# Daily hiccups in my Shih Tzu, should I worry?



## emjharts (Aug 27, 2013)

I've had my 1 year old Shih Tzu for 2 months now and I have noticed that she gets hiccups nearly everyday.
Most of the time it is when she gets up quickly and they go in a couple of minutes (much like humans) but occasionally like today she starts with a bit of a choke and then has hiccups and keeps licking her lips and today they have been her for half an hour so far.
I know its normal for dogs to get hiccups but when should I start to worry and what other serious things could it be?


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## Sled dog hotel (Aug 11, 2010)

emjharts said:


> I've had my 1 year old Shih Tzu for 2 months now and I have noticed that she gets hiccups nearly everyday.
> Most of the time it is when she gets up quickly and they go in a couple of minutes (much like humans) but occasionally like today she starts with a bit of a choke and then has hiccups and keeps licking her lips and today they have been her for half an hour so far.
> I know its normal for dogs to get hiccups but when should I start to worry and what other serious things could it be?


One of mine in particular as pups did used to get hiccups a lot but he seemed to grow out of it but it didn't seem to bother him in the slightest, just has the hiccupping noise then it would go.

Choking, hiccups and lip licking though can be a sign of gastric or acid reflux
the stomach acid comes back into the throat, which can cause irritation in the throat area and mouth which is why they often lick their lips because of the discomfort. If it happens a lot, then the acid can eventually irritate and inflame the oesophagus and even cause ulceration.

See how she goes, but if she is doing it more and more and it seems to be lasting longer and more discomfort or symptoms keep occurring then it may be worth getting her checked out.

Sometimes putting them on bland easily digestible low fat food, like boiled chicken no skin, or white boiled fish no skin and check for small bones, with a bit of fresh boiled rice or plain potato for a few days might ease it. If it is reflux you can also get antacids and things to protect the throat from the vet much like us.


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## emjharts (Aug 27, 2013)

thanks for this, i think it may be acid reflux as she went to doggy day care 2 the previous day and the person running it fed her twice as much wet food as i had instructed so could have been that. I gave her a charcoal biscuit earlier and that seemed to help but i will go to the vet and look at antacids for her as she does get it if her diet is even changed slightly. I cant feed her rice as it makes her too constipated so will try boiled chicken and fish maybe. 
Thank you again x


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