Moosh choked on food

Sugah

Sugah

New member
So, Moosh our 10 month old Newf eats like a vacuum and inhales her food. As a result I have to soak it until it's near mush.

Well tonight, I didn't soak it long enough and she began to choke. When it has happened before she would wheeze for a few seconds then cough it up.
Not this time.
She couldn't cough up the food so I tried to help by pushing up on her stomach with a heimlich motion.
She finally vomited some of the food in her stomach and stopped choking.

I was so terrified.

So now, she seems ok... panting a little. Still wants to eat. But I'm afraid there's some sort of injury from the whole experience (I really wasn't putting excess force on her stomach, just pushing it up). Should I be taking her to a vet just in case? Or am I being crazy now?

Anyone else ever experience this?
 
BlackLightning

BlackLightning

New member
That is SUPER scary Angela!! Sorry you had to experience that. Sandra gave me a good tip once for really fast eaters... you could try using a muffin tin or something similar and divide the food into each hole... it might slow her down when she's eating if she has to go hole by hole to get little bits of food.
 
Sugah

Sugah

New member
Thanks:) Yea I've tried a bowl with a raised centre and tried the big silver ball. Neither works because, even if it's a small amount she inhales. Seems it's not just the speed but that she also doesn't take the time to chew anything before swallowing her food.

Kaila, I'll try the tray... Maybe that will help. I'm just so petrified after this experience. Not sure if I'm comfortably going to be able to feed her anything other than mushy kibble for a long while.
 
TerriW

TerriW

Active member
Maybe a bit off topic, but how often do you feed her? What about 3 smaller meals spaced throughout the day? Is it that she gets too hungry and just scarfs it down??
 
Sugah

Sugah

New member
Sugah

Sugah

New member
TerriW said:
Maybe a bit off topic, but how often do you feed her? What about 3 smaller meals spaced throughout the day? Is it that she gets too hungry and just scarfs it down??
Click to expand...
I feed her twice a day... Unfortunately the daycare she goes to during the week doesn't feed the dogs. And really, even when she does eat a lot in a day she's ALWAYS hungry. Very very food motivated.
 
ardeagold

ardeagold

New member
When we have pups that do that we space the meals, sometimes will feed 4x a day, and give smaller portions...AND put it on a shallow cookie sheet (with edges) and spread it out.

I think Kristin was wondering if she has problems swallowing in general. Dos she ever cough when drinking? If so, you might want to have a vet check her over to see if she has an esophageal issue.
 
YorkvilleNewfie

YorkvilleNewfie

New member
Sugah said:
She only gags or coughs when the food isn't mushy enough. No problems getting winded. Why?
Click to expand...
I was thinking of Laryngeal Paralysis...Nessa's Pooka has it and she has to spoon feed him mushy food to help with it. If I'm remembering correctly and my memory is notoriously poor :)
 
ElvisTheNewf

ElvisTheNewf

Active member
Oh my goodness. I can't imagine how scared you must have been! I'm glad she's all better now and you were right there to help her. I'd call the vet and ask their opinion since you've tried other methods already.
 
2ndchance

2ndchance

New member
YorkvilleNewfie said:
I was thinking of Laryngeal Paralysis...Nessa's Pooka has it and she has to spoon feed him mushy food to help with it. If I'm remembering correctly and my memory is notoriously poor :)
Click to expand...
Laryngeal paresis or paralysis usually happens in middle aged to older dogs , but never rule anything out. Given the age I would think he just eats too fast if it is not happening when the food is moist. Have you tried the break-fast bowl with the three cylinders in it? Three might be harder to get around than one.

http://www.brake-fast.net/
http://www.fetchdog.com/shop/dogbow...=bloat&utm_content=8&emlsav=grott54@yahoo.com
 
ardeagold

ardeagold

New member
YorkvilleNewfie

YorkvilleNewfie

New member
ardeagold said:
Yes, and there are other issues that could cause problems, like Myasthenia Gravis, or another autoimmune disease. It's worth checking into.
Click to expand...
I didn't even know that, but that certainly makes sense...I have an autoimmune disorder that affects my ability to swallow food (eosinophilic esophagitis) that dogs can have too.
 
Henrys Mom

Henrys Mom

New member
Mason used to eat like that. I swore he actually inhaled his food! Did not chew it one bit. I fed smaller, frequent meals and now he is 12 months old and has gotten much better. I'm not really sure of a remedy, just wanted to say I sympathize with you:)
 
Ginny

Ginny

New member
For my vacuum eaters, I put a big heavy rock in a small bowl...definitely helps with choking.
 
Bucephalus

Bucephalus

New member
Henrys Mom said:
Mason used to eat like that. I swore he actually inhaled his food! Did not chew it one bit. I fed smaller, frequent meals and now he is 12 months old and has gotten much better. I'm not really sure of a remedy, just wanted to say I sympathize with you:)
Click to expand...
Same here with Bo. Only in the last couple weeks (11.5 months) has he started to slow down and actually leave a bit in his bowl and return to finish it later. We tried putting a huge rock in his dish and he still inhaled the food. I love the muffin-tin idea and might try it in the future if Bo speeds up again, but what we really found to work was this (also available at PetsMart):
http://www.amazon.com/OMEGA-TRICKY-...OGFU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1325906534&sr=8-6

Just put her food in the ball maybe a cup to half a cup at a time and she'll have to roll it around to get the kibble out, eating maybe 4-5 kibble at a time. Slows Bo right down! Not to mention it's great fun for them! I think Nessa has a video of Nanook and Pooka playing with their treat ball on Nanook's blog, but can't find the link...
 
Sugah

Sugah

New member
Gahh! Now I'm even more worried:( That's for all the feedback. It really does mean a lot that so many of you take the time to comment.

I'll see how she's doing tomorrow and definitely watch for problems swallowing.

Bucephalus said:
Same here with Bo. Only in the last couple weeks (11.5 months) has he started to slow down and actually leave a bit in his bowl and return to finish it later. We tried putting a huge rock in his dish and he still inhaled the food. I love the muffin-tin idea and might try it in the future if Bo speeds up again, but what we really found to work was this (also available at PetsMart):
http://www.amazon.com/OMEGA-TRICKY-...OGFU/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1325906534&sr=8-6
Click to expand...
When I mentioned Moosh's vacuum eating tendencies months ago to the vet, she suggested this. But unfortunately, Moosh still choked. She would roll the ball so fast to get the food and hoover it so fast so she could get to the next pile she truly did inhale the food.
 
mrsnamsherf

mrsnamsherf

Member
I had a gobbler (NN), and tossing the food across the floor of the kennel run slowed her down...since she could pretty much only eat one piece at a time because they were so scattered. To slow down our cat, who would hoover her food and then cry she was hungry, we cut holes in a plastic juice bottle so she had to push it around to make the kibble fall out. The fewer and smaller holes you cut, the fewer food pieces come out at a time. At first, I would cut more holes, until she gets the idea, and then you could make it harder by taping over some of the holes, or cutting less holes in a new bottle.
(Don't leave her alone with it, though, or she may decide that chomping through the bottle is the way to go!)

Marie
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top