I have a four month old doberman. His food drive is extremely high; he's a swallower, not a chewer. He usually turns the food bowl over looking for more food.
Well, yesterday he started wolfing, as usual, then started gagging. Nothing to be alarmed about, he just ate it too fast. He got it back down and kept eating. But he kept gagging after every bite. He finally stopped, turned a few confused circles and just left and laid down. With food still in the bowl. At his next meal I threw a small handful of food on the floor, to slow him down when he ate. I kept it up, but he started the gagging again. He eventually left again. With food on the floor. This morning I soaked his food until it expanded and then let him eat. He did the same thing, although he did manage to finish it, with a lot of trouble.
During his training I reward with food. He's now gagging on single pieces of kibble, and there's some excessive saliva going on too. He'll have to try two or three times to get it down. Of course, without chewing.
I've never seen this before and I'm getting worried. This is his third bag of this brand of food, so it's not new. But, it started on the first scoop of the new bag. I feed him Taste of The Wild.

I don't know what this is but if it were my dog, I have a vet take a look. The excess saliva and difficulty swallowing a piece of kibble would worry me, too.

Didn't see any questions, but will offer an opinion.

The dog is obviously in discomfort. Maybe, somehow injured by eating, or a pre-existing condition that decided to show itself.

I think this warrants a trip to the vet.

Sorry that I don't have anything specific about what it might be.

I agree, I would take him in to have him looked at.

Have you checked inside his mouth for an obstruction? And the roof of his mouth also? If there's nothing obvious, ditto what everyone else has said...

Just had a thought...could teething cause this kind of reaction?

Thank you for all the advice! He is teething, so I'm not sure about that. I've been worried about obstructions, tumors in his throat, megaesophagus, etc. I made an appt with the vet for this afternoon.

Good. Let us know what they say.:smile:

My dog has done something similar. I think he very minorly(Ha! Is that a word?) injured his throat. He got over it overnight.

All the conditions you listed make this vet visit very worthwhile, though.

With the way it unfolded and presented itself, I really feel he just injured his throat, but over the internet have no way of knowing.

Good luck, and I hope all turns out well.

Well the vet was a great help in determining what it was not. A whole host of exotic ailments were ruled out with x-rays. An email from his breeder added clarity. Bruised esophagus caused by excessive gluttony. He was swallowing baseball sized mouthfuls of dry dog food and he hurt his throat. Now it's swollen and he's dealing with it. So, I elevate his food and soak it first. He'll be ok at least. I'm looking at buster cubes and other contraptions to slow his eating down some. Trouble is, he waits until his mouth is chock full before he swallows. I'm not sure what to do about that. Any takers?

Glad your pup is O.K..