The "fasting" thread has me curious: If a dog has a problem with bilious vomiting, does a raw diet help this?

I feed my dog Evo and he has a problem with vomiting. I feed Evo instead of raw for a couple of reasons:

1) I'm TERRIBLE with meal planning in general. When my daughter isn't home for a few days I tend to eat the same thing every day because of lack of imagination and a complete lack of culinary skills. Sad, but true.

2) cost. I haven't had very good luck finding affordable food sources in my area, and money is an issue.

Still, I COULD learn. There are tons of resources here so not too many excuses for failure in that regard. But I guess I'm wondering if switching to raw would make enough difference with the vomiting that I can stop spending the $50/month on Murphy's tummy meds.

I would MUCH rather be spending that money on a better diet, but I can't afford both the meds and the increased cost of food.

Thoughts? opinions? Experiences?

My experience is that ordinary bile spit-up (yellow/clear foamy/mucousy) means the dog's stomach has been empty too long. What it's filled with wouldn't make any difference for that. A raw diet has many other advantages, IMO. If it frequently happens in the morning, try a bedtime snack.

 Quote: kristel smart

The "fasting" thread has me curious: If a dog has a problem with bilious vomiting, does a raw diet help this?

Not allowing the stomach to get very very empty would be the simple answer (on any diet).

Part of the afternoon meal saved for later in the evening, for example, as Tracy said, can help with the dawn vomiting.

As for meds, you did not mention the type, but I would caution you that antacids and raw do NOT go together, so if you switch to raw, please keep that in mind.

1/4 cup of food, or a couple of dry cookie type treats before bed keeps Yote from throwing up bile in the morning.

But its also not so much that it creates middle of the night accidents.

So it is likely that no matter what the diet there is likely to be bilious vomitting when fasted, either overnight or for a meal or more? I guess the only way I can think of to know if a change in diet to raw would affect the vomitting and the effects of fasting is to try it and see. After all, in humans, reflux can be controlled by dietary changes why not in other mammals? As for the cost and effort involved in feeding raw, well, that is one we all probably have to sort out in our own way. Just suffice it to say that I have surprise myself at my ability to feed my animals while never truly having mastered feeding my children regular and healthy meals. I am just glad my kids are getting old enough to make their own!

That's what I was particularly curious about: Antacids and raw. It sounds like I would not be able to use them, so it would be a non-issue. He's taking something called Gastri-Calm, which is more supplement, I think, than medication.

We're doing the "no empty stomach" thing including a snack before bed which has pretty much stopped the vomiting. The only other issue is that his stomach is very sensitive to what he eats, and it can snowball into a big problem.

A couple of months ago one of my daughter's friends gave Murphy a small bite of chicken from her Chinese take-out (she didn't know it wasn't okay) and it started a whole cycle of vomiting that lasted almost a week and required sub-q fluids before it could be brought under control. It's made me a little paranoid about changing anything with his diet.

At the same time, I can't help but wonder if he were eating a raw diet, maybe he wouldn't be so sensitive. I know it's a healthier option. I give him raw chicken and hamburger when I'm preparing dinner for us, and he seems to have no problem with that. There's a big part of me that really wants to try it, but I have some fear around another episode like we recently experienced.

Should I take the chance? Has anyone else had a dog like this and switched?

 Quote: Kristi Salinas

Just suffice it to say that I have surprise myself at my ability to feed my animals while never truly having mastered feeding my children regular and healthy meals. I am just glad my kids are getting old enough to make their own!

Good, then there is hope for me!

Kristel,
I have had my female on raw since she was 6 months old.
I had some issues with her throwing up the bile in the mornings and I easily remedied it by giving her a small piece of dehydrated chicken or some plain yogurt first thing in the morning. I would imagine that if you could know what your dog could tolerate first thing in the morning, that maybe this problem could be alleviated.

You can give a snack at bed time, but I found that for my dog, it helped to give her something in the morning right away, and that stopped her problems with throwing up.

It is just one of those things that seems to have to be tested to see what works.

She used to run outside first thing, and eat grass and then she would throw that up. But giving her something little first thing took away that urge.