Help Needed! Vomiting more with increasing age?

[dorian]

Has anyone experienced a higher frequency of vomiting in their pal as s/he gets older?

Winston will be 10 in February and is aging exceptionally - so far, no signs of any of the general concerns of a bulldog his age. He exercises regularly, has energy to play all day if he wants, gets into plenty of mischief, has a good appetite etc. But over the past six weeks or so, he's been vomiting almost weekly, whereas for the previous number of years you'd only expect him to vomit a few times in a month.

I've tried the standard anti-vomiting fixes, with mixed results. There was also a considerable upheaval since the beginning of November as my parents visited for about a month to help with renovations on my house, which coincides with the timeframe of his increased vomiting (and, I'm sure not coincidentally, a decrease in his rest time plus an increase in his play time).

Is this normal in bulldogs as they get older? Or a normal amount generally, and his old...schedule?...was less than average?

Thanks!

 

[Lalaloopsie]

Normally dogs mustn’t vomit regularly, but if you say he always vomited from time to time...my bulldog sometimes vomits if he starts playing too soon after meal, then he swallows a lot of air with saliva and vomits with foam and a bit of food. But it’s definitely not on the regular basis. May be your dog has a weak sphincter that locks the esophagus and with age it worsens. But it is very difficult to judge without vet.

 

[oscarmayer]

Has your Vet suggested stomach X-Rays? There may be something foreign in his belly. And like Lalaloopsie mentioned...could be something physical going on possibly with his esophagus or the sphincter. A barium series might be considered if the vomiting continues. Are you sure it's vomiting and not regurge? With vomiting there is usually heaving before discharge. With regurge the food/liquid simply comes out without any heaving.

 

[2BullyMama]

Has anyone experienced a higher frequency of vomiting in their pal as s/he gets older?

Winston will be 10 in February and is aging exceptionally - so far, no signs of any of the general concerns of a bulldog his age. He exercises regularly, has energy to play all day if he wants, gets into plenty of mischief, has a good appetite etc. But over the past six weeks or so, he's been vomiting almost weekly, whereas for the previous number of years you'd only expect him to vomit a few times in a month.

I've tried the standard anti-vomiting fixes, with mixed results. There was also a considerable upheaval since the beginning of November as my parents visited for about a month to help with renovations on my house, which coincides with the timeframe of his increased vomiting (and, I'm sure not coincidentally, a decrease in his rest time plus an increase in his play time).

Is this normal in bulldogs as they get older? Or a normal amount generally, and his old...schedule?...was less than average?

Thanks!

When does he vomit-- time of day? What does it look like? How much?


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[dorian]

Has your Vet suggested stomach X-Rays? There may be something foreign in his belly. And like Lalaloopsie mentioned...could be something physical going on possibly with his esophagus or the sphincter. A barium series might be considered if the vomiting continues. Are you sure it's vomiting and not regurge? With vomiting there is usually heaving before discharge. With regurge the food/liquid simply comes out without any heaving.

Actually I think two of the last three episodes meet your description of regurge, which he's never really done before. VERY rarely does he actually "vomit" anything other than bile, which I'm OK with given the nature of a bully stomach.

 

[dorian]

When does he vomit-- time of day? What does it look like? How much?


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No consistent time, has been his undigested food in its entirety - so I guess the time would be not long after a meal, actually.

 

[2BullyMama]

No consistent time, has been his undigested food in its entirety - so I guess the time would be not long after a meal, actually.

But not everyday? I'm wondering if something just does not agree with him anymore... sorry if you posted this-- but what brand and protein are you feeding?


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[dorian]

But not everyday? I'm wondering if something just does not agree with him anymore... sorry if you posted this-- but what brand and protein are you feeding?


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Not everyday, no. I would say maybe six times since Halloween if I had to guess. He eats Fromm beef frittata, which he's eaten since I got him in 2012.

 

[oscarmayer]

If he were doing it more regularly I'd be very concerned that he's developing Mega E...and he may be. Read about it here...

https://www.petmd.com/dog/conditions/digestive/c_dg_megaesophagus

Have you tried feeding him smaller amounts of food more often? Something is changing with him that an X-Ray may show or at the very least the X-Ray may eliminate possibilities allowing you to focus on something else. Please keep the forum posted.

 

[2BullyMama]

Agree with Chip... i'd have xrays done ti rule out some things


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[dorian]

Been meaning to post, but Winston is doing much better. The vet suggested that, at his age, his food may be too rich for him to eat at all at once and to divide his meals up into three mini-meals in one, which has worked wonderfully.

Thanks to those who offered thoughts!