Just Threw Up ....

[MDBeland]

We have had Marty for 5 months. He has thrown up once due to swollowonf a sandwich bag - thank God he theee that up!

 

Ok so this afternoon

 

I had to feed Marty at 4pm because we are going out tonight and I had to have enough time for him to rest and then go for a walk. His normal dinner time is 5:30.

Right after eating he drank a sip or two of water - he never drinks water at that time - he then walked into the living room and threw up his entire dinner. Nothing else came up just water and kibble.

 

What would you do? Wait until after we get home around 9pm and feed again or just wait until morning? What about rice?

 

Thanks for any advice.

[KF_in_Georgia]

I'd just feed again. Now. And his regular food.

 

If he threw up that quickly, it wasn't nausea or an upset stomach, it was gravity. (When people throw up, everything has to move vertically--against gravity. When animals throw up, food just moves horizontally, and throwing up is easy.) If he had something caught in his throat and took a bit of water, that would help food come back up. Try to keep him from eating too fast.

[MDBeland]

Thanks for the quick reply. Ill try a cup of food when we get home. His usual dinner amount is 1and3/4 cups.

 

If he can keep that cup down after an hour Ill feed the other 3/4.

 

(Sorry for all the spelling mistakes in my first post - Im typing all this on my cell phone - all thumbs ... lol.)

[greysmom]

Sometimes barf happens. It's all about the circumstances. Throwing up right after eating doesn't necessarily mean he's sick or there's any issue - especially in the absence of *any* other symptoms. This is kind of gross, but I usually let my post-dinner barfer clean it up, as they usually want to re-eat it right away anyway. Then you also don't have to worry about feeding again or not!

 

Now if he's had incidents of vomiting in the same 24 hour period, or had episodes of throwing up yellow bile in the early mornings, or had his heartworm/flea meds within the last day, I would fast for at least a meal (about 24 hours) and then try a 1/2 portion at the next reguarly scheduled mealtime (and feed the rest about two hours later if he keeps it down). If the vomiting continues for more than 24 hours - vet right away as they can become dehydrated from it quickly.

 

A couple big caveats - if he's trying to vomit repeatedly and can't bring anything up, and if his belly is really tight, get him to the evet immediately as he's bloating. Also cause for concern is blood in the vomited material.

Edited May 22, 2018 by greysmom

[seeh2o]

They gave you good advice!

[MDBeland]

I really think this was an isolated incident. There was no bile and no dry heaving. We went out for a short walk afterward and he seemed fine and didnt try to eat grass - which I read on the internet as a sign of upset stomach. Again this is all new to me having never owning a dog before.

[greysmom]

[MDBeland]

My wife and I got home last night around 9:30pm from our daughter's piano recital. Marty seemed perfectly fine and very upbeat very happy to see us. I figured I would go ahead and try and hand feed him a cup of food to make sure he took it very slow. I ended up feeding him 1.5 cups. He then rested peacefully until 10:30 and I took him on a slow gingerly walk to the end of our street and back - just long enough for him to have a BM. All went really well.

 

This morning we were all up and ready to go at 5:10am (usual schedule). Fed and walked Marty as usual without issues - he is back on track!

[EllenEveBaz]

Glad it was just a blip in Marty's system.

 

And take this incident as an excuse to put down hardwoods, tile, or the dark, patterned rug of your dreams. Because it will happen again and again, usually on the hardest-to-clean surface in your house.

[LaFlaca]

Yay, Marty! My first Grey, Wendy, would throw up if she drank water immediately after eating. I restricted her water for 1/2 hour after each meal. No more barfing.

[MDBeland]

Yay, Marty! My first Grey, Wendy, would throw up if she drank water immediately after eating. I restricted her water for 1/2 hour after each meal. No more barfing.

 

Good to know, because that is what he did. He took a couple of sips of water right after he ate and then 30 seconds later he was throwing up his meal.

[LaFlaca]

 

Good to know, because that is what he did. He took a couple of sips of water right after he ate and then 30 seconds later he was throwing up his meal.

 

That's it, exactly. Can't hurt to give it a try if the erping after meals continues.

[Fruitycake]

Technically it was regurgitation, not vomit, I think. Think of it as the food just bouncing back up. I have a cat who eats too fast and she regurgitates it if not slowed down (she has to eat with 'play and treat' balls and some other 'treat dispenser' toys and never eats kibble from a bowl). With the speed that dogs tend to eat, I'm surprised that all of them don't end up regurgitating kibble all the time!

 

I wouldn't worry about it unless it became a consistent thing. Dogs, as you noted, don't tend to be bothered when they regurgitate. Monty (grey) and Susie (the cat I mentioned above) would be surprised that the food reappeared and then try eating it again (gross!).

[MDBeland]

Update.....

 

Yesterday I noticed a little bit of blood at the end of Marty’s stool. He has well formed stools and he has been his normal self this entire time. I figured it might be colitis and would start feeding him a little plain yogurt with his meals but if it became worse or didn’t clear up by the weekend I would take him in to our vet first thing Monday morning.

 

Well this afternoon he had another BM and this time I looked a LOT closer and I saw a super tiny thin white almost translucent round worm.

 

I immediately called my vet and she was going to prescribe me some meds over the phone just from my description of what I saw + she knows we live about 20 miles from her. I was appreciative but I told her I really didn’t mind going on in + we could get him weighed.

 

When we got to the vet Marty greeted everyone with wags and received plenty of scratches behind the ears. He went right to the scale and weighed in at a very healthy 74 lbs. His racing weight was between 71-75 lbs. In Jan at his wellness visit he weighed 70 lbs. I was so relieved that he gained and hasn’t lost weight due to these worms!

 

Our vet prescribed 2.5 Drontal tablets which I fed him with his dinner. So far so good knock on wood. Now I know why he had tummy troubles.

 

Now a few questions...,

 

1. Why did he get worms? He recevieved a dose of dewormer when I picked him up from the adoption center and also he checked out ok at his wellness visit back in January. He has been taking Sentinel since then to prevent heart worms, round worms, as well as other types of worms.

 

2. If he is taking his monthly medication to prevent worms what else can I do to keep this from happening again?

[greysmom]

Hookworms have been developing a particularly drug resistant strain lately that has been taking multiple drugs and multiple dosing to clear. Sometimes months of treatments. You might look through the hook worm thread active now and see what protocols are most successful.

 

You need to keep your yard *very very* clean if stool. There are also various yard treatments you can try, with varying degrees of success.

 

Good luck!

[MDBeland]

Marty never goes loose in the yard - we dont have a fence. The only time he deficates is on our walks and I always carry a pooper scooper with me to catch it before it even hits the ground.

 

Now we do have a lot of dogs in our neighborhood whose owners are walking them as well. I will now be staying clear of our wooded area in the neighborhood where owners do not always pick up after their pet. I am sure that is where Marty picked up this parasite.

[LaFlaca]

Poor Marty! Hookworms seem to be particularly nasty this year. Since you're walking him on lead, it may be that he's stepping in poo left behind by other infected animals. Hooks can get in through the skin or if he licks his poopy-feet. Maybe try giving his paws a good wipe down after walkies.

[MDBeland]

We walked for a mile this morning and he had two separate BMs - one normal firm and one soft; both no blood and no worms! I assume with the medication is why he went twice in one walk.

[tbhounds]

It may have been a tape segment that you saw-tapes don’t show on fecal floats. Need praziquantel to rid them.

[cgs]

Every thread ends up being about hooks. Hate these things.

 

Percy regurgitated his breakfast the other day. I don't think I would have worried, but I was glad to have this thread to tell me not to worry! I had stepped outside, so didn't hear him barfing. I came in and found him standing over a pile of kibble seeming to wonder what it was doing there, lol. I put him outside where he barfed up the other half. I swear he could have just eaten it again. It was pretty much in it's original form, just a little wet. I waited an hour and then gave him breakfast again, half at a time. He was fine.

[DaintyDutchess]

Every thread ends up being about hooks. Hate these things.

 

Percy regurgitated his breakfast the other day. I don't think I would have worried, but I was glad to have this thread to tell me not to worry! I had stepped outside, so didn't hear him barfing. I came in and found him standing over a pile of kibble seeming to wonder what it was doing there, lol. I put him outside where he barfed up the other half. I swear he could have just eaten it again. It was pretty much in it's original form, just a little wet. I waited an hour and then gave him breakfast again, half at a time. He was fine.

Poor Percy! Its good he can eat again though shortly after.