Vet Blog Home

< Previous How Can I Talk to my Vet About Handicap Accessibility? Man Poses as Female Veterinarian Next >
04/04/09

Why do Puppies Get Hiccups?
Dr. Eric Barchas, DVM

Why do puppies get hiccups more than adult dogs?

Patty
Brooksville, Florida

I will start with a disclaimer: I don’t know why animals hiccup.

It turns out that I am not alone in that regard. Consultation with the ultimate reserve of human knowledge, Wikipedia, confirms that nobody knows the cause of hiccups.

What I do know is that younger animals, especially puppies, are prone to hiccups. (Human infants purportedly hiccup much more often than adults; however, since humans weren’t covered in vet school, I cannot claim to be an expert on the matter of hiccups in our species.) Hiccups occur less frequently in mature individuals. In almost every case, hiccups are harmless.

The intuitively named phylogeneic hypothesis theorizes that hiccups are “an evolutionary remnant of earlier amphibian respiration”. If that’s true, then hiccups may be linked to neurological pathways that are prevalent in young animals. The pathways are replaced as individuals mature, leading to decreased hiccuping.

It’s just a theory, but it’s as good as anything I’ve heard. Regardless of why it happens, most puppies outgrow their hiccups. Enjoy them while they last.

Share this entry with your pawple anywhere:

See related Vet Blog entries:

There are 3 Comments

  1. Why do Puppies Get Hiccups? » White Mountain College for Pets - Blog posted a comment on April 4th, 2009 at 9:30 am

    [...] Why do Puppies Get Hiccups?: “ [...]

  2. Rhonda posted a comment on April 8th, 2009 at 7:52 am

    My Grandpa always said it meant they were growing…the is all animals including human babies! I always thought that was a good an explaination as any!

    Rhonda

  3. ridgies4eva posted a comment on April 21st, 2009 at 3:18 am

    Leftover from amphibian respiratory system, seriously?? Please…
    Puppies get hiccups as a result of trying to get rid of extra air they take in while eating or drinking too quickly, or while playing. It’s hardly from a leftover lizard diaphragm, lmao.

Leave Your Comment Now

fields marked with * are required

These HMTL tags are allowed:
<a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> <img src="" alt="" title="" height="" width="">



< Previous How Can I Talk to my Vet About Handicap Accessibility? Man Poses as Female Veterinarian Next >