Just until I can get an appt. with the vet:
Looking for feeding suggestions for Great Dane that vomits at night--8-1/2 yrs. old--has been going on sporadically for six months. He seems fine otherwise. Not able to get him to vet this wknd. but am suspecting that care might be largely supportive. The vomitting is 8+ hrs. after his last feed. Has allergies to anything chicken (causes diarrhoea) and is on a veterinary food for sensitive GI system. My thought is smaller feeds as often as I can manage, puree the softened kibble and add his usual canned turkey and pumpkin? Any suggestions? Add soft boiled eggs? What about Gravol? Only room I can put him in overnight that is warm and cushioned is also carpeted.....
He doesn't appear to be in any distress, is still v. enthusiastic about his feeds.

This sounds very much like it might be bile vomiting, but a couple of questions ....

Is what he produces kind of fluffy and yellowish (possibly slightly greenish) -- kind of like foam?

And no vomiting with actual vomitus that contains food, right?

If so, I can give you good suggestions. But I would keep the vet appointment because it's still possible that there's something else involved.

Plain old bile vomiting, which I've had happen in older dogs maybe a little more than in young ones (but have seen at all ages) has responded well for me by keeping the dog's stomach from being very empty when it's long after his last meal. (Bile can irritate the empty stomach.)

I've split the last meal of the day into half at the regular time and half at bedtime, or, for milder cases, just saved some of the protein from the last meal for bedtime. With one guy I had who would bile-vomit as soon as he got up in the morning after the night of no eating, I gave him part of his first meal immediately.

Mostly, the food at bedtime has done the trick.

Of course, I wasn't adding food to the diet -- just rearranging the intake to avoid that long empty period.


JMO! I'm not a health professional.

ETA
Here's a little article about it:
http://www.vetstreet.com/our-pet-experts/why-does-my-dog-vomit-yellow-foam


Edited by Connie Sutherland (02/17/2018 03:42 PM)
Edit reason: ETA

I have a GSD that started to have periodic mucus throw-ups, and was tossing his meals every now and then.

I decided on a bit of rice with some of his meals, and I started mixing in about a cup of warm water, so that the meal was not quite a slurry.

I took him to the Vet and he could find no issue and told me to keep on doing what I was doing.

He had an episode yesterday but it was the first time in several months, and it could have been the result of him eating something on the newly visible lawn after the snow melted.

His appetite is good, and he cleans his dish clean. I feed the mutts twice a day, at 0600 and 1730 hours, like clockwork. I feed the dogs immediately in the morning, and then they go out to do their business while my coffee is brewing. You got to love multi tasking.

If your dog is otherwise generally eating normally and resultant business is good... The Vet is still the best approach to make sure all is OK.

Thanks so much for the input. I've fed him four or five times today with a cup or two of his regular
kibble ground to a powder in the vitamix and made into a slurry with warm water. I've added a bit
of canned pumpkin and canned pure turkey. He is very keen for his food and finishes everything and,
so far, has kept it all down. He normally gets 8 cups/day but I've only managed to get 4 into him so far.
I wonder if I should add some soft boiled eggs for a bit more protein?

The vomit is actual kibble and happens once a week or so but hours and hours after he's eaten. He
had a gastropexy six years ago but hasn't had this problem until recently. But he is very old and not
seemingly in any distress whatsoever. Am thinking I might wait a bit on the vet visit as a trip to the vet
is very hard on him--he has trouble getting into the car and, once there, shakes like a leaf and pants.

Yeah. I don't do anything to the kibble other than the warm, hot actually, water out of the tap. I let it sit for a bit to cool and have the water soften the kibble.

Titan seemingly was having trouble creating enough saliva and liquid to tolerate the kibble. So I figured a bit of warm water would aid in his digestion. I have no idea if it worked or not but he is regular and seems to eat without problem, and more importantly, does not toss his kibble or have the mucus vomit.

When he was about six months old, he ingested a chunk of rubber that had to be surgically removed, along with a small section of intestine. Since that episode, I've been mindful he might have trouble digesting, eventually.

I think as dogs get older, they have changes in everything including how they digest food. But what do I know.

Just got to be attentive and figure out stuff to try, I guess.

Thank you. I always get great advice from this forum! Trust I'm on the right track. Hate dragging him
to the vet at this stage since the one thing the vet can't do is make him younger.....

Kim- how is your great dane?

Has not thrown up in the last two weeks but tends to do it unexpectedly.
Very kind of you to ask. Am trying to feed him earlier in the evening (in
addition to the 4 cups he gets first thing in the morning). He is quite old
so nothing he does surprises me much......