[TheBigKahuna]

Hi there, my 9 month old is having some stomach issues.

Last Monday morning I woke up to find vomit and throw-up all over my dog's cage (he's never made in his cage once), so I knew something was wrong.

He hasn't been sick since he was about 4 months old and I waited till the next day to see how he was then and he was fine. I didn't feel right leaving him all day while I was at work, so I made an appointment with the PetsMart vet (my normal vets number wasn't working for some reason).

The vet checked him out, and at this point he was back to normal playing and running around the office, and wanted to take xrays, but I declined because I know how costly they are and said I'd just bring him back if he didn't get better because his demeanor seemed so normal.

I put him in rice and boiled chicken for a day and he was back to normal. The following day (wednesday) I fed him his food (same food he's been eating since he was 8 weeks old) and when I came home from work later that day I found a mess again. His demeanor again was playful and happy, so I put him back on the rice and chicken and he seemed fine again. After a few days of that and him not getting sick, I slowly mixed in small portions of his puppy food, and the next day he got sick again.

I brought him back to the vet today and they ran some fecal tests and everything came back normal. They prescribed some white fluid for me to inject in his mouth, a pill, and I had to buy a bag of prescription dog food for him to eat for the next few weeks. The vet doesn't seem to know what it is, but think that he might be having a reaction to the dog food? Is this something any of you have experienced? He's never really had a sensitive stomach before and has been eating this food since I brought him home from the breeder's when he was 7 and a half weeks. Sorry for the long post, just a concerned mom! Let me know what you think, thanks.

 

[momtoMax]

What food are you feeding your doggy?

 

[Oaklys Dad]

It is not uncommon at all for a pup to not do well on certain dog foods. Unfortunately there is no one dog food that is the right food for all pups. Sounds like you have some experimenting to do to find the right food for you pup. Just remember to do the switches slowly over a week or so. Good luck to you.

 

[serenity]

The same thing happened to my dog, and it lasted for months. The vets found nothing, but gave us the white liquid and the pill, it didn't help. We switched foods, didn't help. We stopped giving her tap water, only giving her bottled, and it didn't help. Finally, she just sort of grew out of it.

 

[BeauShel]

Do you still have the dog food bag? Check to make sure the food has not expired. It might be a puppy virus and he will be ok. If the throwing up continues then you might have to have an xray done to be on the safe side.

 

[Willow52]

Is this a new bag of food? My first thought is spoiled or contaminated food.

 

[Finn's Fan]

My thought is spoiled food, also, and yes, it does happen.

 

[TheBigKahuna]

Thanks for your feedback.

The food that he's been eating for the last 7 months is nutro, nature's choice for large breed puppies.

It was towards the end of the bag when he first got sick and I bought a new bag and he got sick off that as well.

I do, however, think it might be the food because he kept down the rice and chicken fine and the prescription dog food I gave him last night fine.

I just thought it was really odd for a dog to suddenly develop a reaction to a food they've been eating for 7 months. The vet said he might have a sensitive stomach and I'll have to put him on sensitive stomach dog food for the rest of his life?...

 

[MyBentley]

I've heard about many dogs with sensitive stomachs not doing well on Nutro products - my Bentley being one of them. He frequently vomited up bile and had very poor coat and skin while eating it. I switched him over 3 years ago to a limited ingredient kibble (Natural Balance) and he improved in so many ways very quickly. I'm no longer a fan of the Natural Balance limited ingredients formulas because they no longer have meat as the #1 ingredient. Now I would suggest one of the California Natural Puppy formulas because they are very limited ingredients and many sensitive dogs seem to have done well on them. You can find out more about them at:

http://www.naturapet.com/brands/california-natural.asp

Good luck. I hope you find a solution for your little guy.

 

[WolverSyr]

Are his poops normal?
If the problem continues for another couple of days, I'd get the x-ray. I know it's expensive - but that's nothing compared to surgery.

It was suggested for my boy and I declined. He ended up needing intestinal surgery later on and it was tremendously expensive. I'm not saying that is what will happen with your guy at all - I just have become a big believer in being overly paranoid!