Vomiting mostly undigested food

[welldigging]

My 3 y/o GSD mix has been vomiting mostly undigested food almost 4-5 hours after eating. It’s not every day, but i would say once a month, maybe less. It didn’t start until he was probably around 2-2 1/2. It’s happened the last two nights, but he has no problem eating in the morning. He’s also still using the restroom just fine. He doesn’t act like he’s the least bit bothered either when it happens. We’ve mentioned it to his vet, but they said since it’s not often it’s nothing to worry about. It just seems a little worrisome to me. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[august99]

@welldigging This is how my dogs food allergy started manifesting itself (apparently my chicken-obsessed dog is, in fact, allergic to chicken ) This happened for a while and then it moved to her looking and feeling miserable. She’s now on a hydrolyzed protein kibble and doing great. But it may be worth discussing a food allergy with your vet.

 

[welldigging]

@august99 We will definitely consider that!! He eats taste of the wild high prairie which is bison and venison. Do you happen to know if those are common allergies?

 

[august99]

@welldigging Food allergies in dogs are often protein based. So yeah, bison, venison, poultry, salmon, etc are common. Hydrolyzed protein food essentially makes proteins “invisible” to a dog’s immune system so they don’t react.

It is more expensive, which isn’t ideal. But my dog did so well on it that I’ve just kept her on it rather than trying a bunch of different foods to find one that works. It’s not as expensive as a raw food diet or anything.

 

[irishcanadian402]

@welldigging My white shep girl did this too, same answer from my vet. No allergies, no health problems all her life - right up to the point where cancer hit us like a mallet.

As long as the vet gives them a clean bill of health and they eat&poop well (as my girl did) I would in fact not be concerned. Dogs also regurgitate food for their puppies or if something does not sit right with them (like swallowed something indigestable). It's simply something they occasionally do.

If however it gets out of hand maybe there is an underlying issue. Feeding smaller meals more times a day can help if you feed in big portions as can limiting physical exercise after meals - if you have not yet thought of that...

 

[welldigging]

@irishcanadian402 Thank you so much for your thorough response. I may try the smaller portions. We already make sure not to exercise him 30 min before and after he eats. I’m hoping it will resolve itself, but if it continues for a couple more days we may have to schedule an appointment.

 

[irishcanadian402]

@welldigging If he vomits more often than once I'd definitely do that. He could be trying to regurgitate something he swallowed...

For me it's this with nearly every sign that could mean something is seriously wrong: once is a fluke, twice I'm concerned (and go to see our vet) - more often than that I drop everything and rush to our resident universitys 24/7 vet clinic.

Yes, within reason of course, no need for ER with just a limp - but I think you get what I mean...