significant amount of oxygen quickly enters the bloodstream. Why do we yawn when we want to sleep or are tired? From fatigue, an excess of carbon dioxide accumulates in the tissues, the same hypoxia. We also yawn when we’re bored and need to do something we don’t feel like doing. So, we work “through I don’t want to”, we get tired much faster. And again – fatigue and yawning to get oxygen.

Why is it transmitted? Someone yawned – and everyone starts after him. Psychologists say that we inherited this reflex from our ancestors: everyone yawned, as if on command, from ancient times, when a tribe of primitive people went to bed at the same time. True, this is just a theory.

Sneeze

This is a defensive reaction. Dust accumulates in the nasal cavity, the mucosa dries up, nerve endings are irritated, and a sneeze occurs – a sharp exhalation that helps to throw everything superfluous out of the nose so that no debris enters the nasopharynx further. By the way, the speed of exhaled air during a sneeze is 130 km per hour. If a person sneezes two or three times in a row, it’s okay. But if more than 10, then there is already a problem. Most likely, swelling on the nasal mucosa. The body perceives it as an irritant and tries to get rid of it. If you sneeze many times in a row, try vasoconstrictor drops, they will help relieve swelling.

Stretching

This is how the body prepares the muscles for physical activity. Have you followed cats? They never get up immediately after sleep, but first stretch with all their paws, restore blood circulation before taking a step. Sipping not only wakes you up in the morning. From fatigue, lactic acid accumulates in the muscles, and in order to disperse it, you need to stretch the muscles, just like after a workout.

Hiccups

Small children hiccup when they are cold, thirsty or overeaten. In adults, this is a signal that something is wrong in digestion. Most likely, a person ate too much, greedily and quickly, and poorly chewed large pieces irritate the vagus nerve, which runs from the brain along the pharynx and esophagus to the diaphragm and stomach. This nerve sends signals to the muscle fibers of the esophagus and stomach, causing spasms. With their help, the body, as during a sneeze, tries to get rid of the swelling of the esophageal mucosa.

How to beat hiccups? It depends on the reason. Drinking cold liquids in small sips will save you from “drunk” hiccups, holding your breath can help from hiccups due to overeating. Both the one and the other way inhibits irritation of the vagus nerve. But it’s definitely not worth scaring the hiccuping. This method of “treatment” is not approved by doctors.

Falling asleep, we startle

It happens that, falling into a dream, we suddenly wake up abruptly, because the arms and legs twitch by themselves. This is fine. The fact is that breathing calms down, the pulse slows down, the muscles relax, and the body is afraid that we can fall asleep … completely. And with this very shudder, the brain wakes us up, makes us resume normal breathing so that it is not too rare. Here is such a constant control.

“Old fingers”

When we lie in the bath for a long time or wash something, the pads of the fingers become wrinkled. Children love to look at drawings on “old fingers”. It is believed that these patterns appear on the skin so that the fingers and toes in the water become more tenacious and do not slip. In fact, everything is much simpler. The skin on the balls of the fingers and heels is four times thicker than on other parts of the body. Therefore, it absorbs water better and swells.

Goosebumps

“Goosebumps” occurs when we are cold, but sometimes music or a movie gives you goosebumps. Everything is explained simply, and again by the heritage of the ancients. They had thicker hair. And when our ancestors were cold or frightened, the hair on their body stood on end (for warmth, fluffiness and intimidation). The wool has fallen out over the centuries, so we, fortunately, got only goosebumps.

Let’s sweat

Sweating is a normal reaction to heat.