Dogs Sick

Archived Message

Dogs Sick
by Yavonda
ORIGINAL MESSAGE:
I just wanted to ask one question. My two boys have been throwing up for the past two days. It has not been much, about once a day and It's not their food that is coming up. I talked to a friend who said that sometimes dogs just throw up and not to worry about it. I feel that there is something to worry about and called my vet. He said that if it happeneds tommrow to come in. Is it true that sometimes dogs just throw up? I am very concerned and have even taken time off of work to watch them. Any answers? Thanks Yavonda, Fergie and Bacci

DISCUSSION:

Sometimes they just pick up viruses. I had one with a bad virus this past spring. It took a week for her to recover. The vet said it just had to run it's course. If you are really worried, it doesn't hurt to have them checked out.
Cindy & Cheyenne

Hi Yavonda, I just went through this with Lily a few days ago. Suddenly, out of nowhere, she was vomiting yellow foamy stuff. (not her food). I could tell she wasn't feeling 100% great, but she wasn't "sick" either. I stayed home too, just in case it got worse, but after vomiting 3 or 4 times during that day, she was fine. She wasn't eating, but she WAS drinking, so I didn't worry about dehydration. The next day, she was back to normal. What caused this? I have no idea. But this is the 2nd or 3rd time in a year that this exact situation occurred. Call the vet just to be sure though! Hope your baby is feeling better.
Lori & Lily

Yavonda: I had a very similar, frightening, experience when my Lucca started vomiting white foam. As it turned out he had eaten something indigestible (string). What's weird in your case is thar both boys are sick. But, I guess it could happen that they both got into something. Your vet has given good advice -- if it continues tomorrow, take them in for a check. In the meantime, get Aloe water from a health food store in place of their plain water, it settles their stomachs. Also, don't feed them anything for about 24 hours and then only boiled chicken and rice for a few days. They need time to settle their systems.

One other idea -- do they vomit only in the morning? Sometimes dogs will throw up on an empty stomach. If so, the solution might be to feed them smaller meals, but more frequently, like two or three servings per day. Good luck and keep us posted.
JoanG

Yavonda, some months ago, Snowy was taking a nap when he suddenly stood up, retched and threw up some yellowish, foamy liquid. We rushed to the vet immediately. The vet was worried Snowy had swallowed something but after checking, he found nothing unusual except that Snowy's stomach was slightly bloated. The vet said not to worry - something abt gastric juice (I was so relieved Snowy's okay I didn't pay much attention to the vet at that time). Anyway, he prescribed some antibiotics and vomit pills for Snowy and asked me not to give him food for 24 hrs. I gave Snowy the antibiotics and some biscuits that night and he was rather tired but after resting, was normal again the next day. I'm sure your babies are fine so maybe let them rest and not be too active and feed them smaller amt of food though if they continue to vomit you should bring them to the vet for checking. Snowy sends his love and hopes the lil' darlings will be fine tomorrow.
Sera & Snowy

Hi Yavonda, Joan makes a good point there. The Beasties occasionally vomit up small amounts of yellow or white foamy stuff in the morning and I was told it's because they have an empty stomach. I feed them twice a day, but I try to remember to give them a little treat or a few bits of kibble before bedtime, or else first thing in the morning. But they haven't yet done "synchronised vomiting" so it may be something that your babies ate.
Deanna (Moose & Squirrel)

Yavonda, everyone here said everything I was going to say. Please let us know what the vet says, okay? Some people have trouble with feeding their pups Nutro food. Just a thought. Deanna, "synchronised vomiting?????"
Marie

The fact that both dogs are vomiting must be either they ate something unlikely, or you changed foods ( Nutra ? WILL make them sick ) or they got overheated ! Don't know where you live, but you must keep them cool in the summer, DO NOT cut off your A/C while you're at work etc...
Oly

Marie.....what do you do for a living????? Are you a stand up comic or what???!!
anneh

I had problems with both of my dogs spitting up the yellow and/or white foamy stuff. The first thing I tried was to keep something in their tummies all the time. When that didn't work the vet had me gradually change their food ( Iams Rice and Lamb) to one which contained no wheat or egg (Sensible Choice Rice and Lamb). I was skeptical, at first, because they had been eating the Iams for 2+ years without any problems. I did ,however, heed the vet's advice and the vomitting stopped. One of the things I learned from William Cusick (the dog food expert) in the chatroom, was that dog food companies re-formulate their product every 18 months and they are not required to report the change on their packaging. In my mind, that explained the dog's sudden "rejection" of their "regular food".
Judka

Dear Yvonda, I'm always amazed at this site. We all have questions that eventually someone asks and we all benefit from the question. My two babies, Mikee and Angel, are completely different in most respects. Mikee is one year old and has never vomited. Angel will be one year old August 1st and about once every two or three months, up comes some white foamy stuff. I have never asked anyone about this before and am so glad you did so I could read the other's experiences with the same situation. I feed them morning and evening, plus they get about two to three Iams puppy biscuits AFTER they eat in the evening while we are watching TV and to keep them from devouring each other. They sometimes play toooo agressively and... "It's biscuit time!" I have made notes as to what Angel was eating when she did her "foamy" thing. Each time it was afer eating either chicken or egg products. I have them on IAMS lamb and rice and she hasn't done the foamy thing for a long time.

I can always tell when she feels bad. She'll start pacing the floor and won't be the least bit interested in her dry cheerio treat for good behaviour. She'll pace and walk circles until she has to go to her Pet Taxi and rest. It usually only last one morning or one evening. I wish we could just give them a TUMS for the tummy! Good luck with your baby. Annette, Mikee and Angel
Annette, Mikee and Angel

The Foster and Smith catalogue said that vomiting up nothing can be caused by parasites. Bloating is another symptom. "Clear" gets rid of them.
Isabel

Hi Yavonda, Snowy vomits yellow foamy stuff too and it has happened about 10 times in the past few months. He appears to be normal after vomitting and doesn't appear to be suffering from it. I thought it could be something he ate (something he is not supposed to eat) but nothing foreign came out with his vomit. For Snowy, it normally occurs at nigh, few hours after dinner, or in the wee hours of the morning. Snowy has got quite used to it now and merely strolls over to his wee wee pad when he starts retching ... I thought it was quite smart of him .... at least I have no mess to clear up!
Sim & Snowy

HI! MY dogs are Mahshi, Rahmi and Sahnjai. They are 9,6 and 2.The 6 year old has a pancreatic problem. He can not assimilate any fat in his system. Sometimes when he has flareups, he gets extremely ill, vomiting all food and water until everything is out of his system. Then he can have nothing for days until the medicine kicks in and he can hold down a little canned Hills WD. At the time he is not on enzymes because diet can usually correct the problem. But I just don't know what to expect next. He's my big cuddly bear and I can't stand it when he's sick. We have 7 maltese throughout our families and one other, his cousin, has the same problem. Rahmi now eats only Hills WD and the other two are on regular Hills. I have to separate them when they eat. I had a few samples of the Nutro for the other two and they both vomited yellow foam for days until they got it out of their systems. Funny to read about all the other problems with Nutro. My babies can have the little baby carrot bites as treats. They love them and no fat!!! Does anyone else out there have a baby with fat problems??? I would like to hear from you.
Caroline Morris

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