Looks like it's normal in puppies, but persistent hiccups in an adult dog warrant a trip to the vet.
Question:
"My 16-week-old yellow Lab seems to get the hiccups all the time--after eating and drinking, and sometimes when just lying there. Is this anything to be concerned about?"
Answer:
Hiccups in puppies most often are a normal, harmless occurrence. Usually the pup outgrows them by the time he is around 6 months old. Theyre often associated with eating or drinking, possibly because when the stomach is distended with food, it presses against the diaphragm, where the phrenic nerve (the major nerve controlling the hiccup reflex) is located.
Very rarely, hiccups can be associated with some abnormal conditions, such as a congenital problem with the esophagus or diaphragm (like megaesophagus or hiatal hernia), distemper, migration of parasite larvae to the diaphragm, or an illness that has caused hypocalcemia or hypokalemia (such as pancreatitis or kidney disease).
If your puppy has received the routine vaccinations and deworming that most puppies get, you neednt worry that he has distemper or parasite migration. If, on the other hand, you rescued your puppy as a stray, you should discuss those possibilities with your vet.
Does your puppy also regurgitate after eating or drinking? Regurgitation means the food or liquid "comes back up" and falls from the dogs mouth without the abdominal heave of vomiting. If your puppy does regurgitate regularly, you should talk to your vet about whether a congenital problem with the esophagus or diaphragm might be causing both the hiccups and the regurgitation.
If your puppy had hypocalcemia or hypokalemia, which occasionally cause hiccuplike contractions of the diaphragm with every heartbeat (sometimes called "thumps"), he would look sick, not like a normal puppy with the hiccups.
Persistent hiccups in dogs that are past puppyhood warrant a call to the vet, because the likelihood that theyre a symptom of illness increases in older dogs.