“How Dry I am – Hic!” Opie’s Doggy Hiccups!

Hi all,

Opie here!

I have –Umph- hic – Hiccups!  Mom says I’m okay, but it’s very disconcerting. Humph -uh- hic,  I haven’t had them since I was a very small puppy. Of course I’m only  11 months old so I guess I’m still technically a puppy.

This is what I might have looked like at 2 months old. Ain't he cute?

 

Mom did some research on – Umph-hic hiccups. She was a little worried. She loves me and wants be sure that I’m A-Okay!

Here’s what she found out.

Umph-hic, excuse me this is so annoying.

What mom found out about Doggy Hiccups

These pups could have been my brothers and sisters. Wow, what good looking dogs!

Evidently, hiccups are usually harmless.  Puppys get them and adult dogs as well. It’s a spasm of the diaphragm.  We puppy types get them because our insides are still growing.  Personally, I think I’m about as big as I’m going to get. I don’t think my insides are growing all that fast now.  I might have had hiccups when I was a very young pup, but I don’t remember that far back. 

Doggys like me can also get hiccups from eating spicy food, eating our food too fast, being stressed out or overly excited. We can also get hiccups if we breath in something bad like smoke or some bad chemicals.  A decrease in temperature can also cause them.  A dog that’s sick with pneumonia or something like asthma or heart problems might also develop hiccups.  Dogs and people shouldn’t worry, though, unless the hiccups go on for a long time. 30 minutes is too long. My hiccups only last about a minute. I’ll have two or three,  and then they’re gone.  See, I haven’t  had another one since I got into the meat and kibble of this blog. 

What could have caused my particular hiccups?

Smoking didn’t cause my hiccups. Nobody at this house smokes, but I do eat my food kind of fast. I do get really excited when Mom and Dad come back after I’ve been in the house by myself. I don’t know what chemicals are, but that could be that funny smelly stuff mom uses to clean that funny looking water bowl in the bathroom.  I keep trying to get my head in it  to get a a quick drink, but mom keeps the lid closed and the door to that room closed most of the time. 

The weather has changed here. It went from warm and sunny to wet and cold over the weekend. I had to wear my rain coat outside again.  By the way, I have a better one now.  It’s the one Mom ordered of the Internet. I look very spiffy in it!  I’m betting that my occasional hiccups are happening mostly because of the weather change.  I always get excited when Mom and Dad come home, and I never had hiccups before the weather change, that I can remember that is.  I always eat my food fast.  I don’t get any spicy food. Although,  mom did give me tiny piece of  her Sirloin Burger on Saturday. ( Man, oh man, was that good! I got have more of that!)

If the hiccups are accompanied by throwing up and acting sick, then a dog should probably go to the vet.  I don’t like going, but if you feel bad the vet can make you feel better. They also have really good treats there!

If the hiccups continue, but they aren’t caused by something really serious or dangerous. My mom found some interesting remedies on the Internet. She didn’t have to use any of them with me because my hiccups stopped. So she won’t vouch for any of them, but they seemed reasonable. I put my own two cents in on all of them.

Internet Home Remedies

• Add honey, sugar or maple syrup to the water bowl. ( Yummy!)
• Massage your dogs chest ( Sounds like a good tummy rub to me!  I think I feel some hiccups coming on now… tummy rub time! )
• Distraction with a toy or startling the dog. ( Mom says this sounds like a human remedy. I wouldn’t do this too often if I were you. I don’t like being startled.  I might develop a complex or something.)
• Fresh water ( Duh!)
• Feed a meal or a snack. This causes the dog to change his breathing pattern. ( Yeah, treats are good REAL  GOOD!)
• Go for a walk or play vigorously with your pet. Exercise will also change the breathing pattern ( Play! Walk! Win-win!)
• Give dog a bath. (This is sort of drastic if you ask me. ) But it might disrupt the routine enough to interrupt the hiccups.

Bottom line

Hiccups are generally harmless and take care of themselves.  However, if they last a long time and they are accompanied with bad stuff like vomiting, then go to the vet. Sounds like common sense to me.

Look, I don’t have hiccups anymore. I’m fine!  But I sure would like a tummy rub. Maybe that’s why I don’t get hiccups. My family using belly rubs as preventive medicine.

Have a great day everyone!  Time for my “medicine”! I’m going to get my belly rubbed!

Rub my belly!

Smell you later,

Your Pal Opie

Sources

“How to Stop Dog Hiccups” http://www.ehow.com/how_5084072_stop-dog-hiccups.html

“Do Dog Hiccups Require Treatment?” http://www.vetinfo.com/do-dog-hiccups-require-treatment.html