My lab pup (7months) is the slowest eater, I give her her first lot in the moning and she just nibbles it, she might even leave it sometimes too and it can still be there when I go to give her her tea time food. She is thin (in my opinion) compared to other labs but I am assured her weight is normal and because she is on royal canin that it's the best food to just pick at because with each bite she will be getting goodness and she drinks plenty. I always make sure she never has a big feed or any great amount before we go for our walk, So.... Why whenever she has a really good run around to the point where she is utterly exhausted, she gets home she gulps at her water she will then proceed to vomit everywhere. She vomited 7 times once, it was awful for her and I just couldn't believe it was possible, I was freaking out. So today we go out, she finds another lab has a huge run around, she gets home has a massive drink and then after about 20/30 mins she vomits and vomits and vomits. She is well in herself after, tail wagging looking happy, wanting to play. She is still drinking although I haven't given her tonight's food as I want her stomach to settle. Is this common and what can I do. I have also tried changing her food, she has tried James wellbeloved and CSJ and she didn't eat them at all. Royal canin is what the breeder fed her and recommended I keep her on and it's also recommended by my vet. I have been told that if she doesn't eat her food after it has been down for 20 mins I am to pick it up, I tried that, she barely ate for about a week. She is just a slow eater it's the way she is. Also does anybody give their dog antlers to chew? Pets at home sell them as indestructible chews. Scout has one and I'm seriously considering taking it off her. I'm scared to is going to hurt her mouth or teeth? Sorry I always want so much advice. X
Re: I need advice please Sorry no advice as I only have a 10 week old pup. But could she be drinking it to fast ?
Re: I need advice please The purpose of this forum is advice If people did not ask for advice it wouldn't exist. So please never stop asking for advice whenever you need it, about anything Just keep asking. Dogs do have a pretty well developed vomit reflex. And dogs do tend to drink a fair bit on kibble, as it's a dry food. And vigorous exercise followed by a big drink is likely to be a bit nausea-inducing. So, putting it all together, I don't think it's alarming that she is drinking a lot after exercise and then vomiting it up. One thing I might try is taking some water with me on walks (e.g. in those bottles that have an attachment that the dog can drink from) so she can have breaks from play and a little drink during breaks. That might reduce the need for a huge drink and vomit when she gets home. Having little rest breaks (whether she wants them or not) might also help her to be a bit more settled afterwards and not so stirred up (it might not help with that but it's worth a try). If she is not overweight (obviously she's not, as you say) then I don't see anything wrong with the method of leaving her food down all the time for her to nibble at as she wants. Some dogs do self-regulate their eating like that. At 7 months she is going to be looking quite lanky and leggy, which is normal. I found that my boy didn't start to fill out until he was over a year old. Until then he looked a bit like a giraffe. With the deer antlers, I'm in the camp of not giving very hard chews like that. If your dog is a very determined chewer (that is, if her teeth meet a solid object she'll bite down even harder) then hard chews can pose a risk of tooth breakage. They do also have a wearing effect on teeth, that, over a dog's life, can have a visible effect. If you feel worried then just take away the antler. People on here have talked about anco roots as a softer and long-lasting alternative - maybe you can give those a try? Rawhide chews (if supervised) are also good and very safe for teeth (and they have a teeth cleaning action).
Re: I need advice please Hi, Sorry you are having problems with your pup eating. 1. have you tried soaking the kibble? 2. Add a spoonful of Puppy wet food,any Pedigree pouch puppy makes it more interesting. 3. Do not feed her anything before walking. 4. Has she been wormed? Don't know much about Royal Canin, is it wheat free Hypoallergenic? One of my dogs cannot eat anything with wheat, a small piece of toast and she vomits. She is on Skinners Field and Trial Duck and Rice. I would worry about Antlers to chew as they are very hard and may damage the teeth, a nice marrow bone would be better. ( beat me to it)
Re: I need advice please my 17 month old boy is a slow eater he is not food motivated, he does loves most fresh fish cooked, i save these for special treats he as only ever been sick an handful of times, i would stay away from the antlers, try a pigs ear
Re: I need advice please I will start giving her little breaks when we are out and give her water. And I'll take her antler off her, it scares me too much. Thanks everyone x
Re: I need advice please This may be a silly question but how many training treats are you giving her?
Re: I need advice please One of my old boys was a terribly picky eater. I have to admit, I was so worried about him, I started feeding him little tidbits off a spoon... i didnt realize i was actually making matters worse by doing this. Once we got a puppy and he realized that if he didn't eat his food it was going to vanish, he was soon cured... Dogs have different eating habits, just like we do. And I wonder too, whether you are taking treats into account for her daily food intake?
Re: I need advice please When she vomits does she bring up food, water or just yellow bile? If her food was causing the vomiting I would expect to see diarrhoea as well so it's likely it's not dietary. Royal canin is a very good food, but it doesn't always agree with everyone. To me it sounds like it's the water that's causing her to vomit - if she's vomiting the water back up that is. It's likely she's sooooo thirsty when she gets home that she drinks loads and very quickly and this causes her to be sick. As others have suggested, try taking some water with you on walks and letting her have small amounts while you're out. You could also remove her water bowl before you go out so it's not there when you get back, then you can supervise how much she has to drink in one go when she gets back eg. Put 100ml in the bowl for her when you get back, if she drinks it all and keeps it down give her another 100ml a few minutes later. This might help as it might make her drink slower. Regarding the slow eating does she get just dry kibble? She might be finding it a bit boring which is why she takes so long to eat it. Have you tried added a bit of hot water and allowing it to soak for a couple of minutes? This will soften the biscuits and release the smell making it more appetising. Also you could try mixing a couple of spoonfuls of wet food in with it to make it more appealing.
Re: I need advice please Not a silly question at all... She gets 1 denta stick a day and maybe a few gravy bones on a tea time while I'm having a bit of one to one with her, I snap them into 3- so she ends up with little kibble size bits lol. The only time she is allowed human food is if we are chopping vet up, she gets bits of carrots, turnip, mushroom etc. Today I gave her her morning food (I use the proper measuring cup) and it's still sat there. Iv seen her nibble at in about 30 mins ago but then she walked away. She isn't looking for food, she never jumps the benches or gets too close or tries to take our food while we are eating. I think my next step is to maybe add a bit of warm water just to make it a little but more smelly and soft. Thanks Trisha and Scout x
Re: I need advice please When I put warm water on Molly's kibble it absolutely reeks, that might get Scout going. Have you tried her on fish? My last dog vastly preferred fish, I used to ask her (yes, I know, midly eccentric) if she was sure she wasn't a cat. Perhaps she'd like a food toy, like a treat ball. I use them to feed Molly to extend her mealtimes. Perhaps furry little mind would enjoy the challenge of getting her food.
Re: I need advice please I would reduce the amount of food to begin with, put a little warm water on it for a few moment, put the food down, give her ten minutes to eat it, if she doesn't, take it away immediately and do not offer any more food until her next mealtime and repeat. I have to admit I do put something tasty on top and mix it in, like a tablespoon of tinned dog food, but that is more for me than the dog! As regards regurgitating after drinking, my Lab used to do this and often after he had eaten, would just bring up the whole meal undigested. I had tests at vet for megaoesophagus but all was well and he grew out of it.
Re: I need advice please A lab that's not food orientated Sorry, can't help on this one but it is worth trying different things such as warm water etc. hope all the advice helps
Re: I need advice please I've had dogs before gulp up water quickly and end up vomitting afterwards, I wonder if it's due to the rapid lapping up of water getting air into their bellies and regurgitating it back up? After an intense work out myself I have had water come back up because I've drank it too quickly. Also, the puppy I'm bringing home is on Royal Canin and while it may be an ok food it is filled with ingredients that are not the best (in my opinion). I'm counting down the days to when I can begin switching her onto a better quality food. Curious as to wether it may not be agreeing with your pups tummy?
Re: I need advice please If you want her to finish meals I would definitely recommend warm water over it. Lola can smell her dinner from the garden! As for the vomiting sounds like she is super thirsty so probably best to take a small bottle of water with you on your walks and if she looks a little bit thirsty make her stop and have a drink and fingers crossed thats all that is making her sick
Re: I need advice please [quote author=Aburns link=topic=5688.msg72608#msg72608 date=1398972231] Also, the puppy I'm bringing home is on Royal Canin and while it may be an ok food it is filled with ingredients that are not the best (in my opinion). I'm counting down the days to when I can begin switching her onto a better quality food. Curious as to wether it may not be agreeing with your pups tummy? [/quote] Can I ask what you are changing to please. I really thought it was a good food (it's costs enough) iv just spent £80 on two 15kg bags and that was with a money of voucher for each bag.
Re: I need advice please [quote author=Trishad3397 link=topic=5688.msg72787#msg72787 date=1399031958] [quote author=Aburns link=topic=5688.msg72608#msg72608 date=1398972231] Also, the puppy I'm bringing home is on Royal Canin and while it may be an ok food it is filled with ingredients that are not the best (in my opinion). I'm counting down the days to when I can begin switching her onto a better quality food. Curious as to wether it may not be agreeing with your pups tummy? [/quote] Can I ask what you are changing to please. I really thought it was a good food (it's costs enough) iv just spent £80 on two 15kg bags and that was with a money of voucher for each bag. [/quote] Absolutely! I'm from Canada so I am not sure what you have available. But I plan to switch my girl to a line we have here called Acana. http://www.acana.com/products/regionals/grasslands/ The breeder has the pups on this: http://www.royalcanin.ca/index.php/Pet-Store-Products/Dog-Diets/Breeds/Labrador-Retriever-Puppy What stands out to me is "by product meal", corn, wheat, gluten as well as preservatives. It's not a lot of meat, or vegetables. Just a lot of fillers. I've searched dogfoodanalysis.com a lot before when I had a bernese mountain dog, Acana grassland is what I had him on as well. Again this is just my opinion.
Re: I need advice please Hi there,sorry I'm slow checking in on this.i live in The Middle East,we are getting into the 40'degree heat now which will last until September at least.i always take water for Dexter....so he has regular small drinks through his excercise....I say small ( he can get through 2 liters in total on an hour and a half walk)because I'd read about bloat...........I don't know a lot about it but enough to terrify me so I'm very careful about him not having a massive ,fast drink when he is really panting ,hot and breathing fast so the gulping down of water that you described me makes me uneasy......taking water with you on a walk as suggested should reduce that. I've got Dexter on RC Gastro as he has a sensitive tummy......he does really well on it so I'm reluctant to change but in an ideal world I'd like him to be on something that is fish protein as it's supposed to be kinder to sensitive tums but I'm so reluctant to go through the changeover process ( reading Lisa's pain on her thread has reinforced this)and the tummy upsets I know will come that I'm staying with what works . I don't think I've said Hi by the way ;D welcome to the forum Angela x
Re: I need advice please Thanks for that Iv just checked and I can get it here in the UK. I'm going to go to the vets I think, alot of people are telling me that there are better options for her. My vet is just very pro Royal Canin- its what the practice sells, they have told me to not change and persevere because it could be a fussy stage she is going through. Thanks again. Hi Angela ;D thanks for advice. I have changed her before and it was a nightmare so i am reluctant to try again but Royal Canin I'm thinking just isn't for her.
