7-8 year old rescue dog only eats once day, vomits bile later

Hi Tabitha,
Sounds like your dog needs to see a vet that is knowlegable in Intestinal Problems, your dog needs a ant acid medication, a vet will probably start her on Pepcid (Famotidine) or Zantac (Ranitidine) given twice a day 20mins before she eats, if she doesnt eat it doesnt matter these medications reduce the acid in stomach & will probably stop her vomiting but its good she is vomiting up the acid & getting it out of her stomach, then she will feel better & will probably want to eat 1 hour after she’s vomited… or the vet will give Sucralfate to line stomach before she eats.. she needs some type of ant acid relief…
You can buy these medications at chemist, then if those acid reducer stop working or don’t help your dog anymore the vet will prescribe Prilosec (Omeprazole) ant acid Blocker, it’s a PPI, given once a day in morning, again doesn’t matter if she doesnt eat, she’ll feel better then probably want to eat, my dog takes a PPI, Pantoprazole 20mg every morning..
When PPI is taken for more then 21 days, PPI (Omeprazole, Pantoprazole) needs to be reduced slowly & not just stopped all of a sudden if dog has been taking it more then 3 weeks – 1 month….
Pepcid (Famotidine), Zantac (Rantidine) & Sucralfate all can be stop all of a sudden it doesnt matter..
If you have some Liquid Mylanta, a chalky white drink, give 1 teaspoon or get a syringe give 4-5ml or give Quick Eze chews, Rennie, give these after she vomits & this will line the stomach & esophagus get rid of teh bad taste…

Have you tried feeding her lean chicken breast or turkey breast with boiled sweet potato or boiled potato, all mashed up also try some tin Salmon in spring water, drain the spring water out of can add & mash some boil potato in a bowl & try & feed her 1/3 to 1/2 a cup put the rest in fridge covered with some cling wrap for next time & make sure you warm up some in her bowl for next time dont give her cold food….Dogs love fish, Sweet Potato & Pumkin sooth the stomach…. if she doesnt want to eat her dry kibble then try feeding her something else, so she has something in her stomach & doesnt go to bed on an empty stomach, feed her what you eat for dinner better then a dry kibble, dry kibble can make her acid reflux worse if its high in fat & carbs…
Does she shake & vibrate, when she has to eat?

Another thing you could give & try is Slippery Elm Powder, get a cup add 1/2 a spoon or 1 teaspoon slippery elm powder in cup, slowly add boiling water but only little amounts mix & stir till you make a slurry paste that can be pulled up into a syringe give before she eats or after she has vomited, Slippery Elm is good for Nausea, Vomiting, Acid reflux sold at health food store or Supermarket etc.. You wont use all the Slippery Elm slurry/paste all up at once, she only need 5ml 1 teaspoon at a time, so cover cup with cling wrap & put in fridge then take out for next time, it will be a jelly so you need to add some boiling water cause it will have gone thick, slowly add little bit boiling water, stir till it can be pulled up into a syringe again then throw this batch out, next time make a new small batch in a cup again you can try some when you feel sick..

Im sure I’ve spoken with you before about your dog… she needs to eat at least 2-3 small meals thru the day, wha ever your putting in her bowl before you leave in the morning can someone spend 10mins with her to eat in morning, then thru the day at lunch time, then at night? buy baby food, soft food, also her teeth are probably bad, from the acid coming up into her mouth, my boy had Gingivitis…

Google “Gastritis in Dogs” this comes up.

Medical treatment for dogs with gastritis may include: Gastrointestinal protectants – such as sucralfate. Anti-emetic or anti-vomiting medications – such as metoclopramide. H2 receptor antagonists – used when stomach ulcers are suspected – examples include cimetidine, “ranitidine”, nizatidine or “famotidine”.
*What are the symptoms of gastritis in dogs?
Symptoms Of Gastritis In Dogs
Excessive vomiting, which may include yellow, foamy bile.
Decreased appetite or anorexia.
Dehydration or increased thirst.
Lethargy.
Depression.
Diarrhea.
Blood in stool or vomit.
Black, tarry stool.

It might be a vicious cycle of the food your feeding not agreeing with her . If the food gives her an upset stomach she’ll want to avoid it and hence empty stomach bile vomiting. Have you tried introducing gradually a different brand with a different protein. When I was feeding my dogs canned with a protein of beef they would get vomiting and diarrhea by day two. I believe a food with lamb and pork are also high in fat which might not agree with dogs who cannot tolerate that much fat. But then again if your feeding a lower fat food then maybe a fattier food would be more tastier and appealing to her. A lot of people have success with Fromm if you feed kibble. What did your vet say? Hope they just didn’t throw prescription antacids without thorough blood work and maybe ultrasound of stomach. But if all test point to dog being healthy then the vomiting is certainly from a distaste for the food which VERY commonly causes the bile vomiting from the constant empty stomach.
Most dogs love home cooked food. So if you boil a little chicken, lean steak or even little bit of salmon and she puts her nose up at that it would definitely indicate to your vet that she needs further testing.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by Patricia A.

Hi I know that throwing up bile can be from an empty stomach, does she vomit when she is not eating?? I know that my dog won’t eat unless we say in the kitchen, if my husband walks outside he won’t eat b/c he wants to know what he is doing. But when he comes in he eats. Some dogs like company when they eat. My friends dog does the same thing. It is just a thought. If you can try to sit with her while she eats. If you go out to work or school, try to feed her before you leave and sit with her until she eats. Because it sound like if you just put the food down and leave she won’t eat it. Also, put something tasty in the food like a little ground cooked beef or chicken and see if that helps. Try that before you give her medication if that don’t work then ask your vet. But believe it or not some dogs just won’t eat if your not their. I heard that a lot with some breeds it is not unusual.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by joanne l.
• This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by joanne l.

OH wow, I know exactly what you’re going through now. I have a three year old chihuahua who if I put her food down she will walk away. She wasn’t always like that but over the last two years I’ve been giving my 16 year old more home cooked meals because well she’s 16 and I know she really enjoys it of course and it keeps weight on her. But of course when she gets the chicken and some boiled carrots, steak, london broil, salmon, turkey etc. they get that as a topper also. But I can’t do this all the time and I also it’s not balanced with everything they need for health . So now if it’s not home cooked she will not eat all day. I’ve went through all kinds of canned and this last year went over to freeze dried as a topper. My other 8 year old eats everything but I’m resorting to hand feeding this one to get her started. Now that doesn’t work either. She’ll actually backs away likes she’s afraid of the food and I have to reach over to give her little bits but she keeps backing away. So been through all different freeze dried also. I stopped rehydrating and just put the freeze dried broken up on the kibble because I would be throwing away worried about it sitting out for over two hrs. I can’t even leave it on the floor because my chubby eight year old would gobble it down when I’m not looking . I tried putting some Orijen freeze dried treat, which she loves, crumbled a little on top of her food. Well that worked for a day but she was wise to me. I did let her “starve” for one day with only her share of hard boiled egg in morning but it backfired with the bile vomit the next day. Every night it’s a game of even my husband making believe he’s eating her food. Putting it on a paper plate. Making believe I’m taking it out of the over etc. She just stretches and walks as far away as she can get. Being that I tried so many foods and she still turns up her nose, I’m not giving up on the freeze dried . I think I’m doing the best for her health wise even though I have to hand feed her. I’m looking into other brands and also the new Pronto by primal. I’m not giving up on finding one she loves as much as my cooking. lol
So I feel your frustration and worry. As for the fearfulness. Since she only eats when someones home, but fearful when you even walk past, maybe scratching her and telling her what a good dog she is while putting food down, . Or maybe move a little bit away from her when she is eating and have a string bean or carrot in hand and walk slowly back and give that to her. So she’ll start to associate you walking around with coming back with a treat she loves and not whatever caused her to be fearful in the past. Let us know how she’s doing . Oh and I just wanted to add it takes a while. I had a dog that would shake and refused to take a walk. I got her to walk one step on the leash. I would pick her up and put her back down again. Then I got her to walk two step. Picked her up and put her down and I got three steps out of her. Took a few weeks and people looking at me strange but now she struts around the block and loves her walks. So don’t give up. Takes patience with her to get that negative memory she experienced from her brain.

• This reply was modified 6 years, 2 months ago by Patricia A.