[Dori]

Hi Lisa C. So so happy to hear that Chewy is so much better. He’s just adorable and looks happy. I can also hear the happiness in you from your post. If the kids are happy then we’re happy. Very true. Congrats to you for your persistence and for Chewy and his better life. Sorry I can’t answer any questions about the omeprazole.

[Susan]

Hi Lisa, thats excellent Chewys all better, he’s beautiful, Omeprazole is Prilosec treats heartburn, Stomach Ulcers, Gastro Reflux Disease (Gerds) its a Proton-Pump inhabitor…. Im on Somac same type of drug, ur not suppose to stay on it forever but Ive been on Somac for 10 years now, my daughter was also on Losec but the Dr wanted her off the Losec cause she is young, then she had to stop taking Losec cause she fell pregnant & then when she stopped the Losec she had real bad stomach acid, real sick, couldnt eat, so Dr said she can take Zantac thats what my dog takes sometimes but my daughter said the Zantac didnt work & help like the losec (Omerazole) worked, now she’s in her 3rd trimester of her pregnancy the Drs put her back on the Losec & she said that she feels 100% better & she can eat anything now but still has to be a bit careful, no hot currys or spicey foods or fatty foods & she’s alright…
Research is showing you can get stomach cancer if you stay on an Proton-Pump Inhabitors for a long time..
All I know is it makes you feel heaps better, stops the nausea, stops the acid burning feeling & you can eat without having pain after eating, so Chewy would probably be feeling so much better…I’m glad you found a better vet…

[Jenny M]

I’ve been reading this thread with interest as I have a small dog who has recently started throwing up pretty much daily. He’s been raw fed and minimally vaccinated since he was a puppy, so I was pretty shocked. Once he lost about 15% of his body weight from all this, I decided to have the endoscopy done on him and I should know the results next week. It showed a “normal looking” stomach with some inflammation in the small intestine so biopsies will be done.
It’s difficult to say if the issues are food related or stress related, as this started about 2 weeks after I brought a new puppy home. Perhaps both as the original vomiting episode was accompanied by a nasty, angry red rash and hives all over his stomach/chest/legs. His skin felt hot to the touch, but thankfully that’s settled. At this point he’s getting Cerenia to control the vomiting (until we’re 100% sure what’s going on, and can either treat the food allergies with a change in protein sources and tweaking what he actually gets, or treating the stress issues perhaps present with the new puppy). I don’t want my dog on Cerenia or Pepcid for the rest of his life, however (like the original poster), I want my dog to be able to keep food down! He’s doing pretty well on Wellness 95% Salmon (NOT a complete diet, and not for long term, but a good start for a food elimination trial and pretty much the best thing I’ve found that agrees with him at this time).
Unless something bad happens, I’m going to start stretching the time he gets the stomach medicine. Instead of every 24 hours, tonight I’m stretching it to 30. Later, perhaps 36, then 48, etc until hopefully his body is able to handle food without the help of the medicine. I do intend to keep it on hand in case of a flare up…
Also, I ordered some things from the b-naturals.com website, Berts Zymes (digestive enzymes) and some other things to help aid dogs having digestive difficulties. If Chewy needs an extra “boost”, it might be something you’d be interested in checking out.

[Susan]

Hi Jenny, my boy goes thru stages he’ll be fine then all of a sudden starts his vomiting again & he starts eating grass as soon as he wakes up of a morning, cause he’s a rescue dog that I rescued nilly 2 years ago I’m slowley seeing a pattern, back in May I was moving but in the end I didnt move but had packed boxes & Patches routine had changed a bit after not moving I un-pack everything again Patch started his vomiting his kibble again, he had ultra scan it came back all good, so new vet thinks it was from stress, probably the moving he also said IBD like Patches old vet said but Im thinking more IBS not IBD, He was put on Zantac an ant acid but I dont give it daily no more, if I see him un-well in morning then I give him his Zantac…
I always thought IBD was diarrhea or sloppy poos but some dogs have the vomiting & no sloppy poos, vet wanted him on Prenidsone (steriod) I said NO not yet, thats when I started the elimination diet & found he can’t have Potatos they give him a red rash all on his chest & he’s real itchy then diarrhea, Sweet Potatos gives him real itchy ears & itchy skin, anything with wheat his paws would swell up & one would go real red & hot, I have to put ice pack on the red swollen paw then it goes down..
also I was told to feed smaller meals thru the day, not just the 2 large meals a day, I think this has helped..Now I try not to change his routine or stress him in anyway…
another thing Patch also has is hive like lumps all over his body, last year vet thought environment allergies from grass, pollen etc but as time has gone its was more food causing his hives & itchy skin & ears which I proved thru the elimination diet I did..
With the Cerenia, I’d just give when you think he looks sick, I know when Patch is ill, he doesnt want to play, he normally goes to his toy box & gets a ball & runs up & down the hallway or starts to pester me to play with him, when he’s un-well he just sleeps & starts doing his licking, his tonuge keeps coming out & he swollows.. I wish they could talk..

[Jenny M]

Thank you Sue, that sounds like my dog (when he doesn’t feel well). A few days ago he was laying on my bed in an odd position (he’s normally stretched out on his side or back, or curled up in a ball, but he was flat on his stomach). I picked him up and set him down and he immediately started throwing up. His face “looks” sick when he’s unwell.
The ONLY thing I can think of that might have set him off is if he got into the puppys food, which contains oatmeal. Since Tag was a puppy he’s never wanted anything to do with any kind of grain. The only past digestive issue he’s ever had was in 2012 when he had a bout of very angry bloody diarrhea, and he looked very sickly in the face. Flagyl and chicken broth cleared him up. I decided one day to give him a bath in a new oatmeal shampoo and once he was dried, he had broken out in a rash. A quick re-bath cleared it up but I kept an eye on it, and always assumed maybe he didn’t eat grains because he somehow “knew” he couldn’t tolerate them, and the oatmeal shampoo all over his skin (the largest organ that absorbs into his entire body) was further proof. If he did indeed get a bite of the puppy food, that might explain the vomiting and the rash. I know when he’s sick, I stress horribly. His stressed system on top of MY stress on top of a new puppy is hopefully what made the problem as bad as it was. If it is indeed IBS, I won’t stress as much because I know it could be worse, and aside from this incident and the puppy (who is slowly learning that manners are not optional in this house), he leads a very happy and mostly stress free life. He loves obedience, loves agility, and there’s a great balancing act between us; I know when I can put (good) pressure on him to perform and when I cannot.
An interesting side note. I’ve read dogs with IBS or IBD will sometimes find certain positions uncomfortable, and will sometimes turn to “look” at their side, where the discomfort/pain is. Back in the spring, we were competing at an obedience trial. We got past the difficult part (for us) and were well on our way to a qualifying score. We got to the signals exercise (which he mastered as a puppy because he’s brilliant). I had him stand, walked across the ring, and gave him the signal for down, which he NEVER misses or refuses. He stared at my signal, stared at me, then turned to “sniff his armpit” (look at his side). The judge, myself, and crowd were roaring because it looked like he was sniffing his armpit as if to say “ew, forgot deodorant today”. We shrugged it off and ran the next trial, and he did the SAME thing. It was funny then but remembering the way he stared at me, then turned to look at his side makes me wonder if he was saying “I can’t”. Will keep this in mind, it’s a lot to digest. No pun intended 😛

[Claire P]

Hello, I know this is a very old thread, but it’s the closest I’ve found to mirroring my dog’s issues. I can relate so strongly to the frustration and desperation that Lisa C. felt about Chewy’s problem. I have posted on other dog forums and basically shamed for soliciting advice on the internet instead of a vet. But I HAVE seen a vet. In fact, we’ve seen 5 vets. I adopted Frank, a small poodle mix in September (over 2 months ago). He is approximately 4 years old. He weighed about 14 pounds according to his papers at the time of adoption. From the first night I brought him home he had a severe cough so I took him to the vet by day 2 or 3 for that issue alone. He was given 2 antibiotics for what the vet said looked like pneumonia. I hadn’t noticed any GI issues in the first 2 days. From what I recall, he ate his food, but left some of it in the bowl. What I gave him those first 2 days was a mix of wet canned food and dry kibble, both Wellness brand. When I started him on the antibiotics, he started vomiting and wouldn’t hold down the pills or any food or water for days. He also lost his appetite completely, ignoring freshly cooked chicken even. The vet switched one of his antibiotics for a different one, and gave Cerenia for the vomiting. Neither of these changes helped the vomiting. After a few more days I was left with no other option but to stop the antibiotics abruptly. He seemed to improve quickly: more energy, big appetite, and no vomiting. After about 4 days though, he started regurgitating food and water. Sometimes it was right away and sometimes it was as much as 8 hours later. Frank has had blood tests, fecal and urinalysis, X-rays and barium swallow X-rays. Everything came back normal except that from the X-rays it looked like his stomach looked large and a portion of the food was passing slower than expected. He’s been on a variety of drugs, including Pepcid, metoclopramide, sucralfate, cisipride. I’ve been told to feed him only Hills I/D in small portions, but that doesn’t seem to make a difference. The fact that drinking just water can trigger regurgitation makes me wonder if it’s food related at all.

[Claire P]

To clarify, he regurgitates pretty much every day and it’s been over 2 months. Sometimes he can go as much as 3 or 4 days without regurgitating, even if I don’t change anything about his food or routine. He was hospitalized for 3 days and they claim he had no episodes of vomiting or regurgitation since he was there and that he drank water normally. At home, he avoids his water bowl and on the rare occasion he does drink, he quickly throws it all up. Since he’s only on wet food now, it’s just about always liquid with some foam and flecks/dots of food. The shelter I adopted him from refuses to help me pay for an endoscopy/biopsies and I can’t afford it on my own. I was quoted a price from several internal medicine specialists for around $2000. I don’t know what else I can do. I’m struggling to keep him from losing more weight. He is currently about 11 pounds and he’s very bony. He will eat anything I put in front of him, and has a huge appetite, but the fact that he can’t keep all his food down means he is still losing weight. The vets I’ve seen don’t seem to take it seriously because he still has energy and wants to eat, but I’m very worried and frustrated.

[Dori]

Claire P. When he vomits, what’s coming up? Also what type of water are you giving him? Bottled, Spring, Filtered, Reverse Osmosis or tap water?

It is possible that he is sensitive to something in his food. I’d try avoiding all poultry, all fowl, and go grain free, avoid soy, corn, any veggies in the night shade group as though all promote inflammation. Also no white rice or white potatoes for the same inflammatory reason. I’d also switch brands. Maybe try something like a dehydrated food. Grandma Lucy’s, The Honest Kitchen and Sojo’s I believe all make grain free formulas. You rehydrate them with warm water so that will get some liquid into him. You can also try adding digestive enzymes to his meals and probiotics. The brand I use is by Enzymedica as they are vegan and also vegetarian containing no grains, soy, etc. etc. so there very likely isn’t anything in them that could bother him. I have a allergy girl and it’s the only ones she’s perfectly fine with taking in her meals.

Another thought is, are you or anyone in the home giving him store bought treats or bully sticks or anything like that? Rawhide chews? If so, you shouldn’t.

One last thought: Have you given thought to allergy testing. Dr. Jean Dodds has a NutriScan test that is a saliva test. Another one that I have used and is way cheaper ($85.00) is by glacierpeakholistics.com. There’s is a saliva and hair sample test. You order there’s on line, same for the Nutriscan (I think that one was around $250 or $275) they’ll send you what you need with directions. You return the kit back to them and then you’ll have the results usually in about a week by email. If you then have any questions, you can call them and they’ll go over the results with you in detail. I found the tests very useful and only wish I’d done them early on instead of going through years of eliminations.

• This reply was modified 8 years, 11 months ago by Dori.

[Claire P]

I’ve only tried tap water. It didn’t occur to me to try anything else, as that’s what I drink. And his regurgitation (no heaving of the stomach, it just falls out of his mouth, surprising us both) is liquid with usually some white foam and flecks/dots of brown ((food I assume)). It usually looks yellowish or brown on the paper towel when I wipe it up.

[Dori]

I’m assuming you feed him twice a day. If not, please correct me. I would portion his food into maybe four smaller meals so that he’s not trying to digest so much food at a time and that he doesn’t have long periods of time with an empty stomach. I’d definitely switch his water to filtered or spring, reverse osmosis would be great too. You can even buy one of those Brita filter pitchers and use that. You can also, but costs more, of course, add a reverse osmosis filter under your kitchen sink and drill a hole above for it’s own faucet and use that for his water. Yours to for that matter. There’s an awful lot of stuff in tap water that no one should be drinking let alone a dog that his having some health issues. But store bought water is perfectly acceptable. Just you have to deal with all the plastic bottles and the cost eventually adds up though he’s a poodle so he’s not going to drink all that much. I’ve got three toy dogs. Maltese, Yorkipoo and Maltipoo. No dry (kibble) for sure. It takes longer to digest and you don’t want his stomach to have food sitting around in him for that long. I should also let you know, full disclosure, that I feed my three dogs commercial raw frozen foods. I rotate the brands and the proteins with the exception of any and all poultry, fowl. But you shouldn’t start rotating foods with your dog until you can figure out what the issue is that he’s dealing with. Is he vomiting more with the dry food or the canned or does it make any difference at all? Just curious.

[Claire P]

I did give him a small rawhide treat about a month ago, and he hasn’t had ANY treats in the past few weeks.

[Claire P]

He hasn’t had any dry food in over a month. The wet food only diet maybe helps slightly to keep food down. But honestly, it’s been so long since he’s had dry that I’m not sure if theres much difference. He’s still regurgitating liquid from the wet food almost daily and often several times daily. Drinking water always makes him regurgitate. He actually didn’t drink any water for over a month (i have stayed home with him pretty much 24/7 and he is overly attached to me/ deals with separation anxiety/follows me around whenever I get up, so I would know if he had any). Vets said he should be getting plenty of moisture from his wet food only. Today he drank from his bowl for the first time in a month and I was SO excited because i thought it was a good sign. But he threw it up a couple minutes after.

[Susan]

Hi have you had an Endoscope & Biopsies done?? my Patch is also a rescue & he regurgitates water when he eats raw, cooked & wet tin foods, I have found if the food is real fine water like paste or the meat is minced, Patch would regurgitate, burp water & little bits of the food into his mouth…
I cook for him now & he has kibble as well, he eats 4 small meals a day, the food stays down better, when there’s less food in his stomach, I’ve been cooking Chicken breast, Potatoes, Broccoli, Zucchini, pumkin, 1 cup cooked chicken cut up into chunks, 1 big spoon cooked Zucchini slices, 1/2 a small boiled potato cut up, 1 spoon pumkin, & about 4 little pieces of cooked broccoli & I put all into a blender but I only blend it a few pulses so the chicken is still chunky & sticks to all the veggies….Kibble he holds down the best but some kibbles gives him stomach pain, I think when the fat is higher over 14% fat & if the protein is higher then 25%…..

This time last year Patch had Endoscope & Biopsies done & they found he had the Helicobacter-Pylori & IBD, he was treated with Amoxicillin, Metronidazole & Zantac for 3 weeks, but as soon as the meds were finished all Patches symptoms all came back… I’ve found probiotics made him feel sick… have you tried any dog probiotic for the gut they may help your boy stomach get more healthy & good bacteria into his stomach, you start with 1/2 the recommended dose…
My boy can hold down his drinking water now, when I first rescued him he wouldn’t drink any water but I make sure he doesn’t drink heaps of water at once, I change his water as soon as he drinks from his bowl & I give him fresh water every morning, I feed him 1 spoon cooked food at a time or wet tin food when he was eating wet tin food its cheaper to cook & freeze little meals & I raise his food bowl, I bought 1 of those children plastic stool, kids can step up to the toilet with one of these plastic stool I think? then after he eats, I make sure he does NO running around or playing, we go for a slow walk & he sniffs, he eats 7am cooked meal, 12pm 1/2 cup Fish & Rice kibble, 5pm cooked meal, 1 spoon at a time, 8pm 1/2 cup kibble Fish & Rice, 1 kibble at a time, I sit in front of TV & just drop 1 kibble in his bowl & make sure he chews the kibble, I’ve taught him to chew kibble he’s a gulper….

Maybe make a few changes, feed 4 small meals thru the day, make the food more chucker pieces or buy wet tin foods that have chuncky pieces, I wasn’t feeding any of the gravy cause Patch was bringing it back up then he was getting acid reflux from regurgitating his meal, look at the fat% no more then 4% in fat, try kibble again 10%-12% fat, don’t feed with the wet food with the kibble, feed separate times…& introduce a dog probiotic best to give probiotic when stomach acids are low, so first thing of a morning but no food can be giving for 1 hour or at night is best just before bed around 9-10pm I was mixing 1 teaspoon probiotic powder with 10-15mls water in a bowl & Patch just drank it……

[Lisa C]

This sounds much more severe than what we went through with Chewy. Poor baby 🙁 We give him 1/4th pill of Omeprazole each night with his food and that has helped immensely. we did the barium but no endoscopy. I know it’s expensive but our vet was willing to offer payment plans if we were going to do it. We only give him fresh bottled water, not tap or spring. I agree with Dori. Don’t give him tap water. We tried HILLS I/D and it didn’t do anything. We firmly believe with Chewy that it was not the food that made the difference. I hope you find out what’s going on with your baby soon. I know it seems like a lot of money is being spent but once he gets better it will be worth it. Keep us updated.

[Jenn H]

What are his enzyme levels?
Does he have IBD or pancreatitis?
Don’t assume that the little brownish spots you clean up are food. They could be tiny amounts of blood. Not to scare you. Doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is a possible symptom.
Keep track of everything. Write it all down. Dates, times, what & how much is fed, when he throws up, if it’s after activity, immediately after meals, changes in behavior, bowel movements, water intake. You must gather as much info as possible. Then bring it to the vet. It’s hard to remember every detail so write it all down.
I’m dealing with some issues with 1 of my dogs who has never has any issues until she was put on antibiotics for Lyme twice. She’s a 7 year GSD who grew up on a farm. She’s been the picture of health and so active her whole life. Now she suddenly has digestive issues.
I’ve recently taken her to a different vet after having to go to the emergency vet. They did an ultrasound and blood work. They were looking at her intestines, pancreas, gallbladder, liver, everything. I also gave them an X-ray from a few months ago.
When you go to a vet come armed with all the info you have gathered and every question you can think of.
If you don’t get progress from one vet move on to another. I adore my vet, but after 10 months it was time to have a new set of eyes to go over everything and maybe come up w/ other theories.
Stomach issues can be a lot of things so it’s sometimes hard to figure out what is causing the problem. It could be IBD or it could be a symptom of something else.

[C P]

My 1 year old Bichon vomits/regurgitate almost everyday now but she acts normal. I feel bad for my baby

[Lisa C]

have you tried different foods? i recommend reading through this whole post. maybe your baby needs omeprazole too 🙁

[pitlove]

Hi C P-

These symptoms suggest possible megaesophagus. I’d recommend seeing a vet if you haven’t already. Constant vomitting can lead to dehydration amoung other things.

[Susan]

Hi CP, what are you feeding her, what is colour of vomit, is there food in her vomit, is the vomit yellow? how many meals a day are you feeding?
High fat diets can cause acid reflux, my boy can’t eat any kibbles or wet tin foods with fish oil or salmon oil, he needs to take an ant acid medication every morning now..also food sensitivities can cause vomiting as well..
See a vet that specializes in stomach problems, sometimes change of diet to a lower fat limited ingredient diet, feed 3-4 smaller meals a day will fix this problem.. also feeding home cooked meals are better then feeding a dry kibble..

[anonymous]

Rule out medical causes for the symptoms first (if you haven’t already).
An exam by the vet is in order, my neighbor’s dog had similar issues and is doing well will a little medication (prescribed/recommended by the vet) and a change in kibble.
You have to diagnose the condition before you can treat it and only a veterinarian that has examined your dog can do that.

[Robert D]

I wanted to say thank you Lisa C and everybody on this forum and specially this topic. Have spent hundreds of hours researching my 8 year old Papillon same condition. Many vet visits second opinions changing here and there trying this and that expensive dog food and this is been going on since October. Basically 4 months of living hell.. with them always pushing the same sort of recommendation that you went through with chewy…

My Papillon munchkin, who also has severe anxiety, separation anxiety, and a few other things wrong with him. And him developing this condition / / since October with a bad visit to the groomer. After reading your testimony it felt like our story, and coming to the conclusion it was worth the try. Well it’s been 3 days now of him not getting sick, that would usually happen a few times a day. We were feeding them early in the morning and also late at night just before bed. And he still would be getting sick, and when he wasn’t getting sick he didn’t feel good. Anyways what I can tell this is working and what we go through a few times a day has been 3 days with nothing… We’d even have to force-feed him at times not anymore or at least the three days, thank you thank you thank you thank you. I will keep people informed even though it’s only been 3 days. He’s looking and feeling much better Wiley still takes other medicine like Prozac at least he’s not getting sick. So now we can break away from him getting all upset during feeding times and things like that and he can eat back on his own. Anyways hundreds of hours of research different vets different things and recommendations we went through for munchkin..
Thank you Lisa C.. and sorry chewy we definitely can relate and munchkin says thank you..

[Lisa C]

Robert I’m so glad it helped…well here we are almost a year later and I hope it’s still working for your Munchkin!

[Author]

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