[Mynticelx]

Merry Xmas eve to all.. this is my first time posting and I'm hoping maybe I can get some insights from the GS community.

I have a 5yr old male GS (Smoke) who weighs about 90lbs. We woke up last Saturday to a very sick dog. He had thrown up multiple times in his room and couldn't keep anything down. We gave him a little water that only lasted about 5 minutes before he thew it up. His system/body was completely exhausted. He just laid around everywhere and didn't want to move.

We took him to the vet that morning and they gave him a shot to settle his stomach. The vet thinks that it's a GI issue and told us to give him Pepcid AC once a day and prescribed Sucralfate to give him every 8 hrs. He also told us to go on a diet of soft food (chicken and rice) for the next couple days.

Smoke started to look better by the next night and was back to his bubbly self over the next couple days. He hadn't had a vomiting issue since that Saturday, and we were finished with his prescription.

Things were looking good...

Until we started to work back in his regular diet (Purina One healthy weight). Last night, I put in 1.5 cups of hard food with his chicken and rice. When I woke up this morning, he had thrown it all up again.

At this point, not sure if it's still just a lingering stomach issue or something bigger. We are going back to a bland diet of chicken and rice - but I'm at a loss of what else to do.

Any thoughts?

 

[Stosh]

I would suspect and insensitivity to the food. I'd try a grain-free, higher quality brand. Some dogs can't tolerate chicken well either, so you could try brown rice with cooked ground beef for a few days to settle his stomach. I'd call the vet on Monday. Has he been tested for parasites, worms, etc?

 

[arycrest]

Merry Christmas ... sorry to hear Smoke is having digestive problems. I agree it sounds like he's having a problem with his regular diet ... it may be something as simple as a bad bag of food or something more complex as suggested by Stosh. Since this is a long weekend, I'd try to contact your vet this AM and see what he thinks!

GOOD LUCK!!!

 

[ZAYDA]

Try him on boiled chicken or beef and brown rice just to see how that goes. You could add a little pumpkin puree also to his food . Just in case you can't get him to the vet I would not feed him his kibble for sure.

 

[Hunther's Dad]

Smoke started to look better by the next night and was back to his bubbly self over the next couple days. He hadn't had a vomiting issue since that Saturday, and we were finished with his prescription.

Things were looking good...

Until we started to work back in his regular diet (Purina One healthy weight). Last night, I put in 1.5 cups of hard food with his chicken and rice. When I woke up this morning, he had thrown it all up again.

Sounds like a problem with the kibble. Did this start up when you opened a new bag of his regular food?

 

[Mynticelx]

Back to the vet. After waiting through the Xmas holiday, we decided to take Smoke back the vet today. They did a fecal test which came back normal, but also did blood work. All of his blood work came back normal except his liver enzymes.

They registered above 1000 (aka off the charts, they are supposed to be from 10-100). Our vet is having us bring him in tomorrow to do some more blood work (take blood before eating, then feed, then take it after eating), while also doing an xray on the liver.

If we don't get anything back from there, his next recommendation is to do a liver biopsy.

Anyone heard of they type symptoms? Any ideas on the direction of what to look for?

 

[XTOL]

Sudden liver problems with no prior history of any liver
problems sounds like tainted food. The dog food tainted
with melamine a couple years ago did the same thing.

I would definitely not feed any more of that kibble
until you are sure of the cause. Feed well cooked
ground beef and rice for a while. Or chicken and rice.

Hope your guy gets feeling better soon...

 

[LisaT]

It sounds food related, but could just be irritated by the kibble.

Are there any mushrooms in the yard that he could have gotten into?

 

[Mynticelx]

Back for another visit today. Vet ran the bile test on him and xray'ed him as well. The bile test came back fine (which shows proper liver function) and the xrays looked fairly normal.. a little sign of a GI issue. At this point, we are going on some meds to help his GI issue and will adjust his food. Vet still trying to think through other issues.

 

[Stosh]

Best wishes for a full recovery...soon!

 

[Pattycakes]

I agree with not feeding his kibble until you know whats going on. I would also consider switchiing him to a grain free kibble.

Hope you can find the cause of your dogs tummy troubles and he gets to feeling better soon. Keep us posted!