Desperate help with Puppy regurgitation!

[Andrea Lignelle]

Hi all!  I am pleased to announce the newest addition to our family!  Out precious Charlie (girl) goldendoodle.  Our first week has come with much anxiety however as our little girl keeps regurgitating.  (usually a few hours after she eats and it looks almost the same when she ate it).

 I have taken her to the vet  3 times and not sure what to do.  Just today we switched her dog food to one geared more toward a puppy with a sensitive stomach.  So far the vet has done stool tests and a barium exray (for her esophugus) and a regular x ray and all were good.  We've had her 9 days and she has regurgitated about 6 of those days, multiple times each day.  Also a few times she vomited bile.  She had lost a pound but then put it back on.  We tried chicken and rice for a few days, she threw that up also.  She has tons of energy though.

I talked to the breeder, all the other puppies are fine.  She is like a grabage can outside, she eats everything, but we have been diligent about getting it out of her mouth.  If the diet change does not work, not sure what we will do.  The vet is talking about another barium test and possible exploratory surgery!  Yikes!!!!!   Has anyone ever had this problem? 

Thanks for any help you might be!

Andrea

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

I would certainly get it in writing that the breeder will help with vet costs, and also look into pet insurance if it isnt too late. Hopefully Charlie will be ok

[Andrea Lignelle]

Thanks Kaytlin!

 

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

what food were you feeding, what are you feeding now and what did the breeder feed? (kibble? canned? raw? what brand?)

 

I agree maybe try slowing her down  -I use a slow feed bowl for Cooper, it slowed her from 30 seconds to 3 minutes. or you can spread food out on a cookie sheet, or use a kong or treat dispensing toy. Maybe soften the food with water or gravy if you feed kibble. Probiotics may help too - my kitten has terrible digestion when on kibble (hes fine on raw) and it really helps.

 

Id definitely keep doing tests and maybe try to find a specialist incase it is pyloric stenosis

[Andrea Lignelle]

thanks for the advice, I am so touched by all the responses, I am really working on slowing her meals down.  She is on dry dog food, Natural choice small puppy bites and I am adding water to soften it, with chicken rice and oatmeal for sensitive stomachs, we also tried boiled chicken and rice when this all started.  I will keep you posted, thanks!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'd get her off the Natural Choice; it's likely that the food itself is not the culprit here, but Nutro is not a very good company. Please check our Food Group list of Recommended Foods for better brands. You might try Wellness Simple Solutions.

Canned food might work better for her, too.

[Kaytlin and Cooper]

Agreed. Check out the food group for recommended brands. Nutro (who makes Natural Choice) used to be a pretty good brand, but no longer is all that great. Id look for a simple food - 1 protein, 1 carb, and stay away from less digestible grains - go either grain free (pea or potato) or look for something with oatmeal or brown rice, as long as its not too grain heavy.

 

Keep us updated with Charlies progress and the response you get from your breeder

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Nutro was sold to Mars in 2007 (perhaps not coincidentally, the same year as the melamine recalls).

Back in 1990, when I started feeding it, it was considered one of the best quality foods you could buy, and remained so for a long time.

[Andrea Lignelle]

Thanks for the advice about the food.  She does seem to be keeping it down for now, so I hate to switch food again right away, maybe I'll wait a little while to make sure her stomach has settled. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

You're probably right, a food change right now would not be the best idea if she's doing okay with it, at least until you have a handle on the medical issues. Adding another variable to an already puzzling situation will only make it more confusing.

But soft foods are easier for them to get down, so it might be something to keep in mind. I do not think the underlying cause of the regurgitating is directly related to the food.

[Bonnie and Kona]

Dear Andrea, I am so very sorry to hear about your sweet Charlie. Just want to tell you that I will be waiting to hear more news about how she is doing and will be holding good thoughts for her and for you.

[Andrea Lignelle]

Thanks for your kind words!

 

[Melody & Bruin]

My son's dog did this as well, she just outgrew it.  She was also a fast eater, they had to slow her down by smaller amounts and a lot of hand feeding.  Good luck to you.