Stomach Growling and Throwing Up!!

[jaybizy1800]

I’m new to the forum and a first time GSD owner, but I’ve been on here from time to time to read up on the useful information given by other dedicated GSD owners. Sadly, my first post on here is about my lil girl having some issues this morning when I woke up to her stomach growling and her cold wet nose nudging my elbow on the side of my bed. This is nothing new as she would sometimes wake me up with her growling stomach and I would get out of bed and feed her. Sometimes she would even throw up bile and eat her breakfast right after like nothing ever happened. But, this morning after throwing up due to her growling stomach she refused to eat her breakfast and felt helpless as she sat in front of me starting at me. This week I just reduced her food intake from 3 cups to 2 cups due to the feeding guidelines of her kibble. I feed her Canidae Pure Elements formula and the feeding suggestion is 3 cups till 6 monts and 2 cups after that, but I waited till 9 months because she was really active during the warmer months here in California. She would also do this when I started feeding her raw, and I read when dogs eat raw they digest their food at a faster rate which would cause the growling empty stomach in the morning. This was never a problem till now. Does this happen to anyone else out there??? Should I keep feeding her 3 cups regardless of what the bag says?? She’s not over weight either she’s a lean 64lbs. I’m really worried and I plan to take her to the vet if she doesn’t eat tomorrow morning.


I also reduced her intake because she’s currently battling another episode of pano , so I reduced her activity level to just bathroom breaks and back.


Thanks to those who stopped by to read my post and any feedback is much appreciated.

John B.

[msvette2u]

Yes keep her on 3 cups.
That's 1 1/2 AM and 1 1/2 PM, right? If you don't feed 2x a day, maybe start.

[Lucy Dog]

Ok... i've dealt with this many times before, so I know exactly what you're talking about.

Let's start with the stomach growling and the throwing up. The throwing up is due to stomach acid building up and making her nauseous. When she's nauseous, she throws up. When she starts throwing up, her stomach starts growling because it's empty, but at the same time she doesn't feel good so she doesn't feel like eating. It's basically a "chain reaction" of events causing all this.

Here's what you need to do to avoid this from happening. ALWAYS KEEP FOOD IN HER STOMACH! If there's no food in her stomach, acid will build up, and she will throw up. I'd switch to feeding her 3 times a day (1 cup morning, 1 cup afternoon, 1 cup night), so 3 cups total. Three cups should be find of that food... if she starts gaining weight, slighty reduce the food. Also, feed treats between meals and right before she goes to sleep. Anything you can do to reduce that stomach acid build up, do it.

Probiotics should help too. In addition to always keeping food in her stomach, some quality probiotics can help. It's definitely helped with Lucy. I recommend the "Solaray 12". These have been great and you should be able to pick them up if you have a local vitamin store near you like Whole Foods. I wouldn't order them online because they always need to be refrigerated.

Solaray, Multidophilus 12, 20 Billion, 100 Veggie Caps (Ice) - iHerb.com

Now for her current episode and refusing to eat. Do you have any canned food or extra high value treats like chicken or beef? Anything that will really entice her to eat. She needs food in her stomach to stop the nauseousness and stomach growling. Once she eats a little, that growling will immediately go away. When she stops the nauseousness and finally gets a little food in her stomach, I'll guarantee she starts feeling better.

Good luck.

[jaybizy1800]

Thanks guys for your quick replys! Reading what you guys wrote made my day easier at work.

When I got home her food was gone and she was back to normal. I just fed her an extra scoop because it looked like she was starving.

Thanks again!
John B.

[VegasResident]

Empty stomach can cause the barf.

Also do not forget the other growling stomach throw up cause with not wanting to eat after can be acute colitis due to something not agreeing.

[Lesley1905]

Brody did this a little bit when he was younger as well. If I went to long in between meals this would happen. If you can't feed her 3 meals a day, at least give her some treats. We usually feed at 630am and 600pm. BUT, in between, they do get a couple of little snacks!