[Destiny M]

My husband and I just recently adopted a german shepherd mix a couple weeks ago.The previous owners didnt share anything with us except he was potty trained so we dont know what hes mixed with. Hes a year and a half old and 92 lbs.
We discovered he doesnt know basic commands and has been pooping in the house, mostly when we aren’t home. We switched his food from PurinaOne Smart Blend Chicken and Rice to Authority Everyday Health Adult Large Breed Chicken and Rice. His poo went from normal poo to really really soft. We blamed this on the food change and adjusting to the new home.

Now the main concern actually happened last night. We woke to the strange sound of him licking the air. We thought maybe he was thirsty and got a bowl for him in our room as he seems to have seperation issues and wont go downstairs to eat by himself. He drank a little and he stopped and we went back to sleep.
We woke about an hour later to him doing this again. My husband gets down on the floor by the dogs bed and pets him and asking what was wrong. He tells me that he also seems to be swallowing excessively along with the licking the air. I google it and it seems like hes gonna throw up. Well, a few minutes later, he does that. My husband discovers near where he threw up a small pillow from the couch and a sock of his that had been chewed on. Theres fluff in the throw up. The dog is still doing the licking and swallowing. Before we know it, the dog eats the throw up.
Now we are worried. I had my husband take the dog outside, just in case he needs to poo or throw up again. We aren’t entirely sure if it’s the food change, the stress, or some other underlying problem. Tips or anyone else experiencing similar symptoms? We didn’t plan on taking him to the vet as he just got his shots at the end of March but we dont exactly have the money for all the extra tests and such that come along with a vet trip.

[Patricia A]

Destiny does just sound like the stress and the change of food. Before throwing up one of my dogs always did the licking the air. Probably the food change switch was done too quickly. Mine would get loose stools always with any change in food even going very slowly. Also you added to the digestive issues by switching to two different brands. So if he doesn’t tolerate the food after a few days/weeks on it you won’t even know which one is the cause. Try feeding just the one kibble. I believe Authority got rated somewhat better then the Purina One on this sight. This is the reviews for the Purina One (Purina One SmartBlend Dog Food receives the Advisor’s mid-tier rating of 3.5 stars.). Not the best food according to the reviews.
if he still has problems with the authority and your vet has checked him out to be sure there are no other reasons for his digestive problems, then maybe try switching to a totally different brand VERY SLOWLY while giving him a chance to get used to the change. There are several kibble brands reviewed on this sight as 5* . Hope this helps a little .

• This reply was modified 4 years, 9 months ago by Patricia A.

[Frenky C]

I agree with Patricia. A change of environment, let alone a change in dog food doesn’t immediately show its effect. It could be a week or two later. The best thing to do for now is to get the poop tested to make sure that there’s no gut infection. You could also try to revert back to the previous dog food that he was having and observe it for a little while. I hope this helps.

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