Anyone heard of a dog having stomach hiccups?

hiya
i have a new rescue dog who is an approx 8yr old bitch. She is a gsd/mastiff/ebt cross as far as i know. She looks as though she has been used for breeding in the past as she has a very saggy tummy. Her front teeth are worn down to nothing and she has arthertis in three of her legs which she is now recieving treatment for. She had been in rescue for 2 years before we took her as noone wanted her.
She appears to have some kind of stomach spasms ( look like hiccups in the stomach area) when she is laying down relaxing or sleeping. They dont seem to be causing her any pain and the vet said they had never heard of anything like it...is it something i should be worried about? im not sure if i should let an old dog in peace or ask that they do tests to find out whats wrong ? any advice greatfully recieved

Hi there, and first of all well done you for taking on a lovely tatty old dog that nobody else wanted.......we have done the same thing!

Our last dog also did what you describe, and in fact so does the one that we have now - I always thought that it was just normal hiccups The tummy heaves alarmingly, but there is little noise except for a bit of a grunt, and it certainly doesn't cause any distress because they fell/fall asleep during the episodes.

I certainly would not go for tests unless there was something else to give cause for concern.

Good luck with her, she is a lucky dog to have found a caring home at last

Hi Heather well done you for giving an old girl the chance of a loving home.

Maybe what you are seeing here is the normal movements of the gut ( peristalsis,the wavelike contractions which propel ingested food along the intestines) which would usually go unnoticed in a dog with good muscle tone.

If the vet is aware of this and isn't concerned and your dog is not having vomiting and diarrhoea I wouldn't be to worried either

ok thanks people. Good advice and i think i will just keep an eye on her for now and leave her alone