Vomiting And No Appetite

[Turkey Trip]

If she returns to her former bright demeanor, eats her dinner this time and keeps it down, then ok..

..however if she vomits again I would be hearing alarm bells for the likelihood that she does have a stomach or intestinal blockage. If the blockage is located in her stomach her vomit will probably contain much clear mucous but if further down the intestinal tract that may not be so.

If she vomits this morning's meal take her back to your Vet. They should do an x-ray to check for an obstruction but remember that some obstructions do not show up well on x-ray. (Such as plant seeds/socks etc).

Hope its not that. Good luck!

[Serket]

If she returns to her former bright demeanor, eats her dinner this time and keeps it down, then ok..

..however if she vomits again I would be hearing alarm bells for the likelihood that she does have a stomach or intestinal blockage. If the blockage is located in her stomach her vomit will probably contain much clear mucous but if further down the intestinal tract that may not be so.

If she vomits this morning's meal take her back to your Vet. They should do an x-ray to check for an obstruction but remember that some obstructions do not show up well on x-ray. (Such as plant seeds/socks etc).

Hope its not that. Good luck!

That's the plan. Yesterday's vomit was her breakfast (5 minutes after she ate it), and then piles of completely undigested grass + water.

ETA: One pile of vomited grass in the yard from yesterday is mucous-y

She actually barked at me while waiting for her food to cool down and after she ate it she decided to 'attack' my leg and play tug of war with it while I was cleaning up the stains properly from yesterday, so she's definitely feeling much better.

Now let's just hope she keeps it down, and it comes out the other end

Edited May 7, 2010 by Serket

[Serket]

Well I now have squeaky toys being pushed into my lap, and she's gone back to carrying the foot rest around the house (new favourite toy) so I think she's feeling a lot better.

She did eat some grass earlier, but no vomit, and I can feel the breakfast bulge moving through her digestive system, just waiting impatiently for it to come out the right end

[Black Bronson]

Well I now have squeaky toys being pushed into my lap, and she's gone back to carrying the foot rest around the house (new favourite toy) so I think she's feeling a lot better.

She did eat some grass earlier, but no vomit, and I can feel the breakfast bulge moving through her digestive system, just waiting impatiently for it to come out the right end

That's good news Serket, she sounds like she is coming good. The marrow bone effecting the pancreas is a condition we had years ago that took 3 different vets to diagnose. He would get sick with similar symptoms as your girl, come good then he'd get another marrow bone and get sick again An older experienced vet diagnosed his condition immediately we mentioned marrow bones, the other 2 vets didn't have a clue. Obviously your girl hasn't had marrow bones, but gastric illness and droopiness is very worrying, I know how you must have been feeling

[Serket]

Well I now have squeaky toys being pushed into my lap, and she's gone back to carrying the foot rest around the house (new favourite toy) so I think she's feeling a lot better.

She did eat some grass earlier, but no vomit, and I can feel the breakfast bulge moving through her digestive system, just waiting impatiently for it to come out the right end

That's good news Serket, she sounds like she is coming good. The marrow bone effecting the pancreas is a condition we had years ago that took 3 different vets to diagnose. He would get sick with similar symptoms as your girl, come good then he'd get another marrow bone and get sick again An older experienced vet diagnosed his condition immediately we mentioned marrow bones, the other 2 vets didn't have a clue. Obviously your girl hasn't had marrow bones, but gastric illness and droopiness is very worrying, I know how you must have been feeling

Hope your boy was ok in the end with no lasting effects, I'd be beside myself if this was a regular occurrence - I was on the phone to OH every 2 minutes saying "don't forget to tell the vets this and that" because you never know what pieces of the puzzle they'll put together that you might not have connected (well, ideally, anyway). Lucky you finally found a vet who made the connection.

Breakfast hasn't made an appearance out either end, so good and bad, but she's still bright(er) and happy, playing and wagging her tail, very much improved from yesterday, but I'm not sure about giving her dinner until I see results from Breakfast

Edited May 8, 2010 by Serket

[Black Bronson]

Well I now have squeaky toys being pushed into my lap, and she's gone back to carrying the foot rest around the house (new favourite toy) so I think she's feeling a lot better.

She did eat some grass earlier, but no vomit, and I can feel the breakfast bulge moving through her digestive system, just waiting impatiently for it to come out the right end

That's good news Serket, she sounds like she is coming good. The marrow bone effecting the pancreas is a condition we had years ago that took 3 different vets to diagnose. He would get sick with similar symptoms as your girl, come good then he'd get another marrow bone and get sick again An older experienced vet diagnosed his condition immediately we mentioned marrow bones, the other 2 vets didn't have a clue. Obviously your girl hasn't had marrow bones, but gastric illness and droopiness is very worrying, I know how you must have been feeling

Hope your boy was ok in the end with no lasting effects, I'd be beside myself if this was a regular occurrence - I was on the phone to OH every 2 minutes saying "don't forget to tell the vets this and that" because you never know what pieces of the puzzle they'll put together that you might not have connected (well, ideally, anyway). Lucky you finally found a vet who made the connection.

Breakfast hasn't made an appearance out either end, so good and bad, but she's still bright(er) and happy, playing and wagging her tail, very much improved from yesterday, but I'm not sure about giving her dinner until I see results from Breakfast

He was about 10/11 months old and a Golden Retriever who lived to nearly 16 years old, he was fine after we stopped marrow bones and never had a pancreas attack after that. It probably helped his life as we kept the fat content down in his meals and he never became overweight although being a food driven pig as many Golden's can be The vet who diagnosed it, gave him a shot of Pethedine for the pain, put him on a drip overnight with an anti-vomiting medication then did the chicken and rice routine for a few days. He had 4 or 5 attacks over a couple of months and the last time he was really droopy and hiding behind the lounge, he wasn't well. We went to a another vet open Sunday afternoon and thankfully were met by a vet with some grey hair that knew his stuff and the effect of marrow bones in some dogs. The other 2 vets had him on an antacid like Mylanta to squirt into his mouth which wasn't helping. Surprisingly when telling our vets what the problem was, they had never heard of marrow bones causing pancreatic problems???.

Hope your girl is on the mend

Edited May 8, 2010 by Black Bronson

[Serket]

BB - 16 is a very good age!

Gypsy is quite slender - not underweight, she's a good weight for her age, but compared to the roly poly kegs on legs you often see, she looks almost anorexic. I saw a female golden that was 46kg at the vets once :D Hip dysplasia, arthritis, the works ... and younger than 6

Very exciting news here - we have poo! Never been so happy to see a poo in my life So looks like everything is ok, touch wood

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Serket

If you worry about what marrow bones would do to your dog's teeth - rocks are usually harder and more likely to break teeth.

I had problems you describe when my dog ate things that clagged the system up, bits of marrow bone with sharp edges, or bits of any raw beef bone, and the occasional plastic peg.

She'd vomit everything and then move on to grass - because nothing could get past the blockage. Eventually she'd vomit whatever was blocking things up. Usually a big piece of bone - about the size of a 20 cent piece. Happened with a chicken wing once. Sheesh - chew your food already. So no more bones unless they're the big marrow bones, and the second she starts trying to break up the hard long bit of it - I take it away and put it in the bin.

If the bone wasn't so big to block everything up, it caused considerable discomfort at the other end. Another reason to cut bones.

I feed her pieces of carrot instead.

[Black Bronson]

BB - 16 is a very good age!

Gypsy is quite slender - not underweight, she's a good weight for her age, but compared to the roly poly kegs on legs you often see, she looks almost anorexic. I saw a female golden that was 46kg at the vets once Hip dysplasia, arthritis, the works ... and younger than 6

Very exciting news here - we have poo! Never been so happy to see a poo in my life :D So looks like everything is ok, touch wood

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice

EXCELLENT

[Serket]

Mrs RB - Yes I know rocks are harder - it's not like we give them to her though. The garden bed with rocks (large ones) is fenced off completely, but she digs up rocks under the grass and in other garden beds - I've dug up one garden bed and removed all the rocks I could get (I even sifted the dirt), there's not much else I can do about them. All we can do is take them off her when we hear "crunch".

She gets chicken frames, turkey drumsticks, chicken drumsticks and that's about it, and only once every fortnight or so. She chews her bones properly and takes her time, under supervision, and I 'swap' them for biscuits if they get too dodgy looking towards the end (usually only the turkey), she likes them but doesn't get all the excited about them, and doesn't rush to finish them off. She hasn't had a bone for about a week, so it wasn't that this time. We also give her carrots which she likes, but they don't digest them and so they come out the other end looking much like they went in, so they're a sometimes thing too.

[Black Bronson]

Serket

If you worry about what marrow bones would do to your dog's teeth - rocks are usually harder and more likely to break teeth.

I had problems you describe when my dog ate things that clagged the system up, bits of marrow bone with sharp edges, or bits of any raw beef bone, and the occasional plastic peg.

She'd vomit everything and then move on to grass - because nothing could get past the blockage. Eventually she'd vomit whatever was blocking things up. Usually a big piece of bone - about the size of a 20 cent piece. Happened with a chicken wing once. Sheesh - chew your food already. So no more bones unless they're the big marrow bones, and the second she starts trying to break up the hard long bit of it - I take it away and put it in the bin.

If the bone wasn't so big to block everything up, it caused considerable discomfort at the other end. Another reason to cut bones.

I feed her pieces of carrot instead.

My GSD bought up quite a large rock once when he was young. He'd been a little off and started the heaves in the family room. Awaiting a mess on the floor, there was a heavy plop and moistened rock on the floor I have never seen a dog bring up one item like that before, it was rather amazing

[Serket]

Well we have the culprit of Gypsy's sickness- a rock the size of a large peach kernel (oh and the tag off a bra as well....) - just how I love to spend my morning, gloves on searching through poo.

I think we're going to have to go around the yard again to get rid of every rock we can find, but I just don't know where she gets them - there ARE no rocks - grass, dirt, concrete. There are some in the fenced off section but she can't get in there...or get her paw or nose in to get them out, in theory, but looks like they're going too (they were supposed to be too big to cause these problems - having said that, a 6cm long one has come out in her poo before (but with no signs of illness, longer but flatter than this one), even with the fence up.

Why are they so stupid...

[persephone]

Glad she got rid of it! Scary for you though

Dogs are NOT 'stupid'- especially puppies . She is doing what she is wired to do- to dig, explore and chew. If rocks are the most exciting things available to her smell/texture wise- then rocks it will be.

She is 10 mths old? What does she do to occupy her day? I am guessing you are away for most of the day ? You may be better off just putting up a run for her.. with a solid/safe flooring like pavers or deep clean sand over reinforcing mesh .That way she will eventually get bored and sleep ... and you won't have to worry about the rock digs!

I think it will be impossible otherwise for you to remove every rock from the soil in your yard! :D

A run would be my choice.. can be transportable and simple.... provide a sand pit for digging- some chew toys and water ... and make sure she has two walks a day , with her obedience sessions ..and hopefully she will not be as tempted to ingest stones !

[voloclydes]

when should they grow out of that sort of stuff?

leo is called the grazier... he eats gravel off the drive way, brings it inside and drops on the floor, i am sure he has eaten shovel fulls of the stuff. yesterday while up the paddock he's chewing like manic dog.. i though he had found a bone, but no a stick of a tree.

he's 2 this july and shows no sign of giving up his grazing habbit.

[Mrs Rusty Bucket]

Yes I think the best solution to this would to be to devise a strategy for stopping her from wanting to eat rocks.

And plastering rocks with chilli will just get you a dog who likes chilli coated rocks.

Not sure how you'd go about training a dog not to eat stuff that is not it's food or what you give it but I'd be interested to find out. It's one of the things that Utitlity dogs must do. Refuse food that is offered/available to them. And it's something that all competition dogs should be able to do - because it makes sabotaging their performance a bit too easy if they stop for every yummy treat (or possum poo) around the ring.

Maybe a post question in the training section about how you'd train this?

And in the meantime for the dog's safety and the health of your wallet, I'd confine her until she's learned not to eat rocks. I guess a basic start would be, let dog out, if she puts a rock in her mouth, you put her on lead, remove the rock... wait 10 seconds, release, then repeat, for 20 to 30 sessions? Same for any other unacceptable behaviour in the back yard. If she goes 5 minutes without trying for a rock - reward with a yummy treat.

I like that carrots go straight through, it's a nice chewable thing that adds nothing to the dog's waist line, and doesn't clag the works up, it's softer than sticks or rocks or bits of bone. And hopefully it goes somewhere to keeping her teeth healthy but I'd have to check with a vet about that.

[Serket]

Glad she got rid of it! Scary for you though

Dogs are NOT 'stupid'- especially puppies . She is doing what she is wired to do- to dig, explore and chew. If rocks are the most exciting things available to her smell/texture wise- then rocks it will be.

She is 10 mths old? What does she do to occupy her day? I am guessing you are away for most of the day ? You may be better off just putting up a run for her.. with a solid/safe flooring like pavers or deep clean sand over reinforcing mesh .That way she will eventually get bored and sleep ... and you won't have to worry about the rock digs!

I think it will be impossible otherwise for you to remove every rock from the soil in your yard!

A run would be my choice.. can be transportable and simple.... provide a sand pit for digging- some chew toys and water ... and make sure she has two walks a day , with her obedience sessions ..and hopefully she will not be as tempted to ingest stones !

I'm home 4 days a week, most of another day (gone 4 hours but OH gets home during that time), so she's only left alone completely for 2 days a week -7am-6pm. She has kongs (and kong time), and treat balls, etc. for when we're gone. She's got a pool with water in the yard, an area she can dig in (with rocks...I might just remove all the dirt in that area and replace it, I removed heaps of rocks but not enough it seems), grass, free access to most of the house (lounge room, kitchen, hallway). She does sleep most of the time we're gone - on the lounge, judging by the hair or on her bed.

She gets our undivided attention for at least 2 hours a day, whether it's walks, training, playing in the house/yard, going down to the oval or the beach, etc. and she's got plenty of toys (rotated so she doesn't get bored with them). She's chewed rocks since she came home, just about, so it's not an adolescent boredom thing (easier to solve probably if it was).

She just really likes rocks, and other hard objects (glass, hard plastic). If you give her a choice between a rock and a stuffed toy, she'll take the rock half the time. We've tried 'safe' chew toys (rubber) but she absolutely hates rubber chew toys (nylabones, teething rings, anything rubber except the kongs and she doesn't really chew those). I don't know, maybe a marrow bone would actually be safer if she wants such hard things to chew on, but I wouldn't want to leave her unsupervised with it

She'll bring rocks into the bedroom onto the bed to 'show' us (like she does with her toys. To her, they're just another toy to choose to play with. It's not even that she digs pits in the yard from boredom and then finds rocks - she only digs when it's muddy. She just finds them in the grass, somehow, even when we can't see them.

Mrs RB - I'd be out there for hours and hours waiting for her to find a rock, otherwise good idea. It's once a day, once every two days, never seen her actually find one/pick it up, she just appears with them.

Edited May 9, 2010 by Serket