sick dog - could it be her food?

[Jen W]

Dory had a bout of diarrhea sometime during the night, another one this morning and then vomited (not foamy bile, but discernible food pieces).

She usually eats either the Pork & Applesauce or Chicken & Veg varieties from Fromm's 4-Star Nutritionals line, but last night she got the Duck & Sweet Potato version from this same line for the first time.  I did not slowly transition her to the duck since it is part of the same line and has the same nutritional composition.  Was this a mistake?  Could her getting sick be from the new food variety?

Thanks in advance for any insight anyone has.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

The timing suggests that the new food may not have agreed with her. 

If the diarrhea and vomiting were caused by the food, they should stop once you go back to her usual diet. If they don't, there is something else going on. 

[Jen W]

Thanks, Karen.  I appreciate the insight.  

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Please keep us posted. :)

[J and Riley (and Luna)]

Also keep in mind Fromm would probably take the food back - so if you only finish a small part of the bag take it back to the store and exchange it for one of the types that agrees with her.

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Or perhaps you could donate it to your local shelter?

[Jen W]

I don't think it's the food anymore as early this morning she had diarrhea and vomited again (fed her the duck on Sunday and today is Wednesday).  Just waiting for the vet's office to open in 1/2 hour.

She seemed normal during the day yesterday, energy level was fine, she was hungry, etc.  But something isn't right.  Loose stools would be one thing, but the vomiting is what worries me.

I did return the duck variety to the store though and they happily exchanged it for her usual pork variety.

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

Has she gotten in to anything that she shouldn't have..picked something up from outside?

Not to be gross, but what type of vomit is it now, is it foamy bile? or is it still food pieces?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

These would be my questions, too. 

There is a difference between vomiting and regurgitating. If the food is coming back up looking pretty much like it went down, and without a lot of retching and heaving, that's regurgitating, and the causes can be different than those for vomiting. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

How old is Dory? 

[Jen W]

She is almost 2 (21 months).

It's not foamy bile that she had when she was younger from having an empty stomach.  This definitely seems more like vomit than regurgitation.  You can make out some food pieces, but not many.  And she heaves beforehand (which thankfully gave me just enough time to turn her around and point her to non carpeted flooring!)

We have an appt. at 2:30.  I'm not planning on feeding her before then. 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Here is some advice for your vet appointment. 

I would not give my dog metronidazole (Flagyl) without a very good reason, i.e. a clear infection of some sort. This is an antibiotic that can have significant side-effects after it is discontinued, including ongoing digestive issues and diarrhea. Yet for some reason, many vets seem to prescribe it any time a dog has diarrhea. Because of that, I spent many years with previous dogs believing it was a benign diarrhea medicine. It's not. 

I would not purchase Rx food; it is pure garbage and contains no medicinal or therapeutic ingredients at all. What it does contain is often corn and cellulose, for which you pay more than any dog food on the market. If the vet suggests a "bland diet", politely tell him/her that you will feed a homemade bland diet of chicken and rice, with some pumpkin. 

Don't buy Fortiflora, an overpriced probiotic made by Purina. It also contains some lousy ingredients. If the vet suggests a probiotic, you want Proviable DC. Some vets sell it, otherwise you can order it on-line.

It does sound to me like she might have ingested a foreign object of some kind, so an X-ray might be helpful.  

Good luck, please let us know how the vet visit goes and what you learn.

[Jen W]

Thank you!  I've actually been going through the posts here and writing down medications that I will not accept and am rehearsing my rebuttal if a suggestion is made for Hill's ID.  I also just ordered some Proviable DC online for next day delivery.

I will let you know what they say!  Thanks again everyone!