Dog Vomiting - Paw Talk

Tilt · #1 07-20-2004, 03:49 PM

Last night after out long nightly walk, AJ began pacing the house, whimpering loudly. I thought there was no way he needed to go potty outside so soon, but he kept crying, so I let him outside. The moment he got out there, he threw-up. I put him on his lead and left him out there. He looked miserable. A bit later we called him back in and he refused. I guess he still felt really sick. So we left him outside for awhile longer. At around 3am Chris called AJ back inside and once again, he refused. So we left him outside. It wans't too cold for him and he insisted on it.

This morning, he was let back inside and apparently seemed OK. When I woke up, he didn't seem his usual happy self. He followed me around for 5 minutes, and not very enthusiastically, then started pacing and whining. I took him outside fearing he was still feeling sick to his stomach, and sure enough, he was. He got outside and immediately vomited twice. He's out on the lead right now, resting. He looks pretty worn out and depressed.

Found out a minute ago that while no one was watching him he vomited twice inside. So that's five known vomit sessions in the last 12 hours. Actually, it's been longer than that... About 14 hours.

Last night I wasn't concerned. No one was. He likely got into something nasty that we didn't see while we were walking last night. We figured he'd vomit it back up and be back to his old self. It doesn't appear that way now.

We have no idea what he may have gotten into, or even if he did. He likely did, but we didn't see him eating anything. He just stopped to sniff at a lot of places. Vanished into some shadows a couple of times, but never very long.

The vomit is, btw, a strangely yellow color. Food is not coming up (he apparently has not eaten at all since last night. By now, he must be hungry.) I have no idea if he's able to keep down fluids long enough for drinking water to matter.

How fast can a dog become dehydrated? I'm going to go check him for signs of dehydration, though that won't be easy unless he's seriously dehydrated. I don't test him for dehydration so I don't know what he normally looks/feels like.

We've decided that if things aren't going well with him by 4:30 today we'll take him down to the vet, before it closes. For now, he's resting and we're keeping an eye on him.

I really hope he did just get into something nasty, because at his age, this could be anything. Though it seems so sudden, too sudden to be illness or disease. He's never vomited more than twice after eating something gross, though. Sigh. This doesn't look good at the moment. Though he is perking up a bit now.

Does anyone know what is likely to cause him to vomit bright, thick yellow liquid? He's not been given anything yellow. o.O I realize this could just be the color of his bile, but he's never vomited such a bright yellow color. In fact, I've never had a dog that vomited that bright of a yellow, which is why I bring it up. (Believe me, I've seen a lot of dog and cat vomit. Blech.)

Small Update:
OK, he's thrown up at least 6 times. I found outside a relatively recently chewed up pile of grass coated in bile, which means he was eating grass in an attempt to solve his tummy troubles. His eyes are also unusually dry and crusty.

Chrisanne · #2 07-20-2004, 04:04 PM

I hope he gets to feeling better soon, but I would get him to the vet asap. Vomiting is a sign of many things from mild stomach ache to parvo.

Chinchilla_Girl · #3 07-20-2004, 04:13 PM

The thick yellow liquid is stomach bile...he has nothing in there to throw up. With vomiting this many times, he needs to see a vet...probably dehydrated and needs to get on fluids. If he got into a chemical, he may not have long. You do need to take him in now! If either of my dogs are sick more than 3 times within 1 hour, I'm on the phone with the vet. This is too much and going on for too long! Please, take him immediately and let us know how he's doing. Poor guy!

Tilt · #4 07-20-2004, 04:21 PM

He's not my dog. I can only suggest he go into the vet. It's up to Sharon whether he actually does go in. She says in another two hours he will unless he's made some miraculous recovery. Two hours will, I doubt, make much of a difference in the outcome of this. There are no vets open at night and he was sick all night, unfortunately.

Tilt · #5 07-20-2004, 04:29 PM

Went out to watch him and he vomited again on himself. Sharon's decided he needs to get into the vet now. She's on the phone with them.

Chinchilla_Girl · #6 07-20-2004, 05:13 PM

Good to hear she's going to take him in...I'm sorry, I thought he was your dog! But yeah, he definetly needs to see a vet. Let us know how it turns out!

Tilt · #7 07-20-2004, 07:44 PM

I just brought AJ back for Sharon. The vet visit wasn't very promising at all. He hasn't eaten or drank anything since last night around midnight, he's been vomiting almost non-stop since then, he has an above normal temperature, he's lost 15 lbs, and he was definitely slightly dehydrated.

We don't know what's causing this. The vet said it could be a bacterial infection, it could be cancer, his kidney's, liver, etc. Won't know unless blood tests are run and x-rays are taken. Sharon isn't having this done since she and her husband both just lost their jobs and AJ is over 15 years old now. The only thing treatable in a dog that age is the infection, so he's on antibiotics and anti-nausea meds. He was given an IV injection and was sent home with some pricey antibiotic and anti-nausea meds to be given twice and three times a day. We're going to pick up pedialyte soon, as well, once he's drinking again. Tomorrow morning we're told to try feeding him...rice and chicken. Anything to tempt the appetite.

If the antibiotics work and he gets better, we'll know what was wrong. If he doesn't improve or gets worse, he'll be euthanized in the next week.

We, of course, are hoping his days are not over.