Vomiting On 3-Week Cycles

[Mookie]

Hoping someone has an answer -  Our 10 month old labradoodle (Mookie) goes through bouts of vomiting every three weeks like clockwork.  This usually lasts four or five days.  He loses his appetite about the second day.  Then at the end of the cycle he gains back his appetite and returns to his normal happy self.  We've tested for Addisons (negative), done multiple x-rays (nothing showing), blood urine and stool tests, gone to ZD ultra - and now we're out of ideas and options.  We've done the rice and chicken diet, tried medicating with reglan and sucralfate, all to no avail.  He's just started vomiting again and is really uncomfortable.  He has an appointment with the vet in the morning but even the vet and the surgeon we've seen are stumped.  Any ideas? We're desperate... Dave and Bethany for Mookie

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

What kind of food to you feed?
A lot of my first dog's stomach issues have been linked to diet.

[Mookie]

Hi -

Thanks for writing. I think you can probably see my reply to Staci and Simon below. That's the latest - thanks for posting.

Dave (for Bethany and Mookie)

[Staci & Simon]

Our Labradoodle, Simon, went through something similar. He's now 20 mos. but he basically vomited from the day we brought him home. It wasn't as routine as your Mookie's though. He would randomly vomit almost daily. We tried so many different kibbles & did end up on the Z/D Ultra too. (which isn't a very good food nutrient-wise) We also spent thousands on tests and finally bit the bullet & had an endoscopy done. Turns out Simon has Inflammatory Bowel Disease. (IBD) There are different forms of IBD but our Simon basically has Crohn's Disease. The endoscopy revealed ulcers all through his gastrointestinal tract. Simon had been on different doses of Prednisone for quite some time but once the IBD was exposed we had to increase his dose which he does take daily. We were not so thrilled at the thought of him being on the prednisone for his whole life so we have been trying a Holistic Vet for about 6 mos. now. She switched him over to a raw diet immediately stating that he'll probably never be able to digest kibble. Our dog stopped the vomiting immediately! With a few digestive supplements we also have his prednisone dose down to a minimum! One more thing...we did figure out over time that Simon does not do well w/CHICKEN (which is in almost everything) Have you found anything that Mookie has a hard time digesting?

[Mookie]

Hello Staci and Simon -
Thanks for writing. I tried to answer the other night from my iPhone, but for some reason it didn't post. Anyway - we took the plunge and went raw over the weekend. We looked up some recipes and Bethany went shopping on Saturday morning. We spent most of the morning slicing, dicing, and mixing. Mookie took his first "raw" bite later than afternoon, and hasn't looked back. He's been feeling really well and seems enthusiastic about the raw diet. We will see if we miss the next sick cycle, which should occur over Valentine's day weekend. We're very optimistic as he's been eating and feeling very well.

Thanks for the post and for the information. We'll keep you posted. Our best to you and Simon!

Dave (for Bethany and The Mook)

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

This sounds promising. I sure hope so. Nancy and little Ned

[Allyson, Peri & Taquito]

Best of luck - I hope you have positive results!

[Staci & Simon]

That's awesome! I really hope Mook continues to enjoy his raw! We (Dave & I) do prepare food for Simon but I thought I'd also let you guys know that we also give Simon Nature's Variety Raw Medallions. We've tried the Lamb & the Rabbit. I usually keep him on one kind for about 6 weeks. We switch it up for him because he does much better digesting when his food is rotated. Although, we only rotate raw. I have tried to give him a few kibble pieces here & there to see how he does....it NEVER works. He vomits within minutes!

Well, good luck to The Mook! Keep us updated!

Staci (Dave & Simon too!)

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

I'm so happy to hear that you have probably found your answer to Mookie's problem. Our Guinness has also been diagnosed with IBD...it's no fun. We're doing a home cooking diet which has also seemed to help. I think there are some dogs who are just not cut out for kibble. Here's hoping that you skip that next cycle. Good Luck!

[Staci & Simon]

Hi Jane & Guinness! So sorry to hear that Guinness has the IBD like our Simon:( It's been such long road for us & Simon's only 20 mos. old. I was just wondering how old Guinness is? Did you go through lots of tests as we did? Did Guinness end up having an endoscopy as well? Does he also take Prednisone daily? Just wondering what's been working for you guys & what hasn't.

I know, lots of questions. I'm sorry. I just haven't found any other dogs with IBD & we're always looking for help/advice.

Best wishes to you & Guinness!

Staci

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Hi Staci & Simon. There is no specific test that can be done to diagnose IBD. Basically, the vet had to rule out other causes of his issues and then landed on IBD. He had blood work and a special stool analysis. Because she was able to rule everything else out, she landed on the IBD. Guinness is 10 months old and has really had the intermittent diarrhea since he was a puppy. Then it got to the point where he had it most of the time. I tried just about every premium kibble. His stools would firm up for the first few days and then he'd be right back to diarrhea. On his last flare up it was constant and he also vomited. My vet did not recommend an endoscopy at this point nor did she want to put him on steroids. She wanted to start by drastically adjusting his diet. That's when I made the decision to move him to home cooking. It's been about two weeks now and all of his problems are gone. Let's hope that continues. I've introduced foods slowly, but haven't found any "people food" what bothers him. He's tolerated everything. The raw diet was one option, but my vet was more in favor of the home cooking. Also there are kids in and out of our house all the time, and I did not think it would be safe. He's in therapy training, and raw diet is also discouraged for therapy dogs because the patients he would interact with often have compromised immune systems. So, with the help of the wonderful folks in the Food Group we moved to home cooking. Keep me posted on Simon's progress and I'll do the same.

[Mookie]

Hi Everyone! Thank you for your wonderful replies and good wishes! (I hope you don't mind that both Dave and I post from one profile...) Jane, that's wonderful news about Guinness! I hope his tummy smooths out and things get easier from here. I've been thinking about you all week as we work with Mookie's new raw diet. I'm glad to hear Simon is doing well, too Staci. Can you tell me how often your rotate Simon's food? I read that I should rotate meat but I didn't know how often. We give Mook hamburger one day and turkey the next. Is that too often? Does it matter? Also, Jane and Staci, do you notice Simon or Guinness getting bloodshot eyes when they don't feel good? We've noticed that about Mookie. I was wondering if that's an IBD/IBS thing, a Doodle thing, or a Mookie thing. :)

[Staci & Simon]

Hey Bethany & Dave too!! I have noticed Simon's eyes become a bit bloodshot when he's not feeling well...but I thought that was just me over-analyzing!! That's interesting that it happens w/Mookie too.
As far as our food rotation, I usually rotate Simon's raw approx. every 6-8 weeks. I can usually see his stools loosening & then I'll switch. I do throw some homecooked in there quite often too. Not with the raw though. Simon's done well on boiled hamburg & I have tried boiled ground turkey which seemed to work out ok. Whatever protein I give him, I also have to give him either boiled potatoes or white rice. (he doesn't tolerate brown rice) 60% protein, 40% potatoes or rice. I would prefer to not give him so much starch & grain but this is all that's consistently worked for us.
Im not sure how often we're "supposed" to rotate our foods ...with Simon it's been ALL trial & error!