Why does my dog get hiccups, and when is it serious?

Your ten-week-old puppy has emptied his bowl in three seconds flat, chased you round the whole house, and is now lying on the rug jerking every few seconds with a tiny "hic", looking slightly surprised at himself. Or your adult dog has hiccups after a play session, you check the clock and a quarter of an hour has gone by.

In puppies, hiccups are practically part of growing up and pass on their own. In an adult dog they deserve attention when they go on for a long time or come with other signs. Below: what real hiccups look like, what else looks like them, and when to ring your own vet.

When are hiccups in a dog serious?

Ordinary hiccups pass in a few minutes, an hour at most, and otherwise the dog is completely normal. Ring the same day if:

• in an adult dog, the hiccups go on for hours or come back day after day, several days running;
• he is breathing hard, mouth open at rest, or his gums turn blue or grey;
• there is vomiting, regurgitation (food comes back up undigested, without effort), coughing or a lot of drool;
• he is trying to be sick with nothing coming up, his belly is swollen and he is restless (this can be a twisted stomach, which is an emergency: go now);
• he is flat, off his food or feverish;
• the hiccups started after he swallowed something, a bone or a toy, or after a knock, a fall or an accident;
• the "hiccups" come with a fixed stare, trembling or movements he cannot stop. It may be a seizure, and the vet needs to see it.

What to watch for and write down at home

What real hiccups look like

A hiccup is a sudden contraction of the diaphragm, the muscle that separates the chest from the belly. With each contraction a short breath rushes in and the vocal cords snap shut, which is where the little sound comes from. In a dog you see a rhythmic jerk of the chest and belly every few seconds. You hear a short sound, a "hic" or a click, sometimes barely audible. The dog stays awake and aware of what is going on, perhaps a bit puzzled, but not frightened or distressed. Between hiccups he can eat, drink and play.

In puppies they are very common, because puppies eat fast, gulp air and get wound up, and their diaphragm is still young. Plenty of puppies get hiccups after nearly every meal for the first few months, and that is normal. The older they get, the less often it happens.

Things that look like hiccups but are something else

The easiest thing is to film it. A 20 to 30 second clip shows the vet far better than any description whether it is hiccups, reverse sneezing or something else.

What to write down

Note when it happens: after meals, after play, in his sleep, when he is excited. How long it usually lasts, timed on a clock, and how often it comes, anywhere from once a week to several times a day. What he ate beforehand and how fast. And anything else you notice: vomiting, coughing, loose stools, a gurgling tummy, a smaller appetite.

What to do when he has hiccups

For ordinary hiccups, nothing much. A few things help them pass sooner and come less often:

• let him calm down, with a short walk at a slow pace or a gentle hand stroking his chest;
• put water within reach, without making him drink;
• at the next meals use a slow-feeder bowl (with bumps or a maze) or scatter his food on a snuffle mat, because a dog who eats slowly swallows less air;
• for puppies, smaller and more frequent meals;
• right after a meal is not the time for wild games.

What the vet checks when hiccups will not stop

An occasional bout in a healthy puppy does not need a vet. The vet comes in when the hiccups go on for a long time, keep coming back in an adult or arrive with other signs.

1. Asks how old he is, when it started, how often and how long, what and how he eats, and what other signs you have seen. Your videos help most of all.
2. Examines him: listens to the heart and lungs, feels the belly, looks in the mouth and throat, checks his temperature and gum colour.
3. If something is not right, runs blood tests (inflammation, kidneys, liver, blood salts), X-rays of the chest and belly, sometimes an ultrasound scan. The vet is looking for anything irritating the diaphragm or the nerves that control it: stomach and gullet trouble (reflux, gastritis), respiratory disease, more rarely chest or neurological problems.
4. If it turns out to be reverse sneezing or something else, explains what it is and what to watch for. Reverse sneezing, for instance, usually comes from irritation at the back of the nose and has different causes from hiccups.
5. Treats the cause if there is one. Most of the time, though, the advice comes down to how he eats: small portions, slow pace, no exertion straight after a meal.

What not to do at home when your dog has hiccups

• Do not try to make him jump "like with people". A dog frightened on purpose does not lose his hiccups; he just learns you are unpredictable.
• Do not pull his tongue, press on his chest or hold his muzzle shut so he "holds his breath". It does not help and can be dangerous, especially in flat-faced breeds.
• Do not give him sugar, honey, vinegar or any other old wives' remedies meant for people. Some do nothing, some upset his stomach, and the sweetener in "sugar-free" products is toxic to dogs.
• Do not give him human stomach or reflux medicines without talking to the vet first.
• Do not force him to drink by pouring water into his mouth. It can go down the wrong way.
• Do not mistake retching with nothing coming up, in a big dog with a swollen belly, for hiccups. There is no waiting with that; you go to the clinic.
• Do not ignore new hiccups in an old dog who has never had them. A new habit at that age is worth a question to the vet.

In a puppy, after-dinner hiccups are one of those things you film because they are sweet and forget about within a few months. In an adult dog, time them and look at everything else. If everything else is normal, you wait. If not, you ring.