When to go to the vet...throwing up 2 nights in a row from new treats

[Jess & Stewart]

It's been really miserable in Philly this week-raining, thunderstorms, the works almost everyday. Monday, I was barely able to take Stew out to go to the bathroom, let alone for a walk. It was a bad Stew night, he was crazy, attention seeking and it was REALLY hard not give him attention for barking.

Anyway, I bought chicken and made jerky/training bits by dehydrating them in the oven. I gave Stew A LOT of them as part of his dinner with a small amount of dry food, when we were training/playing fetch. Basically, every time he'd return the ball/toy, I'd give him a small piece (like a zuke's mini).

Monday- threw up in the middle of the night. He drank water after, he peed/pooped no problem.

Tuesday morning- drank water, peed/pooped no problem, although it was a little soft. He didn't eat his breakfast so I left it in his crate with his PB Kong. He hadn't eaten his breakfast when I got home from work, but my dog walker said he'd eaten his Kong, peed/pooped, but soft again.

Tuesday night- he ate part of the breakfast and his dinner (about 1 cup worth, since I deduct  a bit for the kongs).

Tuesday in the middle of the night- threw up again, then guarded it when I tried to clean it up. I couldn't get him away from it, so I was up at 2 am trying to bribe him into his crate for 30 minutes. FINALLY, got him in, then cleaned it up. He threw up again at 5 am, guarded it again, I cleaned it up, then took him for a walk, he peed and pooped immediately, and it was pretty watery.

I came back inside and he laid down and went right back to sleep until I got up at 7. I couldn't fall back asleep unfortunately.

Is this just the treats working the way out of his system? Do I give him a bland diet for a few days, add some pumpkin or yogurt to his dry food? When do I take him to the vet, if at all?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

He needs to go to the vet now. Repeated vomiting over a period of days is not caused by treats "working their way through his system". At the very least, he needs sub-q fluids and an anti-nauseant. Yes, I would feed the bland diet (adding yogurt and/or pumpkin to his kibble probably won't help; yogurt is for probiotics, which would not be a factor in this case, pumpkin is added for fiber, to help regulate stool)  but he needs to be seen by the vet first. 

I hope he starts feeling better soon.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

Definitely....hoping this isn't pancreatitis.

[Rosemary (Ro) and Enzo]

Time for a Vet visit NOW!  Keep us posted and hoping he is feeling better soon.

[Jess & Stewart]

At the vet, I've been here since 4:30. They said he's acting fine, bright etc, but he was sore and yelped when they touched the back of his abdomen. They think he has GI upset or inflammation in his colon. He's getting a X-ray and fluids now to rule out anything. If there's no obstruction, they'll let me take him home and give him a bland diet for 24-48 hrs then check back in.

I'm glad I'm doing an X-ray now because I didn't want to rush to admit him if I didn't need to. Hopefully it won't be much longer.

One question- can I submit any claim to insurance about this? Would any of it be covered? I have pet plan and haven't used it yet.

[F, Calla & Luca]

If the amount is over your deductible there is no reason I see that you could not submit a claim. I hope you get to take Stewart hope and that he recovers quickly.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Are they doing bloodwork? 

[Jill, Woody & Maxi]

There is a certain blood test to tell if it is pancreatitis or not…I forget the name of it….

I'm glad you are at the vet, hope all is going well!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Yep, that was what I was thinking of, too. 

[Jess & Stewart]

We are home, Stew is already asleep.

In the words of Doctor Doolittle, he just had gas! The vet told me Stew's whole intestines were inflamed & there was a lot of gas on the xray. Bloodwork was normal, he wasn't dehydrated. She said he just needs to work it all out. I'll feed him a bland diet for the next few days, then introduce his food. I'm glad it wasn't serious!

Today was exhausting, I'm going to bed!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

'm hoping that the vet didn't really say his intestines were inflamed, because that would mean that he had a very serious disease indeed, and it isn't something that you can see on an X-ray anyway, or tell by doing blood work either. 

But whatever it is, at any rate, I'm glad he's okay.:)

Did the vet think the treats caused him to have the gas and digestive issues? 

[Jess & Stewart]

Irritated, I guess it was. I forget, today's been a very long day. She said it may have been the treats, even though they were only chicken, he was probably not used to them.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

We had this with Fudge when she was very young. I was panicked, took her to the emergency vet....$700 later, the vet told us it was gas too. My husband said we had never had that big of a gas bill before. Hope he feels better soon.