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Barfing For Attention?


Guest pennmorgan

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Guest pennmorgan

Hi all,

 

I didn't know whether to put this in the health and medical or behavior section. But from where I put it, you can see what I think the answer probably is. I'm not going to mince words, so this might be a little gross...

 

Olivia has always been a bit of a barfer. She barfs in the morning (yellow, mucousy) if her tummy isn't full enough, which is why we've started giving her extra treats before bed. We got it down to where she was barfing in the morning only maybe once every couple of months.

 

Well in the last few days, she's started barfing in the morning more frequently, even though we haven't changed (if anything, we've increased) our pre-bedtime treats. When she barfs, of course, we wake up, clean it up, and give her something to calm her tummy (a small biscuit). We always go back to bed, though, and never get up to take her out for her morning walk (which is what I know she wants).

 

I'm wondering if it's possible that this has morphed from a medical thing into a behavioral thing. She now knows if she gets up early and barfs, we'll pay attention to her and give her a treat. Could she be forcing herself to barf to get our attention? If so, what can we do about it? If that's not the problem, we'll just up her nighttime treat allowance.

 

Thanks for your suggestions!

 

Morgan

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Guest pennmorgan

Vet said it sounded like she was barfing bile, which was indicating she was a little hungry. Andy giving her a treat or two before bed seemed to solve the problem more or less completely, until the last few days.

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I don't think dogs think that way personally. I'm wondering if a little pepcid along with her dog biscuits before bed will help with the early morning episodes. It sounds like she may have a little too much acid in her stomach. You might give it a try and see if she improves.

Judy, mom to Darth Vader, Bandita, And Angel

Forever in our hearts, DeeYoGee, Dani, Emmy, Andy, Heart, Saint, Valentino, Arrow, Gee, Bebe, Jilly Bean, Bullitt, Pistol, Junior, Sammie, Joey, Gizmo, Do Bee

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Guest paulownedbyfour

Olivia might be having a reaction to the food she is on. Greys seem to have a more sensative system then the others dogs we have had. If she has had a full blood panel done with a fecal and all is good then it could be dietary. What food do you have her on is it grain free?

 

Found this on line.

 

Has she been ruled out for IBD?

 

I have know some people who went to raw or home cooked diets which have had great sucess with resolving IBD without medication.

 

The prevailing opinion is that many of the dogs that exhibit this clinical sign have inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) or some other condition that causes a decrease in gastric mobility. This may lead to gastric reflux when the dog first gets up or when there is excitement, as your vets have suggested. The gastric reflux causes some dogs to vomit. It is highly likely that there are a number of causes of this behavior but this theory does account for a big portion of the affected dogs, I suspect.

 

When possible, confirming or ruling our a diagnosis of IBD through food trials, intestinal biopsy, ultrasonagraphy or other means can be helpful in pointing out a direction for treatment efforts. In many instances, it is not possible for clients to pursue the diagnostic testing right at the time of the visit to their vet, though. Because of this, there is a tendency to try treatment to see if it is possible to aid the pet without having a specific diagnosis. The most common treatments are histamine (H2) blockers like cimetidine (Tagamet Rx) or famotidine (Pepcid AC tm), feeding small meals just before bed and using motility modifying medications like metoclopramide (Reglan Rx). These things sometimes work to control the problem and if no futher signs develop it is reasonable to continue treatment prophylactically without a firm diagnosis, at least in my opinion.

 

If these things don't help, or are only partially effective, it would be better to continue to work towards a diagnosis using one or more of the tests mentioned above.

 

Hope this helps Good Luck

Edited by paulownedbyfour
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Guest pennmorgan

I hadn't considered the food issue. She's on Iams Large Breed, which she's been on for at least a year. We tried some of the other fancier foods, but they usually gave her horrible D or room-clearing gas. She likes it and it keeps her very solid, so we figured it was OK. She hasn't had a full blood panel done ever, and she hasn't had a fecal since she had worms last year.

 

Just saw the edit. She has NOT been ruled out for IBD, but that certainly sounds like a possibility. We're going to try switching her meals around a bit so she has some more right before bed. The vet will be in the works soon if we don't get this figured out in the next week or so.

 

On the plus side, she barfs and then she's totally happy as if nothing had ever happened. I wouldn't be so chipper if I'd barfed!

 

Thanks!

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Guest paulownedbyfour

We have all ours on a mix of kibbel and home cooked. Regal Sensabites has done wonders for for their system. Others I have recommended the food to have been happy with the results as well. I dont know where your from, but check your better pet food

stores. In Philly I'm lucky to have a store that carries the whole line. Iams is full of filler and could be causing some of the issues.

 

I would recomend some basic tests first, from your vet.

 

I have some very close freinds that research pet foods and feeding if I can be of any help further shoot me a PM.

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Guest MyBoys

Our bridge boy Kyle had the exact same condition, my vet suggested giving him a small meal as close to bedtime as possible, so around 11:00pm he would get a small meal, this seemed to really help with the barfing the yellow bile in the morning. I just can't imagine she would be doing this on purpose for attention, like someone mentioned dogs don't think in those terms.

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Guest Bang_o_rama

Many years ago I had a kitteh, named Grimalkin, who hated car rides because she got carsick. Poor dear. At least, that is what I thought, until one day she forgot herself and technicolor-yawned all over the car before I had turned on the engine.

 

She just hated car rides and wanted to make sure we knew....

 

~D~

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Guest tinams8

I don't think it's behavioral either. I would definitely give pepcid at bedtime for a few days and see if it helps. There is a pretty good chance that the vet will tell you to try that before going through any testing.

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One of mine was an early morning barfer to the point that we could wake up hearing the horking and my husband could grab a towel (that we kept by the bed) and catch the mess so it didn't hit the carpet. Our problem was completely resolved by changing kibble. We still feed two meals a day and a few cookies in between. I highly recommend any of the Taste of the Wild or probably any of the grain free diets.

Colleen with Covey (Admirals Cove) and Rally (greyhound puppy)
Missing my beloved boy INU (CJ Whistlindixie) my sweetest princess SALEM (CJ Little Dixie) and my baby girl ZOE (LR's Tara)

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It may take more than a few treats to keep her tummy from getting too empty overnight. A small meal might work better.

 

If dogs want your attention, they don't need to resort to barfing, which is not much fun for them. They're pretty direct, not as twisty as humans.

 

Discussing this with your vet would be best. When our dog had a similar problem, though much less frequent, it turned out to be hookworm. Went untreated for too long. He later developed an infection and IBD.

Mary with Jumper Jack (2/17/11) and angels Shane (PA's Busta Rime, 12/10/02 - 10/14/16) and Spencer (Dutch Laser, 11/25/00 - 3/29/13).

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Guest kydie

O.K. I don't think a dog vomits for attention! More food at bedtime maybe in order, like real kibble about 1/2 to 3/4 cup

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I think it could be the kibble too. Pepper used to vomit bile periodically in the morning when she was on Nutro. I too thought that it was an empty stomach. Several years ago I switched everybody to Holistic Select Anchovy Sardine and Salmon and the vomiting stopped completely. I do not think that it was a coincidence.

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Pepper the lurcher, Smokey the longdog and Collect (Call Collect) the grey

Della Dee and AMF Achilles waiting at the bridge

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Guest Houndie

Both of our dogs (one grey and a husky) had problems with vomiting in the morning. We now hold back 1/2 cup of their kibble to give them at bed time. This has taken care of the problem for both of them.

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I think it very likely is the food. I don't believe that dogs barf for attention. And although you've been feeding the same kibble, it's possible that the ingredients in it changed or that where the company is getting the ingredients, or one of the additives in it, has changed. We did have this issue once (for us it was with Nutro kibble) and it was resolved with a diet change. Unless your dog has a medical condition, feeding a meal before bed to prevent them from vomiting should not be necessary IMO.

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Disease, hunger, or food intolerance.

 

We had the same experience with Nutro, too. As Ola noted, could be change in the ingredients, could be a newly developed intolerance.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Guest PhillyPups

I agree that dogs do not think to do something like make themselves vomit for attention. (Thank GoD with my attention demanding pups here! :lol )

 

I also agree with a change in food. Please remember to do it gradually. Start with 1/2 Iams 1/2 of the new food and go from there.

 

If Olivia were my dog, I would also have another fecal done, as sometimes worming them once is not enough if there were eggs left behind. If the fecal turned out to be negative, I would then have a full blood panel done to make sure there is nothing underlying going on.

 

I feed Kirkland (Costco brand - less pricey and a good food) with Uncle Paul's Special Cooked Delicacy added to it.

 

Good luck and please keep us posted, as I think the vomiting is not a comfortable thing for any being. If she just wanted attention, my guess is she would bark. :P

Edited by PhillyPups
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Guest GentleHugs

It could be a number of things all the way to maybe a bad batch of food, too long in between meals, something wrong with the treats, another unknown medical condition you are not aware of until she's been checked out. AND yes, it could be a behavior problem that manifested because she figured out this is how to get your attention (I just wrote a book on canine mental behavior disorders and this is 1 of 20 different disorders discussed in the book). When it's a mental - not general - behavior disorder and they are trying everything in the world to get your attention (yes, some will barf) - it's called Attention Seeking behavior disorder.

 

However, with that said - I really think you need to check her food and treats first to make sure they are not going bad. If they are not - give her a little more as a bedtime snack or give her a pepcid or zantac at night (with your vet's ok) and see if that helps. BUT - I do suggest to have her checked out just in case it's a serious medical issue that you might not be aware of.

 

Good luck.

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Guest pennmorgan

Thanks for all the ideas. For the last couple of days we've been splitting her dinner into two parts--1 cup at 6 and another at 10/11. She's been good in the mornings. Hopefully this small shift will resolve the issue. If the barfing continues, we'll certainly try different foods and take her to the vet.

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Guest pennmorgan

Okay, splitting her food up didn't solve the problem, so we'll be switching foods (any recs?) in the long term and giving her a daily pepcid in the short term (I'm going to be out of town for 9 days and don't want to make the kennel do the switch for us).

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I would pick something from a different brand and that's as different from the current formulation as you can get. A lot of folks seem to have good results with Taste of the Wild or with Solid Gold Mmillennia Beef.

Star aka Starz Ovation (Ronco x Oneco Maggie*, litter #48538), Coco aka Low Key (Kiowa Mon Manny x Party Hardy, litter # 59881), and mom in Illinois
We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Guest paulownedbyfour

Where are you located. Some things we use may not be easily accessible to everyone. But I would recommend Regal Sensibites.

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Guest pennmorgan

I'm in Philly currently, though we're moving to LA in a few weeks. I'm sure we've got access to just about everything.

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