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The doghouse

If you're worried about your pet's health, please speak to a vet or qualified professional.

Intermittently vomming dog. At a loss as to what to do, please can dog-lovers help?

26 replies

Shaggydogstory54 · 14/01/2024 12:46

One of our dogs is causing problems between my husband and myself when we otherwise have a good relationship. It is absolutely not the dog’s fault. She’s a lovely dog, very very intelligent, quick to train, very funny and sassy and a bit needy 😃

We have two dogs of the same breed. They are both adopted daschunds who had difficult upbringings . They are adorable and like all dogs shed a bit, scratch cushion seats when they go to sleep, get the odd muddy paw here and there and one of them is a bit barky. Overall though they are good dogs.

The problem is that the youngest female dog throws up regularly. Either yellow bile or her dinner. Every couple of days.

She does it everywhere and anywhere and doesn’t even attempt to go out although she has never had any toileting issues so she must be caught short.

We have (obviously) taken her to the vet - about seven times I think - and got a second and third opinion. She’s had two endoscopies. Two ultrasounds. One x-ray. Many physical examinations. She’s had bloods taken several times and poo samples taken. And no cause can be found.

The verdict is that she is just a “sickie” dog. She’s energetic and a good weight. She’s wormed regularly. We’ve adjusted her diet several times over five years and not one thing makes a difference. She’s not a dog who is very motivated by food tbh.

We have a new special groomer who keeps her fur extra short so she is not grooming herself and ingesting hair.

The verdict seems to be that she is just a “sicky” dog.

I am not happy about this because I don’t like the idea that there could be something wrong with her which we are not tackling properly. And also bc it revolts me and when she throws up I do too. I don’t know why it upsets me so much but I am not good with vomit generally. I am sorry if this sounds over the top but I literally dread coming downstairs now throughout the day from my office or my bedroom.

Nearly every other dog owner I speak to says their dog throws up about once every five years.

My dh says I am over-reacting but he is not home all day dealing with it all the time. I probably am over-reacting tbh but I have never been good with bodily fluids.

My dh though has absolutely no sympathy for me and every sympathy for the dog, as if I have no sympathy for the dog too! Of course I do! She doesn’t show any signs of being ill but of course I am concerned for her and worry about her.

Dh gets upset if I try and come to some sort of reasonable compromise about confining her to a smaller area (our downstairs is open plan). She is very fit and energetic and has three good walks a day - morning and night by my dh - and lunch time by me.

Can anyone help please or had a similar issue with a dog?

OP posts:
HashBrownandBeans · 14/01/2024 12:48

My dogs will vomit if allowed to get too hungry, and seeing as I only feed them a large meal at night this has been a problem. If I feed them proper meals twice a day they are picky and don’t eat it.
To solve the problem I give them a natural treat like a chicken neck or chicken foot multiple times a day, one when I leave for work, one at lunchtime, and one before bed. They puke a lot less now.

catelynjane · 14/01/2024 12:51

I wonder whether she needs smaller, more frequent meals so that she's not going for long periods without food. Throwing up yellow bile is often a sign of hunger, and throwing up her dinner makes me think she's eating too much/too quickly/on an empty stomach and then can't keep it down.

How often do you feed her and what are her portions like? Do you use anything like a Kong or slow feeder to encourage her to eat slowly and calmly?

Devilshands · 14/01/2024 12:55

So, IME it can be caused by a lot of things:

Them eating crap (including grass)
Poor diet
Too much exercise to close to eating (which can also cause a twisted stomach and kill them...) and, to much exercise in general because they get dehydrated and can be sick
Allergies (lots of dog food contains the same ingredients so unless you're changing her from something like Bakers to raw food, it's likely it still contains whatever is upsetting her)

But, I do also want to assure you that a 'sicky dog' is just a thing! My cocker was sick every few days for the first 5-6 years of her life. Then, one day, she just stopped!

I also LOVE the fact you described her as sassy! Love a sassy little dog.

Shaggydogstory54 · 14/01/2024 13:08

Thank you very much for the suggestions so far.

We give natural treats during the day and she gets her main meal at 5 pm. Maybe we should adjust this.

She is walked at 8 .30 am, 1 pm and 7 pm with access to a garden in between.

I stupidly hadn’t thought of allergies for a dog so I will start looking in to that.

I really don’t think it’s over-exercise as she never ever seems tired - she has to have minimum three walks a day or she gets a bit rambunctious - and can walk miles and miles and still pulls to go further.

She doesn’t seem massively hungry ever but maybe she is developing an acid stomach and then rushing her food? I will look at this carefully thank you.

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LiquidGold315 · 14/01/2024 13:09

My husky was vomiting on a regular basis. Same time everyday. All tests came back normal/nothing obvious. We put her on a course of anti-nausea medication (cerenia) and she stopped instantly. It's been 3+ months with no incidents. She takes a tablet everyday before breakfast.

BiteyShark · 14/01/2024 13:11

Have you tried breaking her meals up into more smaller frequent ones?

catelynjane · 14/01/2024 13:14

I really would look at giving her multiple, smaller meals throughout the day rather than just one big meal in the evenings. While some dogs are fine on one meal a day, many need much more regular mealtimes to stay healthy.

We had similar issues with our beagle having "hunger pukes" at around 5am. We started to feed him his main meal at lunchtime but also gave him two smaller "snacks" throughout the day as well as a biscuit before bed so he was never going more than 5-6 hours without something to eat. The yellow vomit stopped practically straight away and hasn't made a comeback in four years now.

Twentymorequestions · 14/01/2024 13:18

We had this with a Labrador. After a few vet visits one suggested we worm him monthly. This sorted the problem. No idea why and not did the vet. I know you said you worm regularly, we wormed quarterly but changing to monthly solved the problem for us. This was a few years ( and dogs) ago. Maybe discuss with your vet?

PinkflowersWhiteBerries · 14/01/2024 13:23

One of mine was like this. We moved her to hydrolysed protein foods either Royal Canin Hypoallergenic or Hills ZD. Also fed her little and often (x 3 per day) . Still do. She has been fine for the most part unless we deviate from the routine. She is a lab

Devilshands · 14/01/2024 13:25

I stupidly hadn’t thought of allergies for a dog so I will start looking in to that.

Not stupid at all! It's easily overlooked as 'allergies' seems like such a human thing it's easy to forget that pets can have them too!

I hope you figure it out soon though or that she grows out of it 🙂

Shaggydogstory54 · 14/01/2024 13:25

Yes I’m beginning to think that we should give her two meals a day and a snack in the middle.

When my dh is away travelling this is what I do in fact and last time he was away we only had one vom now I think about it.

My dh’s schedule is tougher than mine though and I don’t think he has time to feed her twice so he just does it once (he does most dog care because we have other animals which l am in charge of). So he throws her a natural treat in the morning. He used to leave kibble out all day for her but I stopped this bc she ignored it and we started having rodent issues.

I also think she loves getting in to things and eating things she shouldn’t, like wings of rotten birds. The more revolting the better. We obviously try to stop her but she is very quick and trained to be off lead so we don’t always see everything.

OP posts:
Shaggydogstory54 · 14/01/2024 13:27

Twentymorequestions · 14/01/2024 13:18

We had this with a Labrador. After a few vet visits one suggested we worm him monthly. This sorted the problem. No idea why and not did the vet. I know you said you worm regularly, we wormed quarterly but changing to monthly solved the problem for us. This was a few years ( and dogs) ago. Maybe discuss with your vet?

This is interesting bc she did have a poor start in life. Thank you for suggestion.

OP posts:
XiCi · 14/01/2024 13:29

So she's only having one meal a day at 5.30pm? Maybe she's really hungry. Mine went through a period of puking early in the morning which was from hunger and solved by giving a nighttime treat. I imagine hed be sick every day if he wasnt eating till early evening. He's not a big dog either only 8kgs. His meals are split morning and early evening with training treats in between

catelynjane · 14/01/2024 13:29

My dh’s schedule is tougher than mine though and I don’t think he has time to feed her twice so he just does it once (he does most dog care because we have other animals which l am in charge of). So he throws her a natural treat in the morning. He used to leave kibble out all day for her but I stopped this bc she ignored it and we started having rodent issues.

Ah come on - if he has time to give her a natural chew, he has time to put some biscuits in a bowl, lol. It only takes a few seconds.

Shaggydogstory54 · 14/01/2024 13:30

PinkflowersWhiteBerries · 14/01/2024 13:23

One of mine was like this. We moved her to hydrolysed protein foods either Royal Canin Hypoallergenic or Hills ZD. Also fed her little and often (x 3 per day) . Still do. She has been fine for the most part unless we deviate from the routine. She is a lab

Noted! Thank you very much!

And thank you for feed suggestions PinkflowersWhiteBerries

OP posts:
MadamVastra · 14/01/2024 13:30

My pug does this and I recognise the sounds of it starting - also sometimes her stomach starts contracting so I can put her outside quick. But tbh it's not a lot even if it is her whole dinner!

the worst thing for me is that I have a sneaking suspicion she eats it if I'm not around when she does it 🤢

XiCi · 14/01/2024 13:32

I'm a bit baffled as to how your DH doesn't have time to feed the dog twice a day. It literally takes 30 seconds to put food in a bowl

Shaggydogstory54 · 14/01/2024 13:34

catelynjane · 14/01/2024 13:29

My dh’s schedule is tougher than mine though and I don’t think he has time to feed her twice so he just does it once (he does most dog care because we have other animals which l am in charge of). So he throws her a natural treat in the morning. He used to leave kibble out all day for her but I stopped this bc she ignored it and we started having rodent issues.

Ah come on - if he has time to give her a natural chew, he has time to put some biscuits in a bowl, lol. It only takes a few seconds.

Yes I know and agree.

He buys her treats from https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/dog-treats

and gives her those in the morning, it started bc she was always looking for something to do, so it was as much for distraction as feeding ifyswim.

I think we will start her on something more solid and plain.

Dog Treats

https://www.millieswolfheart.co.uk/dog-treats

OP posts:
BiteyShark · 14/01/2024 13:34

Our dog has a stomach condition and eating little and often is the best thing for him.

I think I would feel nauseous if I only had one meal a day.

Shaggydogstory54 · 14/01/2024 13:36

XiCi · 14/01/2024 13:32

I'm a bit baffled as to how your DH doesn't have time to feed the dog twice a day. It literally takes 30 seconds to put food in a bowl

I agree but I am not my dh’s keeper and I have 20 other animals to feed at 8 am.

I think the list will stretch to 21 though from now on.

OP posts:
Jennyjojo5 · 14/01/2024 13:46

Could she be eating/licking stuff on her walks? I have a choc lab (renowned for eating anything and everything!) and he probably throws up once a month or so cos of the crap he finds to munch on during walks

catelynjane · 14/01/2024 13:51

it started bc she was always looking for something to do, so it was as much for distraction as feeding ifyswim.

He could put her food into a puzzle feeder, or scatter feed her, or use a Kong or a snuffle mat - there are loads of ways to make her meals more interesting but so that she still gets the amount that she needs.

Shaggydogstory54 · 14/01/2024 13:53

Jennyjojo5 · 14/01/2024 13:46

Could she be eating/licking stuff on her walks? I have a choc lab (renowned for eating anything and everything!) and he probably throws up once a month or so cos of the crap he finds to munch on during walks

I think this could be an issue to an extent but she’s actually more interested in sniffing and investigating rather than eating revolting things now I think about it. She will carry rotting or dead things in her mouth though. (We live rurally.)

OP posts:
Shaggydogstory54 · 14/01/2024 13:55

catelynjane · 14/01/2024 13:51

it started bc she was always looking for something to do, so it was as much for distraction as feeding ifyswim.

He could put her food into a puzzle feeder, or scatter feed her, or use a Kong or a snuffle mat - there are loads of ways to make her meals more interesting but so that she still gets the amount that she needs.

This is an excellent suggestion thank you!

And thank you to the pps who suggested lick mats and slow feeders too.

OP posts:
catelynjane · 14/01/2024 13:57

Shaggydogstory54 · 14/01/2024 13:55

This is an excellent suggestion thank you!

And thank you to the pps who suggested lick mats and slow feeders too.

We scatter feed our beagle every morning and evening - in summer we'll do it in the garden but this time of year we just chuck a small handful of biscuits around the living room. He loves it!

A snuffle mat is the same idea but keeps the food contained somewhat.