Need advice on chronic stomach problems.

[s3rous]

My 2 year old rottie has had stomach problems from day 1. He has been on Canidae, Innova, Nutro, Nature's Choice, and now California Natural. Each food was slowly introduced over the course of a few weeks. Titan vomits daily. I have no idea how much he vomits when I am not around because he eats it back up real quick if I am not watching. My vet had a barium test to look for megaesophagus, and it turned up negative. I can't let my dog keep living like this and must do something! Is there a way that I can find out exactly what he is allergic to so I won't feed it to him? We have cut out all treats/edible toys for months and it is still bad.

Another thing that he does (seems that it just started since we moved) is lick into the air alot for no apparent reason. It looks like a ghost is feeding him a treat (you get the point). He also seems to lick the carpet alot. He will eat anything we leave out like socks, paper towels etc... But we keep a clean house and he hasn't eaten any in a while.

Please help,
Branden

[s3rous]

OK, I read that the licking is also upset stomach related. I need to switch his food again fast. What kind of RAW diet could I get him on for a couple weeks that would at least let me see if there is any improvement. I tried to feed him raw ground beef once and he threw up alot right after eating it. Should I just buy some chicken backs or something? I would like as few ingredients as possible then add something every couple of weeks cause he has a very sensitive stomach.

[RottiMomCT]

How long was he fed each of the foods you mentioned?? With a sensitive/irritable stomach, the Canidae may be too rich for him.

I know this sounds gross but if he's vomiting up his kibble and then re-eating it, there should'nt be a problem with it. Does he vomit after he eats the vomit?

Have you tried soaking his kibble in water or chicken broth to soften it up? That may help...

I don't have any other suggestions...what has the vet offered in terms of feeding him? I know Hills makes prescription foods for sensitive or irritable stomach dogs, and if that was my only choice, I'd certainly feed it...I think the prescription diets are better than the Science Diet...others may have input on that.

[Judi W]

Probiotics might help, but if it were me, I would put him on an elimination diet. Ask your vet to outline one for you. It involves withholding food for several days until the dog is sign free, then feed only ONE food source for 5 days. If the dog is sign free, you can add a second item. If the dog remains sign free, add a third. Each time, if the dogs reacts, back up to a sign free food. The idea is not to discover what the dog is allergic to, but rather what the dog can eat without symptoms.

I am assuming that you have used one of the vet prescribed hypoallergic diets. If you have not, you should definitely do so. If the dog is OK on such a diet, you can use that as a base for the elimination discovery.

[frontierrots]

I had a dog that always vomited after eating, ate it back up and almost never revomited a second time. No big deal, we just kept him crated til HE was really done eating.

I've had a few Rotts that have done the air licking thing and yes that is a sign of an upset tummy. We have used Tums or Tagamet on those dogs but it was not a daily thing either