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Puppy Throwing Up?

10K views 14 replies 13 participants last post by  Skylar  
#1 ·
Hi All,

We have had Senna for 5 months now and feel like we have a good routine! But we are running into her vomiting up yellow bile/spit a couple times a month, typically in the morning. She does occasionally throw up food as well, but only a few slightly digested pieces.

After speaking with our vet the first few times they said it was because of her not eating/hunger pukes. I believe that is what it is, but am at a loss at what to do when she chooses not to eat in the morning?

She is usually a very good eater, we do free feed and she is on Fromm Puppy Gold for small breeds. when this happens one of us stays home and leaves later for work so we can get her to eat something but especially after vomiting she is a little sad :(

Anyone have any experience with this or know some tricks for morning eating? I just feel like it is overly frequent but thinking it is because she is still a puppy?

Thanks!
 
#3 ·
YES, my 3-pounder (she's a 75% toy poodle rescue) has always had this issue. And she's the pickiest eater in the world; I spent the first year of her life tube-feeding her to ensure she doesn't have hypoglycemia issues, along with this hunger vomiting issue... and she refused to eat *everything* back then, even grilled chicken/bacon/eggs, you name it she wouldn't even come up to smell it.

At this point, when she has her "I'm going on a hunger strike today" moments, there ARE certain foods she'll eat - I know I can usually give her bread and she loves it (weird, I know). Even the tiniest amount of food will stop the hunger vomiting issue until they're ready to have a full meal.

And if there's nothing at all they'll eat, and you know for a fact that it's not a medical issue, then I personally force feed a little baby food (I always have a jar of it "just in case" the little one starts showing a little too much attitude for anyone's good). I open her mouth, put a bit on the roof of her mouth, close 'till she swallows... and keep going until she's eaten a tablespoon's worth, at which point I know she's good for several hours.

Most puppies do grow out of the super duper pickiness, by the way... hopefully yours will, soon enough. In the meantime, just find a way to get a little food in her. Good luck!
 
#4 ·
I would try a bedtime snack, if she is vomitting bile first thing in the morning. How frequently is she fed? Splitting her meals and feeding her several times a day may help.
 
#5 ·
Does your puppy have any kibble left late in the day (before bedtime) to free feed from? If not, like fjm says a bedtime snack could help so feed 75-80% of the food in the am to free feed from and hold back the rest until later in the day/night.

A few treats first thing in the morning to prime the dog and put something in the empty stomach might help too.
 
#9 ·
Yes, my 7 months old will vomit if she eats something she’s not supposed to because she has food intolerance.

For now she’s only eating vet gastro food, and vegetal chewies. Nothing else. I’ve tested raw beef and raw chicken, little bits, and she was ok with that too.

But any other commercial food, or treat, or chewie and she will have a sore tummy (you can hear it, it makes noise), she will whine a bit and she will vomit little amounts of bile with pre-digested food. The vet says her digestive system is immature and it will take a few months to get better. It’s all the additives in the food she can’t tolerate, I’m sure. Raw meat has only 1 ingredient, and she is okay with it.

Maybe look into that, you never know ?
 
#10 ·
It has been found that hunger vomiting can occasionally be a symptom of low level chronic pancreatitis. There is now a blood test for this condition available in some countries. The test should be done on the same morning as the vomiting occurrences. Make sure the diet is low in fat.
Eric.
 
#14 ·
Thank you!

Thank you everyone for your helpful replies!

We have started making sure she eats a bit close to before bedtime and spend some additional time in the mornings (which means more cuddles too!) prepping to eat.

I will be sure to speak with our vet about the pancreatitis at our next visit.

:)
 
#15 ·
My current dog is a minipoo and I got her as an older puppy, so we didn't have to deal with the potential hypoglycemia issues of a young tpoo puppy. She came from the breeder eating Fromm and she kept throwing up bile and having episodes of diarrhea usually at 4 am in the morning. She was eventually diagnosed with ulcertive colitis. After going through several prescription foods with my vet, we've settled on a home made food.

I've discovered that she was allergic to legumes/peas/lentils etc that is in most commercial dog food, including the Fromm (we had several flavors). Allergic to fish as well. Another problem with the Fromm besides the legumes is it is high fat and high protein - just too much for my dog. She's thriving on a moderate protein, low fat and high fiber diet. If she gets too much protein, she's back throwing up bile.

Ironically my tpoo years ago developed pancreatitis from snacking on the cat kibble in between meals - she lived for many years (till age 20) on a home made food and it's the same diet the vet has my current minipoo eating.

So it might be the food, and not just the timing of the meals. You might need a more moderate fat, moderate protein food - something else to consider along with everything else.