Weird Gastro Issues?

[mojo-rizin]

My 4 year old miniature poodle is having some strange gastro issues. For about 9 months, he will vomit on occasion. Usually, it is a brown thick vomit that looks like feces, but other times it will be bile. After vomiting, he smells HORRIBLE. It is almost like it is just seeping from his skin. We bathe him, and he still smells. Usually it lasts for several days before mysteriously disappearing. We can't find the source of the smell.

I asked the vet about it and she told us that he must be hungry...

He also has developed "poop" issues in the last year. He will literally hold his stool until he can't hold it any longer. He will be sitting on my husbands lap, and the next thing you know, my husband is covered in poop and the dog hasn't moved. To try and prevent it, we have to make him stay outside, and keep sending him back into the yard telling him constantly to go potty. Sometimes this routine takes 30 minutes before he finally goes. It is like he has no idea he has to potty. He has been checked for parasites, he is completely healthy, and there has been no food change.

Any ideas???

[Dekka]

Dogs will throw up bile and such if their stomachs go empty too long. This is a much more normal occurrence in small dogs. I have had a couple of JRTs that needed a little snack mid day or they would throw up blle.

What are you feeding and how often?

[mojo-rizin]

It is very rarely bile (which doesn't usually smell), more often the thick brown stuff - I am pretty sure his stomach isn't empty. The time of day in which he vomits varies. We feed Canidae which we've fed for 2 years. I feed him 3/4 cups in the evening, and that hasn't changed in 2 years as well. We tried Taste of the Wild for about 5 months, but all three of my boys lost weight that they couldn't spare, no matter how I tried adjusting their amounts. He vomited prior to switching to TOTW, and during, and now after. They've been back on Canidae for about 4 months. I haven't noticed that it was any more frequent on any of the foods. The smell concerns me more than the vomiting. Dogs will vomit. It is pretty much part of being a dog mommy.

He also will have spells where he has lots of vomiting for a few days. When that happens, I fast him for 24 hours, and then introduce bland foods (usually rice and chicken) until he stops vomiting, and then do 1/2 bland 1/2 dry before getting him back on his regular food. I do the same thing for runny stools. The smell concerns me more than the vomiting. Dogs will vomit. It is pretty much part of being a dog mommy.


I've tried the morning/night feedings, but they don't do well on that because they are crated during the day and also our mornings are too hectic to make sure that my toy poodle eats (he usually takes about 30 minutes to eat between making sure that we are nearby and keeping the other two outside a 10 foot radius ). Plus, we have a pretty good schedule going as far as potty breaks and feedings go.

[corgipower]

Originally Posted by mojo-rizin

My 4 year old miniature poodle is having some strange gastro issues. For about 9 months, he will vomit on occasion. Usually, it is a brown thick vomit that looks like feces, but other times it will be bile. After vomiting, he smells HORRIBLE. It is almost like it is just seeping from his skin. We bathe him, and he still smells. Usually it lasts for several days before mysteriously disappearing. We can't find the source of the smell.

Brown vomit is sometimes blood, which could be caused by a foreign object, a tumor, and ulcer.

If it smells like feces, it could be fecal vomiting, which is often caused by an obstruction in the intestinal tract.

Another possibility though, since you say he's holding his poop, is that he is in fact pooping and you're not seeing it, and that he's eating it and then vomiting it up.

When Piper had brown vomiting, I brought her to the vet, and the vet asked if I had brought a sample. That was the first time I had heard of the idea of bringing in a vomit sample, but it's something you might want to do.

Ares vomited brown when he was young, we were at the vet often trying to figure it out. Turned out he had food allergies which would cause him to have diarrhea in his crate. When I wasn't home to clean it up, he would eat his mess, which he would them vomit up. It took a while to piece it all together, but once I got him onto a food he wasn't allergic to, he never did it again.

[mojo-rizin]

It does smell a little like feces, but I know he doesn't eat his stool. We are always outside with the boys to keep an eye on them because we don't have a fenced yard. We watch him especially close since he does have poop issues. It is always such a relief when he finally starts spinning!

I wonder if maybe he has an ulcer. He has a great appetite though, and is always active. What kind of obstruction would only cause occasional vomiting?

[corgipower]

Originally Posted by mojo-rizin

It does smell a little like feces, but I know he doesn't eat his stool. We are always outside with the boys to keep an eye on them because we don't have a fenced yard. We watch him especially close since he does have poop issues.

But do you watch him 24/7 He could be pooping and eating it in the middle of the night. *shrugs* Just one possibility.

[mojo-rizin]

He sleeps with us at night, but he COULD be pooping during the day. I think my best bet would be to take a vomit sample next time it happens. Maybe if we see what little nasty is in the vomit, we could solve the mystery.

[cockers2]

You say you feed Canidae, were you aware that they changed the formula several months ago? There has been quite a bit of trouble over it as alot of dogs are having issues and getting sick since the change, just a thought.