Vomits bile

[carolynnl4]

Ordinarily, Athena free feeds 5 cups a day to maintain her weight.

For the past 3 days, she has vomited bile once a day. It's clear, yellow, and has little odor. (Not that I've gone out of my way to get a whiff.) She vomits in the afternoon, with no apparent pattern.

I went on vacation, and left her with a man who was once helped me train her. I left him with a 15 lb bag of California Natural. When I got back, I found out some things that made me very uncomfortable, and we won't be going back. The most pertinent of these facts, is that she was unsuperverised, so we don't know if her vomiting is a continuing problem, or a new one. In addition, she looked as if she had gained a lot of weight when we picked her up, but the next day, her ribs could be seen.
Cupid, the trainer, told me that he only allowed her 5 minutes to decide whether she wanted to eat and picked it up. Eventually, he said "she ate like a horse". In the 17 days she was with him, she finished the Calif. Natural, so he gave her Diamond (what his dogs eat).
I continued his feeding program (with Calif. nat), but she didn't eat the first night back with me, she ate 3 cups the second night, and on the 3rd day, I called the vet about the vomiting. He said to give her stomach a break, so no food for 1 day. Call him Thursday and let him know if it's still going on.

Does anyone know what this could be? I'd greatly appreciate some ideas!

[sophie's-mom]

Could be her system is out of whack from being thrown off her schedule.

I know that when I "forget" to feed the dogs on time SOMETIMES Sophie will vomit some yellow stuff. Her system has gotten used to digesting and there is nothing to digest.

I could be wrong, I'm sure someone will state so if I am!

[moondog]

Do you only feed her once a day, in the evening?

A frequent cause of vomiting bile is a stomach that is too empty, and feeding less food more frequently will usually solve the problem.

[Judy Chrusch]

Originally Posted by moondog

Do you only feed her once a day, in the evening?

A frequent cause of vomiting bile is a stomach that is too empty, and feeding less food more frequently will usually solve the problem.

It's sounds like the dog was normally free fed and when she went away it may have been different. I agree that throwing up bile is in most cases due to an empty stomach but 5 cups a day is a bit much. I would feed 2 - 3 times a day for awhile and see how it goes. Split the food up between morning, lunch and supper then if you want, go to twice a day. I personally don't think free feeding is a good idea, JMO.

Judy

[moondog]

I got the previously free-fed part, what isn't clear to me is the "feeding program" the trainer put her on that was continued after she was home again. It sounds like it's once a day, in the evening, which would lean towards the empty tummy theory since the pattern is vomiting in the afternoon.

[Judi W]

Carolyn,
I'd cut Cupid some slack. Surely you did not expect him to sit and stare at her to see if she was going to spit up sometime during the day. I don't know of any boarding place that has the personel to do that.

You have been free feeding, but actually, if he taught her to tend to her meal times, he really did you a favor. It is much better all round if the dog has meals, eats and then time between instead of snacking all day. Even if she is a hard keeper good eating habits are better for her. Fifteen pounds for almost three weeks is certainly not too much food.

She's been through some changes which could easily explain the vomiting. Resting the gut is the right thing to do. I'd relax about it and see how she does.

[carolynnl4]

Thanks for the advice, everyone! Athena didn't puke today, so I'm going on the assumption that y'all are right, and it was just her empty stomach. After all, I think she assumed the first night back that she'd be free fed, and didn't eat....next day, she puked.
And trust me, I was *thrilled* to hear that he had her on such a strict schedule. It makes life a bit easier. I just hope we can keep her on it, and I promise not to cave if she decides she doesn't want to eat for a couple days.

Judy Crusch, I recently upped Athena's food to 5 cups a day because she runs 2< miles a day with me, and has always been a very lean dog. Perhaps she's going through late puberty? Regardless, being overweight has never been a concern with her.

Judi W, oh, that wasn't the only reason why we won't use him for boarding anymore...I was just trying to keep my post short (instead of the novel I usually post! ). Plus, I was also worried about infringing on any forum rules.