SICK DOG ~Vets can't find anything wrong~Need help!! Update post #14

Ema

Songster
9 Years
Jun 4, 2010
1,960
16
143
N. Ontario CANADA
Last week I began to notice that my 10 month old Husky/black lab was throwing up after eating. very liquidy undigested food. I have had dogs all my life and I really thought it was a digestive issue, he wasn't dehydrated, and he was playing and acting fine otherwise but after a week I brought him in to the vet because I noticed he was losing a bit of weight. The vet ran full blood tests on him and gave him a full examination. Nothing turned up, and the Vet confirmed he was likely suffering from digestive issues, he received a shot to ease the vomiting and was prescribed probiotics for canines to take for a week. He refused to eat any dry dog food, so we had to put him on wet food, which he was eating just fine till yesterday. So today I brought him in for Xrays....nothing turned up again....The vets ares stumped (there is 3 of them working at the animals hospital I brought him in at) they have never seen a case like him.

I was told to try home foods, such as chicken, or chicken hot hot dogs, bland foods, that might entice him to eat. He ate one hot dog and that came up not long after. I am worried that I am going to lose him, he is losing weight, yet he shows no signs of dehydration, and if you looked at him you too would say there is nothing wrong with him. Every test the ran came back negative. On paper they said he is super healthy. Stool samples are clean, vomit samples show nothing.

In the last week I have seen a change in him, he now growls at the other dogs when they go for the food, yet he is not eating any of it. He doesn't do it if we touch the food or pull the dish away and he is super sweet and calmer then I have ever seen in a 10 month old. I have let him out in the pen with the rest of the dogs and they play fine, he goes to the bathroom fine, I have also taken him separately out to the back of the field and watched him, he runs around with such stamina, he plays fetch and is very happy go lucky out there.

One of the vets went through all the notes and he came up with the fact that 1) he is eating too much/too fast without chewing due to food aggression towards the other dogs or 2) he might be doing it for attention. We have 6 dogs we rescued, they all get a lot of attention and we play with all of them, every sunday we got for a run in the woods, they have a huge fenced in run they can play and use at their disposal along with an 8X12 mudroom that serves as the Dog house, even though none of the dogs ever stay outdoors in winter, the kids play with them all the time and each one of them is the poster dog for spoiled. My Dh now thinks the vet might be right, but I am simply just not buying it. He is now away from the rest of the dogs, because I have to watch him, the dogs are on the other side of the house separated by french doors, he is staying with us on the main living areas and now sleeping in our room. We never allow our dogs to sleep in our room, and the living room is always off limits to the dogs because of the kids toys, but he is in here now. He is wagging his tail and playing with a stuffy.

I have no clue what else to do, or think. All I know is that he is losing weight because he is not eating!!! He begs for food all the time now, he never used to, and I keep catching him in the darn trash, every time I turn around he sneaks into the kitchen and tries to knock the can over. We have decided to keep the can outside now, which trust me, with all the snow we are getting its not super ideal!!!!

I need some ideas on what to make him that might entice his appetite without upsetting his stomach, and yes I have tried boiled chicken and brown rice. He just licks it a few times and then leaves it, unless another dog comes near it and then he tries to scarf it down, which leads to him puking some more.
 
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Did they do a stool sample?

I don't think this is the problem, but you can buy special bowls that will make them slow down their eating. What about one of those toys, that you put treats in, and they have to work to get the treats out? Maybe you could put his kibble in here?

I'm assuming at this vet office, one of them is older with lots of experince? If not, maybe try a differrent vet? you said they were rescued? If you went through human society or something like that, maybe you can talk to their vet? Get a copy of all the test you've had done, so you won't have to make the little guy do it twice.

Was this shortyl after getting shots done? My sisters dog, I can't remeber the details, but she can't have anyomore shots cause theymake her sick, and her body is not getting proccessing them the same as most dogs. She gets a "tighter" "spelled wrong sorry" done every year, so she can still get her rabies tags ect.

I really hope things get worked out quickly for you, kudo's to you for taking in these dogs
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Poor fellow, he is in the garbage because he is hungry. Whether there is something else wrong or not, you need to train or force him to eat more slowly. I have read many times on here of people who routinely prepare their dog's food in a particular way to ensure this, for the same reason, that otherwise the dog will wolf the food down and vomit, but I have no experience with it. I don't understand why your vets are not familiar with this.

The other thing that occurs to me is food allergies, but since you already know he eats too fast, it seems to me that this is the first thing to tackle. Surely there is info on the web somewhere about how to train and prepare food in these cases. You may have to start with giving one piece of kibble at a time and rewarding him with praise when he patiently waits for the next piece. I think you need to continue feeding him separately for now, but also work toward his returning to being with the others for meals. I know one method they use is the toys previously mentioned that you hide kibble in and that force them to eat slowly.

Perhaps what you need is not another vet but a consultation with a dog trainer.
 
Ema, I dont know whats wrong with your dog but I do know my vet told to me to use boiled hambuger ( not turkey) and boiled rice together-if he is hogging down only give him 1/2 cup at a time wait 10 minutes in between feedings to make sure it stays down--if this works slowly introduce his dry food into that mix-this takes a few weeks but hey it worked for me:) I hope you find you answer and your baby gets better
 
A few questions come to my mind...

How long have you had him, and did he previously eat normally and not vomit?
How long after eating is he vomiting?
How is the food coming up? Liquidy suggest partially digested, is he doing the normal retching then vomiting thing, or does it just kind of spill out of him unexpectedly?
Did the vet do barium x rays?

Personally, I would be surprised if megaesophagus were to show up now, although a mild case that has gotten worse over time could do that I suppose. The barium would show that.

If he was wolfing his food and bringing it back up right away, in the same form that it went down in, then I would agree you need to slow down his eating. If the food is staying down longer, then something else is going on.

Did the vet suggest or give anything to increase appetite/limit acid production? Give them a call and ask about trying a pepcid AC about 20 minutes prior to feeding....sometimes the over production of acid will cause vomiting especially if he hasn't eaten in a while. Probiotics are great, but will not shut off the acid production so adding pepcid might help.

As far as what to feed him - for the immediate solution I would offer some meat baby food, its smelly and easy to digest. A spoonful of yogurt. Of course the goal is to get him back on dog food, but the concern now is getting him to eat and not vomit...because every time he eats and vomits he is reinforcing that negative feeling. Start with very small feedings, see how that goes.
 
I know the X-rays are showing nothing, but this sounds like a blockage. If his condition continues to deteriorate, you might ask about the possibility of exploratory surgery.
 

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