Elderly dog vomiting bile

[Pleasedontdothat]

My lovely dog has been vomiting yellow bike several times a day for the last couple of weeks. He’s 12 next week and is in otherwise good health. He’s had bouts of vomiting bile before but that’s when he’s got hungry overnight so vomiting first thing in the morning and it was easily solved by giving him a substantial snack at bedtime.

This is different - it’s not first thing in the morning but spaced out throughout the day. It’s mostly foamy yellow liquid but if he’s recently eaten there’ll be undigested food in there too. He hates being sick and is very anxious and miserable about it.

He’s had blood tests which were all normal and the vet couldn’t feel anything obvious in his abdomen (although he was sick while the vet was palpating his stomach). He’s on omeprazole and I’ve stopped giving him kibble as he seemed to be struggling to digest that but he’s still being sick (three times so far today). He’s a little bit sleepier than normal and his poos are firm but a lot smaller than usual. He’s having an abdominal ultrasound on Friday. Has anyone had anything similar with an older dog and if so, what was causing it? I’m besides myself with worry.

Is it possible he's been nibbling on goose grass (other names include sticky grass and sticky weed)? My greyhound tries to snaffle this stuff and one year we were in and out of the vets because of similar vomit sessions. Turns out it was his sneaky snacking on this plant when he wanders around the garden. It's not particularly toxic but the fine hairs on it can irritate your dog's insides and they can vomit up bile as the body tries to expel it. Otherwise keep him well hydrated and note his vomiting/pooing as some dogs can't tolerate omeprazole (while my greyhound is fine with it while my terrier vomited quite a bit when put on it - there are some good alternatives). Best of luck for the scan - fingers and paws crossed.

Our elderly dog had this and unfortunately he had to be put to sleep. He was 14 and kept having strange absences and then his legs went (so not just the bile thing).

he stopped eating too and we ended up giving him chicken and rice.

I hope your vet finds some reason and can sort this for you.

Have you tried the Purina Gastro Intestinal Mousse in a tin? Sorry, I’m not answering your question really, but when I’ve had elderly dogs with gastric problems, this has always helped. I have one on it all the time now - he’s 13.

Thank you - I’ll try the purina gastro food to see if that makes a difference. @teacoffeeorpassthegin I’m sorry about your dog
@AnotherForumUser we do have a lot of sticky weed around but I’ve not noticed him snacking on it but something to ask the vet about especially if the scan doesn’t show anything

Mine had similar and it got worse, then appetite went, vet kept giving him lots of nonsense treatments and tests, did bloods and a scan which they said found nothing and he just lost more and more weight. Eventually vet referred to hospital, the wait was a few weeks and he got thinner, they did scan and found widespread thickness in stomach, did a camera down his throat next day and it was clear it was untreatable stomach cancer, so we let him go while still under GA.

My advice would be to watch out for your vets pissing about for too long using up your insurance limit, get referred to the hospital while vets working on it as there is usually a waiting list, you’ll find out quicker what you are dealing with. It wouldn’t have changed the outcome for us but would have reduced his suffering. Hopefully yours won’t be as serious as ours was, could be something like gastritis. Good luck.

I’m so sorry @BrokenWing - I have a horrible feeling something similar is going on on with my dog. I’m going to call the vet again today as he’s getting worse so the omeprazole and different food aren’t helping.

Hey OP, my dog is 13 and she started doing this out of the blue a few months ago. I thought she’d eaten something dodgy so we took her to the vets and it turns out she’s got liver failure. She was on probiotics, omeprazole, anti sickness medication. She was also kept in for a day and put on a drip.

The vomiting stopped after just under 2 weeks.

She’s now been switched to a different liver friendly diet and has daily amino acids but we don’t know how long she’s got left with us.

Our vet was very good at telling us not to go to go down the invasive diagnostic route due to her age. He said it would be too much for her, cost loads and be the same outcome.

Thanks @Fedupoftheshits would you mind telling me how it was diagnosed? His blood tests came back normal - I assume they checked liver function but will confirm tomorrow. His ultrasound has been brought forward a few days to tomorrow. He’s obviously feeling worse - he’s now constipated and he lay down halfway through our walk this morning and wanted to go home then needed help to get out of the car

@Pleasedontdothatwe had to pay for an additional liver function test which confirmed it after her initial blood tests showed cause for concern.

Hopefully you’ll get some answers from the ultrasound.

Sending love to you as it’s a really worrying time when you don’t know what is wrong.

I had an elderly lurcher with similar, weight loss, loss of appetite and foamy bile sick. His blood tests showed hugely elevated liver enzymes and an ultrasound and biopsy confirmed an extensive liver tumour. He went downhill very quickly. Towards the end I found he tolerated cooked mince better than dry dog food. I hope you have better news.

He’s just had his ultrasound - he has a tumour on his liver and the stomach is very thickened - nothing they can do. I’m going to bring him home for a few days on pain relief to give everyone a chance to say goodbye

So sorry @Pleasedontdothat to hear it wasn't better news 🥹

I am so sorry OP, we had the same with our elderly dog, he was very poorly and had to be PTS, totally broke our hearts. I would try to prepare yourself. Sending hugs.

I am so sorry @Pleasedontdothat . I hope that you can spend the few days making a real fuss of him and spoil him. Many vets can come out to you and PTS at home which can be less scary for him. Wherever he is seen please try to stay with him if you can. It's more comforting for them, and they can go to sleep in your arms.

Oh I'm sorry to read your update, always horrible when you know you're at the end of the road with a much loved family pet xx

So sorry to hear your update.

@PleasedontdothatI’m so sorry to hear your news. Sending you a massive hug

I’ve booked a mobile vet to come to the house on Friday to put him to sleep on his own bed surrounded by people and animals who love him. He will take a piece of my heart with him when he goes.

I’m really sorry to hear that. It’s a bag of shit and I’ve been there many times. The only consolation is that you know what the ending is, you’ve done your best for them and it’s as good as it can be. I always feel sorry for people whose pets go missing and they never know what end they came to. At least with this you can grieve properly.

So sorry to hear this

💗 so many of us have felt the same heartbreak and the feeling of something huge missing at home that you will be feeling today. Our dogs were woven into the very fabric of our daily lives, there every minute of every day it is such a change when they are not with us anymore. As hard as it was, you have done him the ultimate kindness today. Take care of yourself 💗

It’s been just over a week since he died and I feel unbearably sad. The last couple of weeks have been the hardest since dh died suddenly 18 months ago. It feels like a series of never-ending losses - I’m just waiting for the next blow. My younger dog has been so quiet and sad - he’s never been an only dog and doesn’t know what to do with himself. Worryingly he’s suddenly become reactive to smaller dogs out on walks - he’s never shown behaviour like that before and my older dog was completely non-confrontational so it’s not learned behaviour or thinking that he needs to take on that role - any ideas how I can help him?

I am so sorry it’s a horrible time . Sounds like your dog is grieving too, also normal, it’s a big change. Try to distract dog on walks, try to avoid situations that dog will react too, take treats etc. I wonder if the dog is picking up on your emotions and feeling like they need to protect you from any perceived threat. I am sure things will settle down, it’s still very early days. Take care of yourself OP.