I'll give you a brief history of Vargur before I get into what's going on. He is my first GSD. We brought him home from a backyard breeder at 5 weeks 3 days. We didn't have his exact age, only that he was 'ready to go' and that the majority of his litter mates had been rehomed. The breeder had even mentioned the week before that a lady had taken hers home that day (4 weeks old :shocked. We were naive as far as knowing what a GSD of the appropriate age looks like, but after spending time with him it was obvious he was a lot younger than 8 weeks. By the time I got ahold of the breeder, all of the puppies had been rehomed, and the mother no longer wanted to spend time with the pups anyway (upon receiving this information, I promptly made a Craigslist post with a heads up and advice to other new owners of 5 week old pups). Fortunately, I had fostered a 6 week old 98% wolf hybrid pup in the past, and I know which route I'll need to take with bite inhibition and socialization (which he is excelling in).
At any rate, he is 8 weeks old today. He had his first round 3 way vaccinations at 5 weeks 3 days, and I am planning on giving him his second round and wormer tomorrow (Jan. 16th). He hasn't been allowed to walk anywhere but our home, and the only other place he has been is Petco, for less than 20 minutes, and he never touched anything. All new toys and bowls are washed before use.
The issue:
The night before last, he woke us up at 6:00am vomiting bile (he sleeps in bed with us). We soothed him until the fit seemed to pass, and I let him outside to go potty. When he came back in, he was acting like he was hungry, so I gave him about half of what I normally feed him for breakfast early.
I normally feed him Blue Buffalo Freedom, chicken and rice, grain-free formula for puppies soaked in water really well. He gets about 1 1/8 cup for each meal: breakfast at 7:30am, Lunch at 2:00pm and dinner between 6:00 and 7:00pm. A few days ago, we put him on Blue Buffalo Life Protection, chicken and rice formula for large breed puppies, and I have been mixing that with his old food at a 25/75 ratio.
After he ate his early breakfast, he kept it down, and was his normal, playful self again. He wasn't, nor had he ever been lethargic and I saw no changes in his eating/drinking habits. We waited from 6:30 - 9:00 am, and called the vet's office. I explained what was going on, and she told us to continue to do what I was doing. Keep an eye out for lethargy and disinterest in eating and drinking.
Throughout the rest of the day, he was completely normal (played, ate, drank, took his regular naps). The only difference I've noticed is that the last poop of the day before bed on both of these days was almost like a sticky, greasy, loose consistency, in a much bigger pile. It wasn't dark and tarry, it seemed like a normal color.
He was asleep by 10 and we carried him to bed at 11. He didn't wake me up to take him outside at all (he usually has to go 2-3 times a night, though that is decreasing with age). At 4:30 this morning, as mentioned, he was vomiting bile, a little earlier than the morning before. Afterwards, I let him out. He went pee, came in, and proceeded to howl, pace, whine and bark while I prepared his food - that's how he conveys his hunger. He fell asleep next to me for about 15 minutes while his food soaked, and jumped right up to follow me into the kitchen when I tapped him and asked if he was hungry. He finished eating, walked into the living room, started wagging around and mouthing my hands, then asked to go outside to go #2. He bounded back in, grabbed one of his toys and is currently laying under my legs while he plays with it. He's behaving completely normal.
I have a -hopeful- suspicion that it's because his stomach is empty. Should I be feeding him 4 times a day instead of 3? Or should I give him 1/2 a cup of food around 9 or 10pm? I would really like to try to clear these episodes up before I administer his 2nd round of shots (I don't want his body to be too stressed out).
Also, should I transition him back to the Freedom formula only?
Anyone else have his issue? Any advice is appreciated.
At any rate, he is 8 weeks old today. He had his first round 3 way vaccinations at 5 weeks 3 days, and I am planning on giving him his second round and wormer tomorrow (Jan. 16th). He hasn't been allowed to walk anywhere but our home, and the only other place he has been is Petco, for less than 20 minutes, and he never touched anything. All new toys and bowls are washed before use.
The issue:
The night before last, he woke us up at 6:00am vomiting bile (he sleeps in bed with us). We soothed him until the fit seemed to pass, and I let him outside to go potty. When he came back in, he was acting like he was hungry, so I gave him about half of what I normally feed him for breakfast early.
I normally feed him Blue Buffalo Freedom, chicken and rice, grain-free formula for puppies soaked in water really well. He gets about 1 1/8 cup for each meal: breakfast at 7:30am, Lunch at 2:00pm and dinner between 6:00 and 7:00pm. A few days ago, we put him on Blue Buffalo Life Protection, chicken and rice formula for large breed puppies, and I have been mixing that with his old food at a 25/75 ratio.
After he ate his early breakfast, he kept it down, and was his normal, playful self again. He wasn't, nor had he ever been lethargic and I saw no changes in his eating/drinking habits. We waited from 6:30 - 9:00 am, and called the vet's office. I explained what was going on, and she told us to continue to do what I was doing. Keep an eye out for lethargy and disinterest in eating and drinking.
Throughout the rest of the day, he was completely normal (played, ate, drank, took his regular naps). The only difference I've noticed is that the last poop of the day before bed on both of these days was almost like a sticky, greasy, loose consistency, in a much bigger pile. It wasn't dark and tarry, it seemed like a normal color.
He was asleep by 10 and we carried him to bed at 11. He didn't wake me up to take him outside at all (he usually has to go 2-3 times a night, though that is decreasing with age). At 4:30 this morning, as mentioned, he was vomiting bile, a little earlier than the morning before. Afterwards, I let him out. He went pee, came in, and proceeded to howl, pace, whine and bark while I prepared his food - that's how he conveys his hunger. He fell asleep next to me for about 15 minutes while his food soaked, and jumped right up to follow me into the kitchen when I tapped him and asked if he was hungry. He finished eating, walked into the living room, started wagging around and mouthing my hands, then asked to go outside to go #2. He bounded back in, grabbed one of his toys and is currently laying under my legs while he plays with it. He's behaving completely normal.
I have a -hopeful- suspicion that it's because his stomach is empty. Should I be feeding him 4 times a day instead of 3? Or should I give him 1/2 a cup of food around 9 or 10pm? I would really like to try to clear these episodes up before I administer his 2nd round of shots (I don't want his body to be too stressed out).
Also, should I transition him back to the Freedom formula only?
Anyone else have his issue? Any advice is appreciated.