Fletch was vomiting a few weeks ago, maybe three times a week. Took him to the vet, they put him on cimetidine 300mg, metoclopramide 10mg and metronidazole 500mg. He never got sick once while on the meds. He finished them about 1.5-2 weeks ago and here we go again. He threw up tuesday, friday and today. Doesn't seem to make a difference whether his stomach is full or not.

I'm hoping this isn't a food allergy. We switched him from Nutro Large Breed Puppy to Nutro LB Adult. But he got sick once before we even switched. If this was an allergy, would he vomit everyday? What would be my first step in finding out if this is a food allergy?

I'm calling the vet tomorrow. Thankfully he is acting completely normal otherwise.

Poor Fletch :(

What is he vomiting? Bile or undigested food?

Did the vet do a fecal smear to rule out possible parasites or discuss the possibility of an obstruction?

cimetidine: acid reducer
metoclopramide: acid reflux/vomiting control
metronidazole: to treat bacterial/protozoal infections

I am by no means an expert but at first glance it looks like this is mainly to suppress the vomiting with a bacterial stomach illness in mind, not necessarily to determine the cause.

Poor Fletch, and poor you for having to clean it up :(.

When was Fletch's last full blood test, urine and stool tests done?

The vet we were dealing w/ is off for the week (her dad passed away), so we are dealing w/ the other vet now. Which is ok, I kind of like him better. He had me bring in a stool sample today. Said that he wasn't too worried since Fletch isn't having any other problems. He put him on a stonger dose of the metronidazole and continued w/ the metoclopramide. Said that he might not have been on them long enough for his stomach to settle down. He also swtiched him to Eukanuba KO while he's on the meds. Said that this food would be mroe gentle and would help determine if it's the Nutro causing the problems. Thankfully it's temporary ( since it's $50 per bag, but my baby is worth it!).

He had an xray 2-3 weeks ago that was negative. He had normal blood work not too long ago. He has normal appetite and BMs. He threw up food once or twice, the rest of the time has always been bile.

The clean up isn't what bothers me, it's the sad look on his face when he gets sick. He finds me in the house just before he gets sick, so I pet him and tell him it's ok. :( As soon as he's done, he's right back to his normal spastic self.

Hopefully this turns out to be just a bacterial stomach thing and can be cleared up w/ the meds. ~crossing my fingers~

Fingers crossed too :( Poor Fletch. Grip used to get that horrified "uh oh I'm in trouble" look when he vomited. I think he used to get hit for it :mad: Since he came to us I just pet and hug and comfort him when he's not well.

If his xray is negative and his bloodwork is ok, might be worth thinking about a dietary issue.

Which Nutro formula was he on?

I had a bit of trouble finding the Eukanuba KO ingredients (please correct me if these are wrong, I got them off a post on another dog chat board). It appears to be along the lines of a hypoallergenic diet (with a novel protein: kangaroo, and fairly novel protein: oat flour) - Ingredients below. If it is a dietary issue and Fletch improves on it that may be a sign, although I'm a bit wary of the "Animal Fat" and added salt. If he does better on it, it might be worth switching to another (more affordable) single protein/carb diet. How long does the vet want you to use KO?

Oat flour, Kangaroo, Canola Meal, Animal Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols [a source of Vitamin E] and Citric Acid), Dried Beet Pulp (sugar removed), Fish Oil (preserved with Ethoxyquin), Calcium Carbonate, Salt, Dicalcium Phosphate, Sodium Hexametaphosphate, Choline Chloride, DL-Methionine, Potassium Chloride, Ferrous Sulfate, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid, Zinc Oxide, Manganese Sulfate, Copper Sulfate, Vitamin A Acetate, Calcium Pantothenate, Manganous Oxide, Biotin, Rosemary Extract, Thiamine Mononitrate (source of vitamin B1), Vitamin B12 Supplement, Niacin, Riboflavin Supplement (source of vitamin B2), Inositol, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride (source of vitamin B6), Vitamin D3 Supplement, Potassium Iodide, Folic Acid, Cobalt Carbonate

Fletch gets that same "I'm in trouble" look, even though he's never been hit or yelled at. Poor little guy just gets upset when he's gonna be sick :( .

But good news, he hasn't been sick since my first post! His stool sample was also negative.

The vet wants him on the KO (not thrilled with the Kangaroo part) while he's on the meds. We'll probably finish the meds before the bag is gone. Then he said we could try going back on the Nutro Large Breed or find something else more affordable than the KO if the Nutro doesn't work. I was thinking of trying Nutro Sensitive Stomach. Vet said that the KO was more gentle on his stomach, especially if it's gastritis. I'm just glad he's not vomiting anymore.

I'll keep you posted, thanks for your help so far!!!!

:( :( :( I spoke too soon. Just after I posted, Fletch came and gave me THAT look and got sick. I guess we just have to give the medicine a chance to work.

Originally posted by LabTested
:( :( :( I spoke too soon. Just after I posted, Fletch came and gave me THAT look and got sick. I guess we just have to give the medicine a chance to work.

:( Maybe it's just an odd vomit and will stay that way!

If it continues (fingers crossed it doesn't), talk with your vet to see if it's not one of the meds causing it.

Ceilidh is on Nutro LB puppy too, and has been vomiting a lot (3-4 times per week) since just before Xmas. She'd been on it for about 5 weeks by then, without many problems, but ever since her spay, she's been vomiting. Wish I knew if it was the food or the surgery. I didn't know Nutro made a "sensitive stomach" formula. Is it a puppy food or an adult food? If you try it, please let me know if it works.

Just caught her a few minutes ago. She was making "those sounds", and since there was too much carpet to cross to get to lino, I grabbed a plastic bag on the table, and stuffed her little head in there while she puked. No mess! Yay. But still, I'd rather stop the vomiting. We're off to the vet for a follow up this afternoon, and I'm going to ask about it then.

Ugh..I'm sorry you're dealing with this. Good luck at the vet...I hope there's nothing seriously wrong!

That's an awful lot of vomiting :( Is she vomiting food? bile? Poor thing.

Let us know how it goes at the vet's.

Zen, it usually isn't food. Mostly bile or just watery. He hasn't thrown up since the last post, 5 days ago. Crossing my fingers yet! We are going to start changing over to a new food (he was on nutro) when the KO is getting low. I went to the pet store today. Owner was really helpful. Said he's found that Wellness (Old Mother Hubbard and it's on the WDJ list) seemed to work really well for dogs w/ vomiting problems. Suggested the venison or duck formula. Anyone familiar w/ Wellness?
This is the Duck formula.... (what do ya think about the first ingredient?)

Ground Brown Rice, Duck, Brown Rice Protein, Sunflower Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols), Flaxseed, Natural Duck Flavor, Taurine, MINERALS: [Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Choline Chloride, Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate (a chelated source of zinc), Iron Proteinate (a chelated source of iron), Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate (a chelated source of copper), Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate (a chelated source of manganese), Manganese Sulfate, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite], VITAMINS: [Beta-Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Vitamin C, Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin K Supplement, Vitamin B-12 Supplement].