Dog Vomit (westie)

BONDIred

Hi,

I have a westie, 1.5 years old and she seems to vomit almost nightly, I've had her down to the vet who just keeps prescribing bland food and some tablets for. Couple of days but this is not getting to the root of the problem. We have done blood tests and everything is normal.

She eats science plan kibble and gets raw hide chews as treats (these will be cut out now - problem as been going on since before she has been given these)

When she was 9 weeks old she had a very back gastro bug that at first was suspected to be parvovirus, could this be the cause? As a result of this she is not insured for stomach problems so vet bills are mounting up.

Does anyone have any tips or suggestions on what to do or what could be wrong? The furniture is getting destroyed and can't be good for dog either.

Thanks

mymo

First thing I'd do is cut meals down to very small portions several times a day, she may be eating too much or too fast.

Try a different food with fewer ingredients, there are some good ones out there for the price of the science plan, maybe some westie owners on here can suggest good quality food that suit their dogs as westies are notorious for food related problems.

I don't have a westie, but one of my dogs has had issues with lots of foods, I have him on barking heads at the moment and he's doing well (it even smells nice for dog food).

If you need some bland food get some chicken thighs or legs, and some rice, and boil it up (no stock just water), leave it to cool and remove all the bones. If shes ok on that, add some carrots and whatever veg you have. If thats ok, add small amounts of the dry food, gradually increase the amount of dry food.

BONDIred

mymo wrote: »

First thing I'd do is cut meals down to very small portions several times a day, she may be eating too much or too fast.

Try a different food with fewer ingredients, there are some good ones out there for the price of the science plan, maybe some westie owners on here can suggest good quality food that suit their dogs as westies are notorious for food related problems.

I don't have a westie, but one of my dogs has had issues with lots of foods, I have him on barking heads at the moment and he's doing well (it even smells nice for dog food).

If you need some bland food get some chicken thighs or legs, and some rice, and boil it up (no stock just water), leave it to cool and remove all the bones. If shes ok on that, add some carrots and whatever veg you have. If thats ok, add small amounts of the dry food, gradually increase the amount of dry food.

And keep her on the chicken diet indefinitely?

mymo

Sorry post wasn't clear.
Gradually increase the amount of dry food over a week or two (longer if you want, the rice and chicken won't do any harm), until its just dry food.
The rice and chicken freezes great too so you can make a big batch and freeze it, so you can always have some on hand for if she starts to vomit again or just as a treat as I find my two love it mixed with the food occasionally.

Beware though I got this recipe from the vet to put weight on my dog so keep an eye on her weight, it did bulk up my fella quite fast.

maggiepip

Try the smaller meals and I would also suggest you try her on Pet Probiotics. My collie has a very sensitive tummy and we have never looked back after starting her on these -along with high quality food and cutting out gluten and almost all grains.

These are the ones I use
http://www.iherb.com/Jarrow-Formulas-Pet-Dophilus-Powder-2-5-oz-70-5-g/4295
(they are excellent and reasonable - the postage is cheap and you should get them in a week - theres a courier delivery also which will arrive in a couple of days but a bit more expensive. You need to use a dog probiotic that contains E Faecium bacteria - human ones are useless as they do not contain this strain. Tis worth a go anyway as it can only help:)

maggiepip

Sorry BONDIred should have also said the food we feed is Rocco Classic and Rinti from zooplus.
http://www.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/canned_dog_food/rocco/rocco_classic/128762
Its a grain/cereal/gluten free wet food and is excellent. Its simply meat and innards (no nasty stuff). The poos Molly produces on this diet are top class:o (she used to have very sloppy ones, lots of wind, sick stomach etc which all eventually escalated into a terrible dose of colitis whereby she ended at the vets on a drip ) So along with this food and the probiotics she is flying!

blade1

Stop the Rawhide treats for a while and see if this makes a difference.

DBB

OP, two questions.
What time is her last meal at, and what time does she tend to vomit at?
And what does the vomit look like?
Oops, that's three questions!

westies4ever

The infamous westie tummy. As per other posters, try boiled chicken and rice and a dollop of probiotic yoghurt once a day. Once it settles down you can look at the food long term.

They can be very sensitive and possibly a grain free food could help. My female had a few issues with vomiting bile in the mornings. I have them on Nutro lamb & rice - I get it from zoo plus and no issues since.

If there's no improvement I'd also be getting a second opinion from another vet.

*The Nutro food mine are on is more for sensitive skin but there is a sensitive tummy one.

BONDIred

DBB wrote: »

OP, two questions.
What time is her last meal at, and what time does she tend to vomit at?
And what does the vomit look like?
Oops, that's three questions!

It varies, sometimes it's just saliva, sometimes food. She eats about 7pm then will cry during the night to out the back eat grass

Other then getting sick she has runny poo most days but again this will then turn solid and she could e fine for a few weeks

She is in great form and none of this seems to bother her

BONDIred

westies4ever wrote: »

The infamous westie tummy. As per other posters, try boiled chicken and rice and a dollop of probiotic yoghurt once a day. Once it settles down you can look at the food long term.

They can be very sensitive and possibly a grain free food could help. My female had a few issues with vomiting bile in the mornings. I have them on Nutro lamb & rice - I get it from zoo plus and no issues since.

If there's no improvement I'd also be getting a second opinion from another vet.

*The Nutro food mine are on is more for sensitive skin but there is a sensitive tummy one.

Do u have to order this online or do pet shops stock it?

westies4ever

BONDIred wrote: »

Do u have to order this online or do pet shops stock it?

I've only seen it online - its not terribly expensive - I pay around €50 for 12kg bag and that lasts my two over 2 months - on an aside it really sorted my females skin issues. See link for the sensitive tummy one. I feed mine the lamb and rice version. Be careful with treats as well.

http://m.zooplus.ie/shop/dogs/dry_dog_food/nutro/adult/145304?previousProductGroupId=21658

DBB

The runny poop certainly suggests a negative response to the food, and vomiting with food still in it also suggests that her body is trying to rid itself of something that doesn't agree with it.
Just be aware that lots of dogs, and lots of westies, cannot tolerate having an empty tum. If she's eating at 7pm, then throwing up froth 4+ hours later, it may be because her tummy is empty, and the powerful tummy acids are causing the tummy to become irritated, hence the up-chucking of froth, because there's nothing there to bring up. This sensation will make her desparate to get something into her, and this may be why she's eating grass.
To test this theory, feed her a small meal last thing at night. I've had to do this with quote a few westies, and other breeds, and it has worked perfectly. But, the fact that your little lady is showing other symptoms of food allergies, you're going to need to investigate a dietary change.
Ideally, get her off dry food altogether now, and feed her just meat and cooked veg for 5-6 wks. No rice, no cereals. Pad it out with some cooked spuds if you like.
See does this help with the runny poop. If it does, then if you're hell bent on feeding her dry, start to slowly add the best dry food you can afford, it must, absolutely must be cereal free, because chances are it's cereals causing allergy problems.
Westies are walking allergy magnets, perhaps the most allergy-prone breed of them all.

BONDIred

DBB wrote: »

The runny poop certainly suggests a negative response to the food, and vomiting with food still in it also suggests that her body is trying to rid itself of something that doesn't agree with it.
Just be aware that lots of dogs, and lots of westies, cannot tolerate having an empty tum. If she's eating at 7pm, then throwing up froth 4+ hours later, it may be because her tummy is empty, and the powerful tummy acids are causing the tummy to become irritated, hence the up-chucking of froth, because there's nothing there to bring up. This sensation will make her desparate to get something into her, and this may be why she's eating grass.
To test this theory, feed her a small meal last thing at night. I've had to do this with quote a few westies, and other breeds, and it has worked perfectly. But, the fact that your little lady is showing other symptoms of food allergies, you're going to need to investigate a dietary change.
Ideally, get her off dry food altogether now, and feed her just meat and cooked veg for 5-6 wks. No rice, no cereals. Pad it out with some cooked spuds if you like.
See does this help with the runny poop. If it does, then if you're hell bent on feeding her dry, start to slowly add the best dry food you can afford, it must, absolutely must be cereal free, because chances are it's cereals causing allergy problems.
Westies are walking allergy magnets, perhaps the most allergy-prone breed of them all.

Thanks for the advice, I will leave food in bowl during the night! Not pushed on wet or dry food but vet recommended dry food.

Should I feed her human food? Mince/chicken veg and potatoes etc???

DBB

BONDIred wrote: »

Thanks for the advice, I will leave food in bowl during the night! Not pushed on wet or dry food but vet recommended dry food.

Should I feed her human food? Mince/chicken veg and potatoes etc???

No disrespect to your vet, but did they by any chance recommend a brand of food they sell?
If you're going to go for dry food, it needs to be cereal free, and as high as you can afford in meat volume, so the likes of Barking Heads, and Taste of the Wild, and Orijen, are what you need to be looking at. I used to feed Nutro to my own dogs like westies4ever, but I felt it went downhill after being taken over by a multinational. That said, who am I to argue with westies4ever's little westie lady, huh? (you'd want to be mad to argue with any Westie, let's face it ) If it works for her Westie, it works, and w4e would be mad to change.
As for feeding her human food, yes! Mince, chicken, veg and spuds, nyom nyom! And super to control food allergies as you know exactly what's going into your dog. But you need to balance it out over time, nutrition-wise. Have a look at www.dogsfirst.ie for some good advice on the issue of feeding fresh meat 'n' veg. My own dogs are all raw fed now, after years and years trying to find the best dry food, I'm done with dry food altogether. But that's just me

NeVeR

Hi,

I've 2 westies and one of them about 6-7 months ago was getting sick all the time.. not keeping food down,

brought her to the vets a few times, Had x-rays .. she had to say in all day one day on a drip as she couldn't keep any food down.

We didn't know what was wrong with her until one day she pooped out a big bit of rubber from one of those squeaky toys.. she had swallowed it and it blocked her system.. so nothing was going down.. not even water.

This might not be the case with yours.. but if he/she has any toys like this check them to see if they've eaten any of it..

BONDIred

NeVeR wrote: »

Hi,

I've 2 westies and one of them about 6-7 months ago was getting sick all the time.. not keeping food down,

brought her to the vets a few times, Had x-rays .. she had to say in all day one day on a drip as she couldn't keep any food down.

We didn't know what was wrong with her until one day she pooped out a big bit of rubber from one of those squeaky toys.. she had swallowed it and it blocked her system.. so nothing was going down.. not even water.

This might not be the case with yours.. but if he/she has any toys like this check them to see if they've eaten any of it..

Have taken all her toys away, what you describe could well be the case as she rips all her toys apart in a few hours and loves to get at the plastic squeaker!

The next step the Vet wants to do is stool sample, then xray etc and finally open her up to see if there is any blockages!

On the advice of DBB I left her with food last night, her kibble mixed with water to soften, and she ate it and had no vomit when I was leaving for work earlier.

I think I will try some of the suggestions made here before we go back to the vet for surgery etc.

Thanks

Ms Tootsie

Westies as a breed are very allergy prone. They are also very succeptible to having Colitis. Our wheaten terrier has this and the symptoms sound very similar. One tell tale sign is with the runny poos - (sorry for TMI) but if they are covered in a a type of mucus then that could be it.

It is not too major a problem (aside from establishing a diet that your dog can handle). For us we feed him chicken and rice when he is having a bad day or else chicken and spuds. We keep him on a mixture of a fresh / raw diet. Usually chicken, lambs liver, hearts, tripe, beef pieces with veg, spuds or rice. It has been reccommended to me on here by others who have experienced the issue to feed the dog a tin of ID food maybe once a week just to keep his tummy in check.

If the vomitting has stopped after changing the feeding times but the runny poo persists, take a stool sample to your vet. I am surprised they havent been looking to figure out the underlying cause and to treat the problem rather than just the symptoms.

westies4ever

DBB wrote: »

No disrespect to your vet, but did they by any chance recommend a brand of food they sell?
If you're going to go for dry food, it needs to be cereal free, and as high as you can afford in meat volume, so the likes of Barking Heads, and Taste of the Wild, and Orijen, are what you need to be looking at. I used to feed Nutro to my own dogs like westies4ever, but I felt it went downhill after being taken over by a multinational. That said, who am I to argue with westies4ever's little westie lady, huh? (you'd want to be mad to argue with any Westie, let's face it ) If it works for her Westie, it works, and w4e would be mad to change.
As for feeding her human food, yes! Mince, chicken, veg and spuds, nyom nyom! And super to control food allergies as you know exactly what's going into your dog. But you need to balance it out over time, nutrition-wise. Have a look at www.dogsfirst.ie for some good advice on the issue of feeding fresh meat 'n' veg. My own dogs are all raw fed now, after years and years trying to find the best dry food, I'm done with dry food altogether. But that's just me

Some good points there - I agree that what works for one dog won't work for another. Some people swear by Burns food for instance and I swear it was the root of my little ladies problems.

We did the raw for a time and my male thrived but my female didn't, she was sick and her skin got very greasy. There may have been too much protein for her. It would be what I'd prefer to give them but it wasn't for her.

I didn't know that Nutro was taken over by a multi national - I only found it 5 months ago and the difference in maggie is startling. It took me almost 5 years to find the right food so I'll be gutted if the quality dips. I do supplement it with a little fish oil, mince, veg etc but no chicken.

Westies are complicated but amazing dogs and worth every effort. Op I hope she feels better, please keep us updated.

DBB

Oops, didn't mean to alarm you w4e, it's 6yrs since I fed Nutro, so my problem with it started a long time ago. If it's working for you in its current form, don't fix what's not broken!
It first came to Ireland maybe 8 yrs ago, and I remember doggy people being thrilled that this product was finally available in Ireland, as it enjoyed such a good reputation abroad. So, even if it did slip somewhat in quality a few years ago, I'd imagine it's still superior to a lot of other dry food. I must take a look at the ingredients again!

westies4ever

DBB wrote: »

Oops, didn't mean to alarm you w4e, it's 6yrs since I fed Nutro, so my problem with it started a long time ago. If it's working for you in its current form, don't fix what's not broken!
It first came to Ireland maybe 8 yrs ago, and I remember doggy people being thrilled that this product was finally available in Ireland, as it enjoyed such a good reputation abroad. So, even if it did slip somewhat in quality a few years ago, I'd imagine it's still superior to a lot of other dry food. I must take a look at the ingredients again!

I came about it by accident - I hadn't actually heard of it. I was on zooplus reading through all the foods and their ingredient lists and I liked the sound of it. Plus a westie owner had posted a good review (could have been fake mind you!). It's funny that my female has even got her mojo back since I started feeding it. Makes me realise now how much she must've been suffering

My boy is unreal though - a big strapping westie and a healthy as a horse - Ive never seen a bigger westie and hes never had a skin issue. And he's a rescue so I've no idea about his breeding background. I think I could feed him anything!

BONDIred

Just a quick update:

Since changing her Diet to cooked meat & veg there has been no more sick and she seems to be in great form.

Only problem now is that I think she likes the food too much and will be licking her bowl a few times during the evening, has me thinking if Im feeding her enough. Anyone have any recommendations in relation to portion size?

Thanks again for the suggestions

westies4ever

BONDIred wrote: »

Just a quick update:

Since changing her Diet to cooked meat & veg there has been no more sick and she seems to be in great form.

Only problem now is that I think she likes the food too much and will be licking her bowl a few times during the evening, has me thinking if Im feeding her enough. Anyone have any recommendations in relation to portion size?

Thanks again for the suggestions

AFAIK its 2% of the dogs body weight per day across two meals. Think it should be 80% meat and 20% veg.

if im wrong maybe some of the raw feeders on here can correct me.

DBB

Depending on the dog, 2-3% of body weight per day is recommended. So a 10kg dog should get 200-300g per day. Pups need more.
She's probably licking the bowl because she's enjoying her food so much! There can be some epic bowl licking sessions here too! Feed her at the above scale, if she starts getting a bit, ahem, portly, reduce the portions, and increase them a bit if she loses weight.
Delighted to hear the midnight pukes have stopped!

maggiepip

BONDIred wrote: »

Just a quick update:

Since changing her Diet to cooked meat & veg there has been no more sick and she seems to be in great form.

Only problem now is that I think she likes the food too much and will be licking her bowl a few times during the evening, has me thinking if Im feeding her enough. Anyone have any recommendations in relation to portion size?

Thanks again for the suggestions

Thats brilliant!! God I just get mad at a lot of vets with their attitude/misinformation/lack of knowledge about diet. Gastro upset = pills and a bag of some dry "prescription" rubbish full of cereals and gluten. Skin problems = bag of some dry "prescription" rubbish and steroids.....etc... (now Im not saying ALL vets do this but too many do)

BONDIred

Well after two plus weeks of having her on human food (Brocolli, carrot, potato and mix of boiled chicken, pork and beef) I have tried to reintroduce dry food.

This was because she appeared to be hungry all the time and was getting very bad at begging to the point of trying to rob food from plates that were in reach!!

We got reccomended Burns dry food and she couldnt get enough (which seemed to clarify that she was starving), she has been on Burns (Chicken & Rice) for 2-3 days now and vomit has returned along with night time eating grass and bloody stools.

Is it worth trying the burns Lamb & Potato for sensitive stomachs?

westies4ever

Could you keep her on the raw and just up her portions? My female westie did terribly on Burns, her allergies went through the roof and she was vomiting bile.

Mine are on Nutro lamb & rice from zooplus and they're doing fine on it but what will work for one might not work for another.

BONDIred

westies4ever wrote: »

Could you keep her on the raw and just up her portions? My female westie did terribly on Burns, her allergies went through the roof and she was vomiting bile.

Mine are on Nutro lamb & rice from zooplus and they're doing fine on it but what will work for one might not work for another.

It wasnt a Raw diet I was spending hours cooking it up specifically for her.

I was talking to a number of people and they said what I was doing would harm her long term as she not getting the right nutrients etc.

Maybe its just a case of trial & error until I find the right food

Ms Tootsie

You don't need to be spending hours cooking it up as food for a dog does not require the same level of cooking as food for us.

Raw is great but personally I find it doesnt work for my guy so I cook for him. By cook I mean I boil the meat for 2-3 minutes then boil the rice / veg in the same water (to get any lost nutrients). All in all prepping food for a week takes about half an hour. Including bagging it and getting it ready to freeze.

People who say you are not giving him the right nutrients are mis-guiding you. A fresh or raw diet can be every bit as good for a dog provided you are feeding him the right balance of meat and veg and also feeding him enough.

BONDIred

kaza2710 wrote: »

You don't need to be spending hours cooking it up as food for a dog does not require the same level of cooking as food for us.

Raw is great but personally I find it doesnt work for my guy so I cook for him. By cook I mean I boil the meat for 2-3 minutes then boil the rice / veg in the same water (to get any lost nutrients). All in all prepping food for a week takes about half an hour. Including bagging it and getting it ready to freeze.

People who say you are not giving him the right nutrients are mis-guiding you. A fresh or raw diet can be every bit as good for a dog provided you are feeding him the right balance of meat and veg and also feeding him enough.

I was giving her a full chicken breast a day with rice/veg - Would that be enough?

Ms Tootsie

I was advised about 3% of the dogs weight. So it really depends on the weight of your guy. As the portion breakdown I used the advise on Dogs First about meat v veg break down.