Axel has been doing this now for 3 weeks, not everyday but often enough I’m starting to worry. He will eat breakfast at 630, then hours later he will drink a bit of water and throw up all the water and some undigested food and then some digested food on the second and third bout of same throw up. Then of course he’s wanting to eat it afterwards. I’m wondering if maybe he is eating way too fast because gizmo used to try and bug him while he ate. I tried my best to keep gizmo away and now he will leave him alone but maybe the damage has been done already? Or I am wondering if maybe he needs an elevated food and water dish ? Not sure if that would cause him to regurgitate hours after eating or not though... I have booked an appt with the Vet tomorrow because I have been googling and it worries me some of the things it could be. Issues with his esophagus being the main concern. Anyone have issues with their dogs regurgitating often? He never did this before and now it’s several times a week!
Such a worry. Best of luck at the vet. Our boy went through a vomiting stage - early hours before breakfast. Vet called it hunger pukes. Sounds quite different to your boy’s. Hopefully your vet has a simple solution for you - ours was to feed some food just before bed, which worked. Keep us posted.
That is what Odie used to do as well until we realized what it was. Definitely different from this sadly, as that was an easy fix.
When we tried to switch Ariel from 3 meals a day to 2, she went through a stage similar to this. Almost like it was too much food all at once. We had also introduced cheese as a training treat, and removed that at the same time, so not 100% what was causing it. An appt with the vet is a great idea. Let us know how you make out.
Rourke used to do that when he was younger and the vet scared me to death with thinking it was enlarged oesophagus (can't remember the correct medical name, it's my age you know!), however, all was well, it wasn't and he grew out of it.
Mega-oesophagus? Hmm I read that this can increase chances of bloat? Is it worth reverting to 3 smaller meals a day for a trial see if it helps?
How did it go at the vet? Have you considered changing his diet to raw? I heard a vet speaking at a lecture on raw food. He treats dogs in the military, all the dogs get fed at 3pm, all kibble. He said he does get bloat patients, usually brought in in the mornings around 9am, and their stomachs are still full of kibble. He said his training in nutrition indicated stomach contents are emptied after 12 hours, but this wasn’t happening with the bloat cases. In his private practice he advocates raw, one reason being it has a much higher moisture content. I wonder if your boy is having difficulty digesting the kibble? Too dry?
Casper has regurgitation, mostly resolved, when stressed though, for example, if he has gone through a short period of trigger stacking it can flare up. This did have a severe consequence where we nearly lost him to inhalation pneumonia linked directly to his regurgitation. He was admitted for a week, in acute respiratory distress, and spent some of the that in intensive care, it looked grim for a bit and we were advised to expect the worst. Megaoesophagus was ruled out, however, the structures around his throat aren't quite right. He did have some mild inflammation and infection of his gut, so this was treated. We do have to be careful, no small treats unless stationary, Casper has his own table to eat from. When we asked about diet the advice was not to change from what he was on, but absolutely not a raw food diet.
I am thinking of changing him to three meals a day, just very strange how he has never had any problems and now all the sudden he is having issues.
He does yes, I was thinking of changing him to a regular dish right before this started, but definitely not changing it now.
Vet appt is this morning but I’m thinking I’m going to go to a different vet instead as I trust them more. So I’m not sure if I will get in this weekend or not. He hasn’t thrown up since but it’s only a matter of time I’m sure. I have done raw food before but for Odie and it’s just too much work for us. Axel also drinks a ton of water so lack of moisture I don’t think is the issue but I could be wrong!
I was doing more googling last night about mega-oesophagus and inhalation pneumonia and how deadly it can be, it really has me worried! I’m so glad Casper survived it, what a scary time that must have been. I was thinking because axel is quite tall that a raised food and water dish would help things go down properly but I didn’t realize that could then cause bloat. I hardly slept last night thinking of all this. But I think I’m going to follow my gut and switch to a vet I’m more confident with for this. I’m starting to worry that maybe he has something lodged in his esophagus or maybe my mother in law yanked on his collar and damaged his throat somehow because this all started the day we got back from our trip.
I have decided to get into a different vet, and was able to book with them for tomorrow. So one more day to go but I’ll be more comfortable with them. Axel isn’t distressed or anything, infact he is quite eager to play, which he has been this whole time, but something isn’t right (I think anyways). I’m going to do three meals a day and see if that helps. I hope this is an easy fix. I also am kind of hoping they will do an X-ray because I’m worried something is wrong with his esophagus. But maybe they can tell just by feeling it? We shall see.
This was because although the risk was small, there still was a risk of introducing bacteria vs kibble. We do though give some raw, in meaty bones, lamb ribs etc.
I have a question regarding ribs as a treat actually. Do they break up quite easily when they break a piece off? I want to try some pork ribs I think is what’s at the pet store but I have been too nervous that he will swallow too big of a piece and choke.
