Dog vomiting

[inappropriatelyemployed]

Our 5 month old pup was sick a few times earlier in the week and we saw the vet. They recommended a restricted diet - water, rice, chicken - and gave us a probiotic paste (not sure about the science there but you can't seem to leave vets empty handed!).

He picked up after a day of eating rice and having lots of water/ice etc.

No sick for over a day.

So we started to return to normal food but today he was sick again this morning with a few runny poos (sorry of tmi).

We've switched back to rice again.

He seems fine in himself. Would you just keep going with a restricted diet or go back to the vet if he's sick again?

What is his normal food? Maybe try a different one?

Probiotic paste is really to help the stomachs bacteria.

Could the normal food be too rich or perhaps the normal food was too much after a day on rice and chicken so maybe needed more of a gradual reintroduction.

I would go back to the vets with any blood/mucous in the poo or continued vomiting.

Defo try a different food, or, just stick to the rice and chicken - nothing wrong with that, either. He might just have a sensitive tummy

Thanks. He hasn't ever had any problem with the food before- we mix Arden grange dry with a bit of Barking Heads wet. I wondered if it was the heat too?

I think the advice is to stick with chicken and rice for at least three days before very gradually introducing his regular food again.

One day of chicken/rice won't be enough to allow his stomach to recover fully.

Aah thanks. I was getting the info second-hand through DH who took him and this wasn't mentioned

He was ok yesterday when we switched back but was sick once this morning and has had a runny bum today. He has just had rice since lunch.

No more sick since this morning but watery poo.

Would you take him back or see if it improves this afternoon?

I always go with my gut which tends to be take to vets more than most people but that has paid off in the past as serious issues have been picked up quickly.

Lots of people will advise you to wait and see and treat at home but for me as I don't care about paying I usually opt for vets if I am not happy. Hard to advise on this as it doesn't sound too bad but then you know your puppy far better than any of us.

We dropped the wet food and switched to a low wheat/wheat free AVA puppy complete dry food for ours at 5 months. Nice solid poo now and she's stopped eating hers and anyone else's poo too.

Am with Bitey on this, in this weather puppies get dehydrated very quickly, so a minor problem can become major very quickly.

Generally if they're fine in themselves, most episodes of loose stool/vomiting can be dealt with at home. BUT if they're dehydrated, refusing food/drink or lethargic then take to the vets as dogs can go downhill really fast, especially in this heat.

My general rule is if their appetite and energy levels are fine, then I'll treat at home - chicken and rice and water only (but only small amounts so they can't drink loads and have it trigger vomiting). If chicken and rice worked before, I would stick with that for a good 24h and see how he is - if there's still no improvement then I'd go to the vets.

Have you checked to make sure he's well hydrated?

Thanks. He is weeing and we are feeding ice cubes regularly so as not to overload tum.

Rang vets and they said it might be switching back to normal food too soon and were very non-committal - 'what do you want to do?'

I made an appointment for later just in case.

To be honest though, everytime we go there they sell you something I am not convinced you need.

If he's weeing and still playing happily I wouldn't be too worried. Obviously keep an eye on him and take him in if he deteriorates, though.

Had this with our 5month old puppy too. Tried the rice, chicken route and the probiotic from vet but have had most success switching to hypoallergenic dog food. She was never unwell during her tummy troubles, always lively and playful so we figured she was sensitive to something in her food, don't know what caused it for sure but doing well on the hypoallergenic food.

For things like probiotics I usually decline as I get it on line much cheaper. Also if they give you a chicken flavoured hydrating fluid again you can always get spares online.

In the past though my dog has had multiple issues with chronic diarrhoea and vomiting episodes which have turned out to be inflammatory bowel disease so I am glad I did keep taking him back at first as it showed a pattern.

Thanks very much everyone. Very helpful.

neverundersold - did you find this after they had been on the food for a while. Pup has been on the same food for several months so would it suddenly cause an upset tum?

Does the chicken have to be boiled??

A few weeks ago, Nancydog started vomited bile in the mornings (about 3am, lovely). He was fine during the day so we played a waiting game. No more symptoms except excessive grass-eating. Then on the Sunday he seemed quite poorly, was throwing up the water he drank and trying to hide and nest in the garden.

We took him to the emergency vet who put him on a drip, x rayed, and found something in his intestines. They operated at 3am that night. All went well and Nancydog is fighting fit, although still not allowed off-lead or in water until signed off (tomorrow we hope).

So just wanted to make sure they know hasn't swallowed anything?

i usually poach or steam the chicken....farmfoods can be good value often have 3 for 2 or some such fancy offer on the frozen thighs or breasts

then i cook the rice in the chicken stock.

My rule for vet visits is "would I make a GP appointment if it was the children?" :o

I tend to go to the vet probably earlier than most people but especially where young animals are involved.

My dog has gastric issues and she cannot take too much kibble. She's on a 'sensitive' wet food, if I feed her the same food in the kibble version her condition flairs up.

A couple of spoonfuls of TOTAL Greek yoghurt settles tummies really quickly and stops recurrence. I've told loads of dog owners and they all give it to their digs routinely now. Massive saving on Vet's bills.
Don't get 'GreekStyle' by the way - none have the five different strains of bacteria that TOTAL does. The five strains work synergistically so better than a single strain of a probiotic.

Thanks alot.

We will monitor him

Nancy - not aware of him having swallowed anything but will definitely bear that in mind should he continue to be unwell.

Ha - cancelled the appointment to say we will monitor overnight and had the vet ring back straight away with a recommendation for 'special gastrointestinal food'.

Is it me, or are they just selling stuff?

No they are not just selling stuff. You have gobe there and asked for their advice - they were concientiously following that up.

Damned if you do damned if you don't. Clients are often most miffed if they are sent away simply with advice that they have to pay for.

The problem is that you just can't tell how poorly they are and often they try and mask their illness or pain. I don't think there is a right or wrong answer for going to the vets for stomach issues.

We had two serious bouts of D&V requiring admission and along with the other bouts similar to yours it was obvious something more was amiss. Another time my dog vomited one day and ran around at daycare like nothing was wrong. Vomited again and seemed in pain so took him to the vets. Most people wouldn't have bothered and would have said starve and wait. The next day he was having emergency surgery to remove a rag from his stomach.

I wouldn't really trust most of the "special" foods you can get from the vet - you can get better quality foods from Pets at Home or Zooplus for much less money.