Smudge - throwing up again.

SheltieChe said:
ok, lets start in the beginning- he vomits 4 hrs after he ate? how often does he eat? is it same food all the time? what about threats?
Lets start with basic anatomy- food thrown up short time after eating and looking very undigested is coming from stomach itself, food that somewhat digested and comes about 4 hrs later is probably from small intestine upper parts, and anything that looks like fecal mass but still tooo moist is probably from lower digestive track, coming about 6-8 hrs after eating.
Stomach/ pancreatitis may give you what they call projectile vomiting when vomit flies a distance.
What you are concerned is how is Smudge otherwise- does he has same level of energy, is his tummy distended, is he pooping, when you touch and press on his tummy does he tell you it is painful, what his poop look like, does he drinks and eat still the same level he normally does, does he have a fever...
it may or may not be connected to the problem he used to have before.
Your pics show some large parts of something on the bottom... what is it?
Che just went with a bout of vomiting started after he digested few foreign objects, then he had vomited for 3 nights in a row... but otherwise he was his usual self... therefore we did not go to the vet...it stopped same way it started... but I can understand you, I was feeling anxious too...
Click to expand...

To be honest..if he had not had the issues before I would not worry at all. Dogs throw up all the time. Nothing to go crazy over, except Smudge did have the bad episode earlier.

To answer some of your questions:

1. He is acting fine and going to the bathroom fine. The same as last time. Had the vets completely fuzzled.

2. The large thing at the bottom is a chicken beggin strip.

You didn't ask this, but I will offer the info up anyway. :wink2:

In this last 24 hours Smudge has had:

4 meals (midafternoon and late night)
2 hot dogs
1 chicken strip
water
2 beggin strips

3. His meals are not always at the same time, because my work schedule does not allow it. Sometimes I work the early shift, and sometimes I work the mid shift or night shift.
 
I don't know if this would help as I am sure you have already done this but...have you tried giving him only his daily meals and water, nothing else, no treats of any kind??

Has there been a time when Smudge was/is exclusively on a bland or prescription diet and nothing else?

I'm sure it would be quite expensive, but have you and your Vets discussed going to a specialist, a Gastroentologist (sp?)!?
 
Smudge said:
In this last 24 hours Smudge has had:

4 meals (midafternoon and late night)
2 hot dogs
1 chicken strip
water
2 beggin strips
Click to expand...

This seems like an awful lot of "extras". I know Smudge is a bigger sheltie, but this seems like a lot. Also, keep in mind that hot dogs and beggin strips aren't very good for him and could upset his stomach (not that you shouldn't feed it, but maybe more in moderation?)

Lexi has been having stomach problems as well, and we eliminated her treats altogether one at a time. We eliminated some of her treats and it seems to have fixed the problem. I would eliminate some of the "extras" one at a time until you're just left with the food. If he's still getting sick, it might be the food, or something else.
 
Smudge said:
4 meals (midafternoon and late night)
2 hot dogs
1 chicken strip
water
2 beggin strips

3. His meals are not always at the same time, because my work schedule does not allow it. Sometimes I work the early shift, and sometimes I work the mid shift or night shift.
Click to expand...

Not eating at the same time can be a good thing, I wouldn't worry about that.

I would cut out the beggin strips. Try string cheese, or just treat with his own food. I have never had problems with hot dogs, I know they are not the best food, but I eat them, so my dogs do too. :smile2: If the chicken strip was fried, that could cause issues. Raw, boiled or grilled chicken wouldn't necessarily have upset his stomach.

I would simplify it down to just his kibble. No extras. Then give it a while before you add stuff back in.
 
I am comparing it to Che- he is large sheltie 8 month old, he is still on 2 meals- 2 chicken necks in the morning apprx 160-180 cal, half a cap of kibble as treats throughout the day for the working with me on whatever commands we are working at the time which is apprx 200-250 cal and medium size hamburger patty/ meat with veggies and stuff /for the evening which is probably another 300 cal. That is typical day for Che and he is about 35lbs and 20" tall. I have no idea what normal ration should be for what size/ age but it seems to be working for Che, he is very active boy with 1-2 romping in the pooch park daily, couple of long walks a day and 3 classes a week.... What I am thinking about- is there chance that Smudge is simply getting too many too rich calories that his body is uncomfortable with?
It happens in human babies, their liver/ pancreas is less developed and unable to meet demands of too rich too many meals at times...
those begging strips look completely undigested and if he throws them up 4 hrs after eating them, it means that they are just laying in his tummy and that would be warning sign for me...
Since he is normal in behavior/ other habits I would not hurry with any other testing, because what you are looking at is endoscopy to get the guessing out of the game and am sure it cost pretty $$$
if he was my dog I would go down to the basics with his food and eliminate most of the treats, am not sure are you on VP? It has some digestive enzymes which could be reason why Smudge not digesting his food properly...
It would be something to add some nice soothing herbals to his meal like slippery bark elm or marshmallow/ Althea officinalis/ which you could find in any vitamin store, also ocassional week or so of milk thistle to cleanse up the liver... herbals are reasonably harmless under most circumstances so I like using them to calm quesy stomachs...
 
I'd definitely cut out hot dogs and beggin strips, those are probably hard on the tummy.

If you really like giving him hot dogs, try chicken hot dogs. The are very inexpensive and much easier to digest. I give them to my two for training treats, as other treats were too hard on their systems.

When I've given beggin strips in the past, I've never given any of them a whole one. They get pieces the size of my baby finger nail whether they're training or not.
 
I agree with what others have said about the hot dogs and beggin strips. 2 hot dogs a day seems like a lot for one dog. Two hot dogs is one meal for a human, so I can't even imagine how many meals it is for a 30 pounds dog. My vet one time told me that one hot dog for a dog is like 8 hot dogs for a human.

I use turkey hot dogs to train Bailey. I cut them up in to little pieces. She gets about 1/8 - 1/4 of a hot dog a day.
 
Hmm I think others have some ideas.

Hot dogs : what kind? beef, chicken, mystery? They have lots of preservatives in them

Chicken strip : breaded shared with Mom maybe :biggrin2: what is in the breading?

Beggin' Strips : covered

Possibly a food allergy that is getting poor Smudge?

Is fluffy jumping on his stomach when you are not watching....
 
Here's another thought...does Fluffy every try to steal his food? If so, could Smudge be gulping down his food too fast? That will definitely cause tummy upset and vomiting.
 
Given his history, I can understand your concern now. I would definitely put him on a bland diet of boiled chicken and rice for a few days and take him off all extraneous treats for now. I'd reintroduce his kibble by using pieces of it for treats instead.

And I don't think you'd be out of line to put in a call to your vet if it happens again. I'd forgotten about Smudge's earlier digestive issues.

Let us know how he's doing today when you can, Jessica. Sending good thoughts.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top