Dog vomiting, had op & anti biotics, still vomiting

Aoifss_Mc

I have a 15 month old black labrador X Collie. She is a very lively, sociable dog with a fantastic apetite. We've fed her the same food we have always fed her since we got her(Orlandodry dog food in either chicken or beef flavour), which was when she was 7 months old. Basically, around Christmas time we noticed our dog was vomiting a bit. At first, it was maybe once a week but it began to become more and more frequent until she was nearly vomiting after every meal. We brought her to the vet on the 6th of January. She had lost close to 3kg. We were told that it is possible she may have swallowed a foreign object or that she may have a bug. She was given an injection for nausea and advised us to give her special wet gastrointestinal food for 3 days which they provided us with. Overall that visit cost €80 for the consultation, injection and food. During these 3 days on the GI food she continued to vomit so we brought her back to the vet. This time they made the decision to do xrays to see if there may be a foreign body lodged in her tummy. In the xrays, they could see 'something' lodged in her intestine which they believed may be a sock but no guarantee so they asked could they go ahead and operate, we said yes of course. When they operated, there was no foreign body inside, just food. All of this visit then cost €665. After the op we were advised to keep feeding her the GI food, give her anti biotics for a superbug and come back in 10 days to get the stitches out and for a check up. Throughout the 10 days, she continued to vomit despite being on special food and anti biotics, was feeling lousy, wasn't the lively, bubbly dog we once knew. We brought her back to get her stitches out, she could only get half out as the other half of the wound was infected. We explained she was still vomiting but they said that an op like that is hard to get over and to just keep feeding her little and often, give her different anti biotics (for infected wound) and to come back in another 5 days to get the rest of the stitches out, all of this costing an extra €30. During the 5 days, she got sick around 3 times. We brought her back to get the remainding stitches out. They let her go home still saying to just give her time to get over the op. When we returned home we realised they had missed 2 stitches which we had to go back and get removed. Now, we have spent almost €800, our dog is still vomiting frequently, she is a little livelier but is not putting on weight or keeping a lot of food down. We're really losing confidence in our vet at this stage.
Has anyone experienced anything like this?
Has anyone got any advice?

DBB

Jeez... Your poor dog! And poor you!
Did they take blood samples to test?

tk123

My friends dog had a bug before Xmas kind of like this. First they thought it was pancreatitis, then something stuck inside which there wasn't. He had the runs as well as vommiting and if went on for a few weeks trying different antibiotics, on gastro food etc etc They still don't know what it was and their bill came to over 3k! :eek:

On a side note I'm dubious now of vets who try and solve all problems with a bag of prescription food! Same dog is itchy with blisters and and ear infections having spent 2k last year for tests for the same problem - handed a bag of skin support food with its first ingredient being rice! :rolleyes:

Kukey

My dog has a sensitive stomach and can only have James Well beloved food.Every few months she will have an episode of vomiting and diarrhoea,if she manages to eat something she shouldn't or gets a bug.
At my last visit to the Vets she recommended Maalox tablets for indigestion from the chemist,and probiotic powders.I gave her 1/2 a maalox tablet about 10 mins before feeding her,as this puts a lining on her stomach.I then sprinkled some probiotic powder on her food.
I found this great and really helps the dogs stomach problems.
Have you tried feeding just chicken and rice,this would be easier on the stomach than dog food.I wouldn't continue feeding the Orlando dog food as it doesn't seem to agree with your dog.Have a look at different hypoallergenic foods that are available.
Your poor dog will fade away if the vomiting continues!
Another thing to try is feed 2 or 3 times a day,rather than one big feed ;-)

Aoifss_Mc

DBB wrote: »

Jeez... Your poor dog! And poor you!
Did they take blood samples to test?

No, no bloods have been taken which I found bizarre, as a student nurse. If a human was this ill, it would be one of the first things we would do.

Aoifss_Mc

Kukey wrote: »

My dog has a sensitive stomach and can only have James Well beloved food.Every few months she will have an episode of vomiting and diarrhoea,if she manages to eat something she shouldn't or gets a bug.
At my last visit to the Vets she recommended Maalox tablets for indigestion from the chemist,and probiotic powders.I gave her 1/2 a maalox tablet about 10 mins before feeding her,as this puts a lining on her stomach.I then sprinkled some probiotic powder on her food.
I found this great and really helps the dogs stomach problems.
Have you tried feeding just chicken and rice,this would be easier on the stomach than dog food.I wouldn't continue feeding the Orlando dog food as it doesn't seem to agree with your dog.Have a look at different hypoallergenic foods that are available.
Your poor dog will fade away if the vomiting continues!
Another thing to try is feed 2 or 3 times a day,rather than one big feed ;-)

Thanks for the advice. We have been feeding her smaller portions, 3 times daily. We always have actually. I may give the chicken and rice a try first before I look into getting the Maalox and probiotic powder. I'd try anything at this stage! Really appreciate you getting in touch.

boomerang

Is she spayed?

Aoifss_Mc

boomerang wrote: »

Is she spayed?

She is, yeah.

tazwaz

Hi op, this sounds like something my own dog went through last year and its starting up again with the last 2 weeks. He was slow to eat and when he did he'd get sick at some stage in the day. My vet was great though, took bloods and they were clear. Did an xray and saw his liver was enlarged and there was something in the xray but she wasn't sure what it was and to avoid an operation to find out she referred him to a different practice for an ultrasound. It turned out there was a build up of mucus in his tummy. He was put on a diet of white fish & potatoes for 18 weeks and losec tablets for 2 weeks. It totally cleared up then, he was put back on nuts but six months later we're now back to the tablets & fish diet :-(

Lizard_Moon

OP- vomiting in a dog can be a very complex issue. Initial treatment will be as described above. Infection or foreign body would be the most common in young dogs. This, unfortunately hasn't solved your issue. If your dog is still unwell you should ask to arrange a time to speak to your vet to decide upon the way forward. For example a referral to UCD.
There are numerous causes of vomiting and plenty of diagnostic tests available. However any work ups, including bloods, ultrasound, biopsies will cost quite a bit more money so I would advise an estimate before agreeing to them.

Chat to your vet, they know you and your dog better than an online poster!

tk123

tazwaz wrote: »

we're now back to the tablets & fish diet :-(

If you have freezer space some of the raw suppliers are now selling sprat in bulk - might save you a few €€'s!;) Eg Slaneypetfoods.ie do a Dublin, Kildare, Carlow and Wicklow run most weeks and you can get 12kgs for €20 (or €26 delivered)

OP I try not to post about raw feeding as some people are extremely touchy about it being mentioned BUT there's no rule that you HAVE to feed a dry food. Lots of dogs who have "sensitive tummies" thrive when they're taken off dry food on raw/home cooked diets.