[lulu]

Ok, all of you know the problem I have been having with my poor Ekim and his vomiting. Well Ekim was always free fed until a few months ago when he had to go on a diet as he was up tp 95 lbs. So I started feeding him twice a day 1 1/2 cups of his food. He was on wellness but soft poops so I switched to canidae weight management same amount of food but poops were great and no problems with his allergies. Now we just switched to canidae lamb and rice.Lamb  might be better for his tummy. Problem is he began vomiting every few nights, undigested food.The past few mornings he was vomiting some bile. His appetite is great, poops good and activity level is normal. At night, anywhere from 2 - 5 hours after meals he vomited. Yesterday the vet told me to free feed him again, and make sure he has food at all times, well he wolfed down about 5 cups at one sitting. Not only that but Delila was in his bowl eating like a piggy, and I woke up to a lot of mushy poops all over my dining room. Good thing is Ekim didn't vomit, but I am not about to feed my dogs 6 or more cups a day and have them get overweight and poop all day. I am at a loss, I did try feeding him 4 small meals and that didn't work with the vomiting. My other question is how do I free feed him and not her if this is the solution to his vomiting problem? Or how do I get enough in him so he doesn't vomit? Ekim was on science diet,( vet prescribed it I didn't know it wasn't a good food ) before his diet  he never had a problem vomiting, but his allergies were worse on it. I am so upset right now I don't know what to do. Any advice will be appreciated. I am so sorry about all the vomiting posts I am sure you are sick of them.

 

[luvmyboxers]

Not sure if this is the problem but someone on here once helped me with the same problem.  I feed mine 1 1/2 cups in a.m. and the same in the p.m.  Mo would gobble up her food pretty fast and then vomit whole pieces of food later.  Someone said she might just be eating too fast.  I still feed her the same amount but give her a 1/2 cup at a time so she can't gobble it all up at once.  You could try that to see if that works.  It works for Mo.

 

[sully]

Well short of a medical issue which only your vet should rule out, it could be a food allergy but it could be he's just wolfing the food down too quickly since he's eating throughout the day.  He's puking in the morning probably because he's hungry (see "hunger pukes") because the food at night is not being fully digested after he pukes it up.  From a metabolic standpoint, smaller frequent meals throughout the day would be better than 1 or 2 large meals.  It would keep the metabolism burning at a very high rate and may keep Ekim from eating too much too quickly. Once in a routine, this may actually help him lose weight.  Some people also suggest putting the food down on a cookie sheet, it takes longer to eat.  But if he keeps puking it up, it could be the food and I would try switching foods again.   I mean just temporarily you may want to boil some chicken and rice and see if he can keep it down, then you can attempt to rule out the kibble brand.

 

[sumyasmom]

Luann i think sullys suggestion is worth a try.i hope you get it figured out, i know it is so stressful for you.

 

[Barbs2Ks]

Hard to tell which it is, eating too fast or the food.  I would do what the sully suggested (cookie sheet or put something in the bowl he has to eat around) and if that doesn't stop it then it may be the food.  Kiah vomited on all the foods she was on except what we are feeding her now so for us it wasn't how fast she ate.

 

[sharonL]

I also agree that feeding several meals through the day is better then free feeding.  You wont be able to control the food on a free feed and that is next to imposible when you have two of them....You will have poop and over weight dogs and no way to get around that.....It does sound like either he is not getting along with his food or he is not digesting it at night.  Did you try the yogurt at night yet?

 

[lulu]

Sully, I tried all of the suggestions you had to offer and he still vomited, I really think he needs a new food to, but canidae is so far the only one that hasn't caused his allergies to act up. I just don't know what to switch him to. I did give him yogurt at night per Sharons question.Still vomited.  Funny thing is that he didn't vomit last night after he gorged himself on the food. Could it be that I am not feeding enough? I agree I really don't want to free feed with 2 dogs, the only reason I started that when Ekim was young was that it was the only way we could get him to eat and my old vet had me free feed. Now I wish I never did it. I wonder why he never vomits in the day time. Maybe I shoul feed him later or more at night or just switch the food. He did have blood work a few weeks ago when this started and all was well, if it persists the vet will run further tests.

 

[sumyasmom]

i like the food i have sumya on it is for allergies and sensitive digestive systems, maybe you would want to give that a try?

 

[Newcastle]

I switched to canidae weight management same amount of food but poops were great and no problems with his allergies. Now we just switched to canidae lamb and rice.

Why did you switch to the lamb and rice?  (Also, which formula of Canidae is the weight management - the Platinum?)

You could try feeding later at night, last meal at 11 p.m. or so, which would probably help with the bile vomiting.

 

[sully]

Yeah I would play around with the Canidae flavors.  How about the regular life stages?  I know you don't want to switch because you say his allergies are good, but if he's puking from the food then his allergies aren't good  

Normally I wouldn't advise it but personally I would remove the kibble and feed a bland homecooked diet for a day or two and see if he vomits.  That will tell you if it's the food or not.  And if it's not, you may need to find a new vet.

 

[lulu]

Sully the life stages and the Platinum weight management all have 4 different protiens in it. That is why vet suggested the lamb.Only one source of protien in it. Also if it is the food I wonder why he is not sick all day long? It is only at night. Since he had been on a diet and not free feeding he doesn't eat sfter 9pm, I am going to try a late night feeding per Newcastle's advice. As far as my vet, he tried bloodwork, x rays stool sample and everything was clear. He wanted to eliminate the food problem before he ran more invasive tests as Ekim has no other symptoms. If it persists I will have him do any test to get to the bottom of this. The nutrionalist in the vets office says it can take weeks to adjust sometimes. And the free feeding he was used to is also an adjustment to his body a he only grazed all day. Thanks for the advice I really appreciate it.