Occasionally throwing up undigested kibble 8+ hours after eating

[Michelle and Chloe]

I was wondering if anyone has had this happen.  Chloe will have her morning meal and 8 hours later when I come home from work she goes to her water bowl and then a few minutes later vomits up undigested kibble from her morning meal.  She has done this 3 times over the past month and at the time I wasn't concerned because I thought maybe she drank too much water and just regurgitated.  Shouldn't the food she ate in the morning be digested already?   She is acting like her normal self, energetic, wanting to play.....  She has been pooping and there hasn't been any noticeable changes in the poop formation.  I did change her food around 3 months ago from Taste of the Wild lamb to Fromm's beef and lamb (I combine the two).  After her last episode, I moved her bowl to an elevated feeder but today she vomited up a small amount of kibble (5-6 pieces) and is now wanting her evening meals (so no loss of appetite).  Is all this normal or should I make an appointment with the vet?

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Well, this happened with my Jack, and it ended up being Inflammatory Bowel Disease, an incurable immune-mediated disease similar to Crohn's disease in humans, with a 20% fatality rate. So while that's a worst case scenario and I hope this isn't the same thing, you probably do need to talk to the vet.

Some questions:

How old is she?

When she regurgitates, is it all of her morning meal or just a few pieces? 

Is she keeping her dinner down? It's only the morning meal that comes up? 

Do you ever hear very loud stomach noises after she drinks water? 

Has she ingested anything she shouldn't have over the past several months? 

Have you introduced any new treats or chews in the past month or so?

Do you notice her drooling, licking or smacking her lips frequently, or burping more than usual? 

 

[Michelle and Chloe]

Karen, she is 6 1/2 yrs old.  

One time she threw up a large amount and the other 2 times were just a few pieces of kibble.  I have noticed that when we are in the backyard recently she does like to eat grass and she then vomits shortly after (usually bile looking)

She seems to keep her dinner down and have only noticed this problem of vomiting late afternoon or early evening before she has eaten her dinner.

I have lately been hearing her stomach gurgling after some meals and I have never noticed this in the past.  She is also a little bit gassy lately.  Could her change of food over 3 months ago be causing issues?  Most of her life she has been on Taste of the Wild Lamb and I changed her food because I heard Fromm's was a good brand and made in the US.

As for her ingesting anything, she does have an obsession of chewing on sticks outside and I take it away when I catch her doing this but I'm sure she has swallowed pieces she has chewed off.  

She has had new treats that were made at a local shop where she gets groomed but she has had them before just not this flavor. 

She has been licking her paws more than usual but I haven't noticed any excessive drooling.

She goes to daycare twice a week and they told me over the past several months she is more active in the mornings and by afternoon she gets grouchy and just wants to nap (though, she has never been a dog that plays a lot with other dogs).  They told me maybe she is resting more because she is older but I didn't think 6 1/2 is considered old.

 

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Which exact Fromm's formulas is she getting? TOTW is grain free, and a lot of Fromm's formulas do contain grains, so it's possible that she is having a problem with the grains, although if that were the case, it wouldn't only be happening with breakfast.  

There are so many variables with digestive diseases, and there's no way to know what may or not be causing a problem. Even when you have a diagnosis, you often don't know the cause. If the regurgitating occurred on days she went to daycare, it's possible that she was too active too soon after breakfast, which would prevent her from fully digesting the food. Licking paws is a sign of Atopy, which is an immune-mediated disease, and it's very common for dogs who have IBD to also have Atopy, both stemming from an overactive immune system. 

The fact that it only happens with breakfast and never dinner is a good sign. Jack regurgitated all of his food from all meals. 

You might try giving her Pepcid or Zantac (generics are fine) about 15-30 minutes before breakfast and restricting her activity for 30-60 minutes after breakfast. Try to keep her diet simple and don't introduce any new flavors or foods. Once I know which Fromm formulas you're using, I may be able to make some other suggestions. 

But if this continues or gets worse, I'd see the vet. 

[Michelle and Chloe]

Karen, she eats Fromm's Four Star Nutritional Beef Frittata Veg, and the Lamb & Lentil variety (both are supposed to be grain free.  

[charlotte bednarsh]

Hi, I always like to be cautious if something out the ordinary occurs begins to occur on a more regular basis;  it might be best to make an appointment with the vet, if for no other reason than to put your mind at ease.

[Jane, Guinness and Murphy]

It's interesting to read this because I had the exact same experience last night with Murphy.  He was at Daycare all day and I'm pretty sure he didn't drink much water.  He came home, drank a bowl of water and vomited bile and undigested kibble which he had eaten 9 hours earlier.  This is not unusual for him either.  Murphy has IBD (like Karen's Jack) and part of the way this disease reacts with him is related to motility of the food in the esophagus and upper GI track.  Right after vomiting his breakfast last night, he was hungry and ate his entire dinner and held it down.  The water can sometimes generate this response with Murphy.  I tried giving ice cubes instead when he seems really thirsty, but the same thing can happen.  I'm not suggesting that Chloe has IBD, but there are other motility disorders such as pyloric stenosis or Mega-e that might cause similar symptoms.  I would want to have her checked by your Vet just to rule out all possibilities.  Also, Chloe may not be drinking when you're not home, so maybe let her have her water a little at a time when you return.  I learned last night that I also need to only give Murph very small amounts at a time.  Please keep us posted.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

In the early stages of Jack's IBD, we had the same issue with drinking water.