We got a beagle mix last August... and lately she's been gagging at random times and sometimes she pukes... but her vomit doesn't appear to have anything in it that would cause her to have this reaction... any ideas as to what may help, or why she is acting this way?

How old is she? Has she been checked for worms and heartworms?

Yes, the vet. Please consider spaying her if not already.

She is a little over a year old and she has been checked for worms and such (we got her from the MSPCA and then brought her to our vet) and she is spayed... sometimes after these fits her ribcage area seems a little swollen but after about a day it goes away... could it just be something she ate?

If her ribcage area is swollen, it might be something along the lines of bloat, although that is somewhat unusual for the breed. Have you discussed this with your vet?

Foraging indigestables is a quite common cause of digestive upsets. It is not the only one. As Sarah said, have the vet check her.

Heart worms can cause a dog to die with no more warning than a little trouble breathing.

I have not had a chance to contact my vet yet but I have done my research on some of the common worms found in dogs and she does not seem to have very many of the symptoms listed for the types of worms... I also checked out the bloat and I'm very sure she does not have that... thank you for all your help and any more ideas would be greatly appreciated

Ihearts How many times per day do you feed your dog?

We feed her twice a day once in the morning once at night about a cup each time

ihearts, how often does this gagging and vomiting occur. You stated random times so I assume it isn't after eating or after excessive exercise? Does it happen more than once a week? Does it occur early in the morning? Is there any kind of pattern you can put to it?

Some dogs,when they get excited have a tendency to gulp air and start to gag, make choking or coughing noises, ending with them vomiting, and then they are fine. Another culprit may be food. Are you feeding her human food or is it at all possible that someone is slipping her little snacks such as nuts, candy, cake, chicken, meat or anything fatty? There are a number of foods that are poisonous to a dog's system, and there are also foods that your dog may be allergic to. Fatty foods can cause your dog's pancreas to go into overdrive and start failing.

If you are positive that no one is slipping her anything and none of this seems to fit the bill, you should call your vet's office as advised above, and discuss the problem. It might be time for a blood panel screening or just a general going over by the vet.

rubypitbull... I actually wondered if it was an allergic reaction to something because it comes on at random times and lasts a few days and she usually only pukes once or twice during the few days and its only at the last couple days her stomach swells... chicken makes sense because we just had it for new years and I'm sure somebody probably slipped her a piece... I pretty much ruled out the worms because when I looked it up online everything said she would have blood in her poo and wouldn't be herself... but she is very much her active lovable self... I think I'm going to start keep a journal of when it happens...

Ihearts, many dogs are allergic to chicken. Nuts, onions, raisins, grapes, chocolate and many other foods are poison to a dog's system. The chicken could be the culprit, or one of those other things. But, someone may have slipped her the skin of the chicken or something fatty. Watch for all of that. I am more concerned about her pancreas shutting down from rich/fatty foods, or one of the poison foods that can cause other organs to shut down, rather than an allergy attack. Those others can happen quickly and your dog can die. Give everyone living in and/or visiting your home, specific instructions not to feed her anything other than her chow. Start from scratch. Keep her on a strict diet and monitor that for a couple of weeks. If she appears to be fine, just stick with that diet. No people food. You can start giving her some dog biscuits if you are training or as a treat if she appears to be losing too much weight. See how that goes. When ruling out allergies, you need to be able to isolate foods to find the culprit. But, the fact is, if she does well on chow and an occasion dog treat, you are just better off leaving well enough alone by ensuring she doesn't get anything else.

Listen to RubyPitbull. See to it she gets a little as possible of anything to eat except her regular dog chow. This will make it easier to see what if going on. If you need treats for training, you can just use some of her regular kibble.