Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 13
  1. #1
    Real Retriever Murphy030813's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Kansas City, MO
    Posts
    405
    Thanked: 244

    Help! Vomiting question...

    Mayson, our 13 month old boy, has been vomiting on and off since mid-December. Here's the details of the past month, sorry for the long story:

    He was in boarding while we were on vacation in his normal boarding place where he (and Murphy, our 5 year old) go to doggy day care on a regular basis. 4-5 days after we got back, he vomited bile at about 4:30a. We usually feed 2 meals a day, 5:30a and 5:00p. After he vomited bile, he ate like normal and played like normal and drank water. He vomited (bile) again at 3:30p. I'm thinking he has empty stomach syndrome, but we take him to the vet anyway and brought in a fecal sample. Fecal checked out fine, vet couldn't find anything wrong other than he had a slight temperature so the vet gave him an antibiotic to take just in case it had something to do with just being boarded. Things improved but there was still the occasional vomiting at 4:30a, always bile. So, we added a little yogurt and kibble snack at 9:00p. That seemed to help. All thru this, he is always high energy, his usual self. Still eating, poops are a nice consistency. If he goes outside, he's supervised. Yeah, his nose lives on the ground so I'm sure he might occasionally eat crap off the ground that we miss, but we really do supervise him the best we can.

    Well, last night, at 3:45a, he vomited again. This time it had a reddish tint to it which of course has me concerned. No chunks, no granular pieces, just bile, but red.

    Obviously I will be contacting my vet, but just want advice on what to ask for. Blood panel? Xray? The vet at one point wanted to give him an anti-nausea medication but I said no because I'm not crazy about pumping alot of medications into my dog. Should I reconsider? Thoughts?

    Thank you in advance...
    Murphy & Mayson

    Hidden Content

  2. #2
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Belgrade, Serbia
    Posts
    4,080
    Thanked: 4633
    I'd go to the vet, yes. When my dog had reddish vomit it was from medication which I stopped immediately.
    Cookie Black Snowflake
    July 12th, 2006. - May 25th, 2023.

    Hidden Content

    Hidden Content

    Hidden Content
    Hidden Content | Hidden Content | Hidden Content | Hidden Content

  3. #3
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    2,598
    Thanked: 2588
    Jack went through a phase of vomiting but he was just addicted to eating grass and now that it was brown and scratchy, he was making himself sick. The vet didn't find anything wrong. Jed was recently regurgitating up all his food and had bloody diarrhea, but after some anti vomit meds and metronidazole, he's been better too.

    Since it's bile, I would think he's not eating enough or whatever he's eating, he's digesting too fast. Just out of curiosity, how much does the dog eat per day? And when do you feed?

  4. #4
    Senior Dog
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Ellicott City, MD
    Posts
    6,626
    Thanked: 3641
    My guys get a biscuit before bedtime as well as one late afternoon. They eat three meals a day and the biscuits are so that they can make it overnight and to dinnertime (meal #3) without bile barfs.

    The slight red tinge makes me think some kind of irritation. If he's vomiting enough, the irritation could easily be from the bile.

    Maybe follow my lead and divvy up one of his meals into two, regularly spaced, and a couple of single biscuit treats, appropriately scheduled.

    It's been a long time since we've had a problem with vomiting....even fasting days seem to go by without a hitch anymore.

  5. #5
    Real Retriever Murphy030813's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Kansas City, MO
    Posts
    405
    Thanked: 244
    Quote Originally Posted by JenC View Post
    Jack went through a phase of vomiting but he was just addicted to eating grass and now that it was brown and scratchy, he was making himself sick. The vet didn't find anything wrong. Jed was recently regurgitating up all his food and had bloody diarrhea, but after some anti vomit meds and metronidazole, he's been better too.

    Since it's bile, I would think he's not eating enough or whatever he's eating, he's digesting too fast. Just out of curiosity, how much does the dog eat per day? And when do you feed?
    He's eating 2 meals a day - roughly 5:30a and 5:00p - Purina Pro Plan Sport all life stages - 26/16 formula.
    We've added a spoonful of yogurt and a 1/4 cup of kibble at 9:00p since this has been going on. That seems to help, but it didn't last night.
    My husband works from home, so he gets several little treats or biscuits during the day as well.

    Also, he's a rescue so there is no breeder to go back to and check their advice.
    Murphy & Mayson

    Hidden Content

  6. #6
    Senior Dog Berna's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Belgrade, Serbia
    Posts
    4,080
    Thanked: 4633
    Vomiting bile is one thing, but if the bile is red-brown I’d be concerned there is something going on in his stomach. I am always for the “better safe than sorry approach”.

    Does he appear bloated? When my dog was vomiting red bile he also appeared bloated.

  7. #7
    Senior Dog smartrock's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Carolina in my mind..
    Posts
    6,391
    Thanked: 4178
    I'd be concerned about the reddish tinge as well. I guess it's possible he's got some stomach or esophageal irritation from vomiting. I know there have been some dogs who have swallowed things they shouldn't and they remain in their stomach for a long, long time. Since he was boarded, I'm wondering if an xray was part of his work up, just to be sure there's nothing in there causing an issue. Over the years our dogs have gotten Pepcid during periods of stomach upset (gastritis). There's also a med called Carafate or sucralfate that is sometimes given to coat the stomach and allow the stomach to heal up from an ulcer, which seems less likely in your young guy. I'm not suggesting these as a way to mask what's going on but to allow whatever is going on to heal up. I'm OK with my dogs getting a short course of anti-nausea meds or pepcid or something like that to get them through an acute phase of something.

  8. #8
    Chief Pooper Scooper JenC's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Colorado
    Posts
    2,598
    Thanked: 2588
    That's true, in my older dogs I've given Pepcid (or generic famotidine) and we've gotten the sucralfate as well.

    You definitely want to make sure the dog is OK but sometimes with these random GI issues, you are sometimes just grasping for anything.

    No diarrhea issues? How about a day or 2 of just feeding a bit more? 1 1/2 cup per meal and see how the night transpires. An xray can help, but some ingested objects won't show...

  9. The Following User Says Thank You to JenC For This Useful Post:

    Annette47 (01-11-2018)

  10. #9
    Real Retriever Murphy030813's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    Kansas City, MO
    Posts
    405
    Thanked: 244
    Quote Originally Posted by Berna View Post
    Vomiting bile is one thing, but if the bile is red-brown I’d be concerned there is something going on in his stomach. I am always for the “better safe than sorry approach”.

    Does he appear bloated? When my dog was vomiting red bile he also appeared bloated.
    Doesn't appear bloated at all - he's a thin muscular boy. Would definitely notice some bloating.
    Murphy & Mayson

    Hidden Content

  11. #10
    Senior Dog Shelley's Avatar
    Join Date
    May 2014
    Location
    United States
    Posts
    1,226
    Thanked: 1739
    I would be checking for a retained foreign body in his stomach, he could have swallowed something while being boarded. The red tinge to his vomitus could be stomach irritation from either the medications or a foreign body. X rays would help diagnose this, except some items are not visible on x rays, so be mindful of that. You are doing what I would do for empty stomach syndrome, but since that was not an issue before, I doubt that is the issue now.

    Have you called the boarding facility to ask if they noticed him off, or if he ate something? Or is any other dogs have been ill since that time?

    In my experience, a dog that is vomiting regularly, is not well, Labradors are well known for being stoic, so they act normal even if they aren't. This could be a host of things, from what has been mentioned, to an abdominal mass, to cancer, etc... I would start with a complete blood panel, and an abdominal x ray, and move on from there. Good wishes

  12. The Following User Says Thank You to Shelley For This Useful Post:

    Annette47 (01-11-2018)

 



Not a Member of the Labrador Retriever Chat Forums Yet?
Register for Free and Share Your Labrador Retriever Photos

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •