digestive issues!

1982 Views 7 Replies 5 Participants Last post by momothree, Mar 2, 2006

momothree

Discussion Starter · Mar 1, 2006

Good morning! I'm wondering if anyone has had a similar problem. For the last 3 mornings in a row (about 5:30 am) , Sage (who is tethered beside our bed at night) has been throwing up. Now, she hasn't had anything to eat since dinner the night before (at about 5pm), so needless to say, it was all clear liquid. Now, this morning, about an hour or so after her breakfast, she threw up again. She seems fine otherwise, and all I feed her is dry kibble; I've been trying not to give her too much of anything in the way of treats etc. until housetraining is more established. Also, what is normal in the way of poops?? She poops about 5-6 times a day. Does that seem excessive? It does to me, but I don't really know. Any insight would be very helpful. Thanks.

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Jannie

· #2 · Mar 1, 2006

Hi Sage's Mom
Our Sadie used to gag and throw up when we first brought her home too. I figured out that it was the fact that her food was so dry and she was gobbling it down so fast. I started putting some water on her food to moisten it and that stopped the gagging. I still put water on the dry food because it slows her down while eating as she stops to lap up the water and lick the bowl.

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momothree

Discussion Starter · #3 · Mar 1, 2006

Jannie-

Well, you know, after I posted this morning, I called my vet to see if they had any advice, and they suggested the same thing. The problem is that I have been feeding her all of her meals from 3 or 4 Kongs (advice from Ian Dunbar's book) so that she would have to pretty much eat slowly (all that work to get it out

). She thought that was pretty wierd, and might be part of the problem. I don't know, we've been doing it since we got her (week and a half ago), and haven't had any real problems until the last few days. So here I am again for the gazillionth time questioning if I should be doing something differently. :? This whole puppy thing is such a puzzle. Suddenly anything my kids throw my way is a piece of cake. Funny how perspective can change everything. LOL

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KMO20057

· #4 · Mar 1, 2006

Not sure if this helps but I can tell you what we do!

Sammy is 11 weeks and she does poop about 4 times a day. I thought that might be a little much considering that she only eats 3 cups of food a day, but I have also been giving her a kong filled with yogurt and frozen on days when I have to leave er at home for a couple of hours, and during her food transition from the food her breeder was feeding, I was adding a couple spoonfuls of Pumpkin in order to avoid loose stools during the transition. The pumpkin is probably the source of all the pooping since it has so much fiber. We will see how her habits change now that I am stopping with the pumpkin.

She eats out of her bowl, and yes I also add a little water since the dry kibble seems tough for her to eat a lot of, but often she takes a short break during her meals for a minute or so. Our vet said to give her 10-15 minutes to eat and to pull the food up if she doesnt finish in that time period. This has been working reasonably well for us, except when she goes to the door to signal she needs to go out right in the middle of a meal. In those cases we kind of start the timer over when she gets back in, as long as she is interested and eating, we let her. (she needs to put on a little weight though)...

pretty much she poops right away int he morning, we feed her about half an hour later, and then she poops again almost right after breakfast. Then once more in the afternoon, and once after dinner (again almost right after she eats).

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Stacy

· #5 · Mar 1, 2006

Hi Sage's Mom,

I was just thinking...not sure if I am helping here but here goes...

You said she is tethered by your bed. Could it be that she wakes up at 5:30 and pulls trying to walk/run someplace and chokes herself? I know that Coal will sometimes get a little hyper on his leash when he is tethered somewhere to the point where he starts kind of choking himself and coughing. I imagine that could lead to vomiting. Just a thought.

If this may be a possibility, then a crate may be a better option for Sage at night.

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momothree

Discussion Starter · #6 · Mar 1, 2006

Thanks for the advice guys--you gave me lots to consider. She threw up again an hour and a half after her lunch too, so my hubby has just taken her to the vet. I guess we'll rule out anything serious and then we can take a look at some of your guys' suggestions. I sure hope it's as simple as juggling her eating and sleeping routines a bit. Wish us luck, and thanks again.

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Tinaweena

· #7 · Mar 2, 2006

This was happening with my Shih tzu Emily when I brought her home too.
What our vet suggeted was mixing in some plain cooked rice with her food to absorb any extra acid being produced by the stress of a new family.
We did that and it worked out very well.
We gave her about a half a cup before betime also to settle her stomach for the long nights sleep ahead.

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momothree

Discussion Starter · #8 · Mar 2, 2006

Good news! The vet checked Sage out and, thankfully, there is no blockage, and her temp was good etc. He figured that she got managed to eat something that didn't agree with her. He suggested giving her until noonish today before we fed her anything to let her tummy settle down. She continued to throw up bile (I guess) every hour until about 7:30 last night, but not again since. She's not acting hungry either though. I thought I was keeping such a good eye on her--in her crate, or her pen, or tethered to me or my hubby at all times. I guess maybe something from one of our walks; she loves to eat leaves and little rocks (which I try to stop her from doing, but you can only do so much I guess). After things settle down I think I will try combining her food with some of your guys suggestions (water, pumpkin, rice) to see if anthing helps. She may have a sensitive stomach and these things might help her a bit. Thanks again for your suggestions.
Stacy--about the tethering at night, I think we may have to look at crating her at night instead of tethering her. The vet didn't think the morning thing was associated with the other vomiting. Maybe she is gagging herself.

I guess we'll see what happens over the next couple of days. Thx

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