vomiting

[smileyzookie]

We've had Riven about 2 months now. She was abandoned and EXTREMELY skinny when the humane society finally got her. So Im assuming this is where she got the thing we're having issues with.

 

She vomits sometimes. Some times its weeks sometimes its days apart. The vet said she's fine, just eats her food to fast. We did take the cat food out of reach, and it has been better. But tonight we really watched her eat, and she swallows, she doesnt even chew her food. The last time she vomited, whole pieces came up. This was like 12 hours later. Like the next afternoon she vomited last nights dinner.

 

Any ideas on what could be causing it? Is it just eating her food too fast and not chewing? What can we do to make it better? She has zero food aggression as well. We can reach in and take her food and she just politely eats around us.

[Kat's Dogs]

lots of dogs don't chew their food (including Dazzle) - that is normal. And it isn't what would be making her sick. It is just really gross to see when they vomit it back up! If you want to slow her eating down anyway stick a ball in the middle of her dish so it is harder to get the food - that will usually slow them down a bit - they still don't chew though!

 

Does she ever eat grass? If she does it would make her vomit. Dogs usually eat grass if they:

1) feel ill or (if they are doing it more often)

2) because they don't have a balanced diet.

Switching foods might help if that is the case.

 

Any plants in the yard she could be getting into? Don't just look at her food - what treats does she get for training? Any bits off the table? Is there ANYTHING that she eats other then dog food and dog treats?

[smileyzookie]

I think it is possible on instances she's vomited for her to have eatten a cat treat the cat left, or the cat food. He is VERY messy when he eats and drops food. Could that be it?

[RaisingRiver]

Both my dogs swip some cat food off the back porch at times and it doesn't make them sick.

 

They also both eat grass - but I don't let them eat too much or they do vomit.

 

My dogs also don't chew their kibble.

 

Write down when she vomits and all things related that happened prior to it, timeframe, etc. Maybe you'll see a pattern. After that... vet.

[Miztiki]

Kibble should be beyond the stomach at 12 hours. What do you feed her? Have you been feeding her the same food since you got her? If you have then you might want to try switching brands.

 

How many times a day do you feed her? If only once a day then that might be part of it.

 

Something you may want to consider trying, to teach her to slow down, is giving her a ton of food. Put food in several bowls all around her. Try that for a few days in a row and see if she's slowing down at all.

 

Here's something that might be applied to kibble;

 

One of the advantages of raw is that it takes longer to eat. This gives the stomach time to prepare for the incoming food by creating stomach acid juices. You could try getting her food out and making her work for it for 5-10 minutes, maybe giving her a piece of kibble here and there. If she doesn't know how to find hidden things then you could teach her.

 

I don't know why she's vomiting but these suggestions might help teach her to slow down and digest her food.

[smileyzookie]

I cant get my dang husband to go for raw. He's just COMPLETELY against it. Im tellign him benifits of it, and he argues and says Im wrong. So Science Diet is what we've been feeding. I've checked every flippin store here. Its either Science Diet or Walmart Brand.

 

We do only feed her once a day. We were givng her hot dogs in the mornings when we worked with her, now we've switched to toys, except on the days with a trainer. The trainer said feed 2 cups of food even though the bag says 4. Do you think I should feed 4? She acts like she's starving..

[Olivia]

I never feed what the bag recommends, I go by my dog's body condition. I like to be able to easily feel ribs, from the side see an obvious tuck up behind the ribs and from above see an hourglass figure. I feed my 30 lb girl 3/4 cup twice a day and my 45 lb boy 1 and 3/4 cup twice a day. They are both quite active but don't get treats throughout the day. If they did I would cut back on the meal.

 

I would rather feed kibble 2x a day (not sure how feeding raw works with this) but I noticed a difference in my 'always starving' dog when feeding in the morning and evening as opposed to once a day.

 

As far as getting her to slow down while eating, I've found that adding water to the kibble right before feeding works well. I make the kibble soupy and feed before it has a chance to soak up the water and get soft.

 

Olivia

[2 Devils]

Does she vomit food usually or bile?

 

If you feed in a big bowl, add something like a huge rock to the middle which would force her to eat around the rock. You can also buy one of those bowls that does not have a center per se...

 

I would think about switching foods. Her stomach may not be able to handle that food and you may have to switch around until you find one. Some dogs just have senstive stomachs

 

I would also feed twice a day. She may be gorging herself when you feed once a day and that may just be too much food at once expecially if she had other snacks throughout the day.

 

If she usually vomits bile that could be solved by feeding twice a day since that helps control the acid buildup. You can also give pepcid for dogs that vomit bile.

 

Many dogs eat grass and it has nothing to do with having an upset tummy. My dogs eat grass all the time withoug getting sick.

[SincereArtisan]

Maybe its the hot dogs?

 

I recall you mentioning something about her vomitting after she had some hot dogs one evening....do the days she gets hot dogs coincide with her vomiting??

[smileyzookie]

Ok, the water thing is a great idea. So is the rock and changing food! IM so happy I have you guys to lean on and mind pick

 

She vomits food, and its very obvious its food and it is always hours and hours later. She never eats grass.

[Miztiki]

You can find more of the premium foods at some pet stores, some feed stores, some kennels... You won't find them at grocery stores or Petsmart or Petco. Look at some of the brands available then go to that company's website. Most have a search option so you can find a dealer in your area.

 

When I mentioned raw, I didn't mean for you to switch (though that would be great). I meant to say that giving her tummy time to prepare for her kibble might help with the digestion.

 

I would definately feed her more than once a day, and I would feed her according to the way she looks, and not what's suggested on the bag.

 

Hopefully a combination of changes will help her.

[silhouettestable]

My mom has the same kind of problem with her collie. Aside from vomiting bile he's very fit, healthy and happy. She's had him at the vet and they tried him on some kind of medication short term, plus switched him onto the Medi-Cal brand Gastro formula. For a while he seemed better, but then the vomiting was happening again every few days. Now my mom has started splitting his food into 4 smaller daily feedings, plus mixing plain boiled rice into it. It seems to be helping. With him, he never vomited up food, only bile, so we thought that maybe having an empty stomach was creating the problem.