8 Month Old Puppy Throwing Up While Sleeping

[dmcguinness37]

Hi Folks! I had a quick question about my 8 month old puppy Russell. He's been throwing up more than I would consider normal and I'm struggling to get to the bottom of why.

I'd say it happens about once or twice a week. He will be sleeping peacefully and will suddenly wake up, stand and start licking his lips and salivating. Then he will throw up. Sometimes it happens in the early afternoon during a nap and he will throw up a lot of undigested/semi-digested kibble and other times he will throw up in the middle of the night and only throw up bile with no food remnants. He's not getting into anything or eating something he shouldn't be. He's not necessarily eating his food to fast because it usually happens hours after eating (one time he threw up at 6:30pm after not having eaten since 7:30am). The only consistent is that it seems to be happening while he's sleeping. We've taken him to the vet and the vet has done bloodwork and an abdominal ultrasound, both of which turned up normal. Our vet recommended we get his poop analysed next but he doesn't have any issues with diarrhea. We've also tried changing his food from Purina Pro Plan Lamb and Rice Puppy Food to Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Puppy Food but the change in food hasn't really helped. He gets fed twice a day: 1.25 cups in the morning around 8am and 1.25 cups in the evening at around 6:30pm.

At this point we just don't know what to do. We're thinking we might try feeding him more frequent smaller meals but the fact that he will throw up on an empty and a full stomach makes me think this might not do much. Does anyone have any experience with something similar?

Thanks for your help!

 

[2BullyMama]

Your boy is absolutely adorable!

How much do you feed at each meal and when is the last one he gets at night?
I would look to move off the RC/Hills food a he might be having issues with that in general.... they are not great foods nutritionally.

 

[Cbrugs]

The licking of the lips prior to throwing up sounds like acid reflux. My boy has had issues with that. Took him to the urgent care vet a year ago, did all kinds of tests and then found nothing. I started using a slow feed which may or may not help. Sometimes I give famotidine but my regular vet said Prilosec was a little stronger but that gave him really bad gas and bad poop. I’ve never figured out the cause of what is causing the acid reflux and the vomiting comes and goes.

 

[Bulldog2001]

Hi Folks! I had a quick question about my 8 month old puppy Russell. He's been throwing up more than I would consider normal and I'm struggling to get to the bottom of why.

I'd say it happens about once or twice a week. He will be sleeping peacefully and will suddenly wake up, stand and start licking his lips and salivating. Then he will throw up. Sometimes it happens in the early afternoon during a nap and he will throw up a lot of undigested/semi-digested kibble and other times he will throw up in the middle of the night and only throw up bile with no food remnants. He's not getting into anything or eating something he shouldn't be. He's not necessarily eating his food to fast because it usually happens hours after eating (one time he threw up at 6:30pm after not having eaten since 7:30am). The only consistent is that it seems to be happening while he's sleeping. We've taken him to the vet and the vet has done bloodwork and an abdominal ultrasound, both of which turned up normal. Our vet recommended we get his poop analysed next but he doesn't have any issues with diarrhea. We've also tried changing his food from Purina Pro Plan Lamb and Rice Puppy Food to Royal Canin Gastrointestinal Puppy Food but the change in food hasn't really helped. He gets fed twice a day: 1.25 cups in the morning around 8am and 1.25 cups in the evening at around 6:30pm.

At this point we just don't know what to do. We're thinking we might try feeding him more frequent smaller meals but the fact that he will throw up on an empty and a full stomach makes me think this might not do much. Does anyone have any experience with something similar?

Thanks for your help!

My French Bulldog throws up foam only, if he goes too long without eating. Sometimes he vomit foam if he is hungry and it’s around mealtime but IF he is hungry and has gone too long without eating, and I quickly get his breakfast ready, he already licks his lips and he eats his breakfast, but it’s too late he already started to feel sick from being hungry so the odd time he will vomit up his meal.

Now this was NEVER a issue UNTIL the vet said he needed to be on their food(we did NOT know at that time Royal Canin in, Hills, Purina and Rayne brands including vet formulas were all fillers/garbage), that happened when he was on the vet food. Now 3 years later, I’m still dealing with that issue.

So I HIGHLY recommend getting him onto a better quality food. Nothing with corn, wheat, soy, by products, or brewers rice.

Now, how often I feed him and the times to maintain without him vomiting(he gets 3 meals per day):

Breakfast before 9am

Dinner at 4:00pm

Snack before bed at 10:00 or 10:30 PM which is right before bed.

This schedule works really good. If for any reason, we need to feed him earlier before bed(even @ 9:30pm), he started vomiting foam @7 or 8 am, OR if we go out and get back 1 hr late(5pm they have dinner for example), there was times he already was licking his lips and he did eat but then threw up cause it’s too late, he already felt sick from going too long without eating.

I can’t feed him breakfast after 9 or 9:30 at LATEST but rare cause he needs to eat before then or he vomits.

And yes Rusty also is usually sleeping then wakes up and then immediately licks his chops and then he vomits. But key in the morning is he gets out of bed and goes outside, then feed him ASAP no longer than 30 minutes after he wakes up he needs his breakfast.


I also give him probiotics too, that helps their immune system and gut.

If Rusty does vomit foam or he feels sick, I have a probiotic product called Adored Beast Gut Soothe in the fridge at all times as it soothes any inflammation in the body, especially the digestive system. If he vomits or any digestion issue, I give him this in his food and he doesn’t vomit anymore.

And if he vomits and feels sick and gets picky and not wanting to eat(rare but used to happen lots), he wouldn’t eat cause he was feeling sick from being hungry, so he wouldn’t eat and that made things way worse, so key is to get a schedule that works and split his daily food into 3 meals and a probiotic if you want.

Also good allergies can cause the vomiting too.

And the most important thing, get him on a better quality food, good kibble brands;

-Natures Logic-has probiotics
-Carna 4-is oven baked and has probiotics
-N&D

Keep us updated!

 

[benny]

He’s a beautiful bulldog!

imo switch back to Pro Plan but switch to their sensitive skin and stomach line. At 8 months you can do the adult formula.

Are you adding probiotics or anything else to his food? If so which one and how often? Giving too much or too often, I have noticed, seems to cause vomiting hours after meals.

What treats is he getting?

He may need to be fed more often, I am assuming it’s not possible to split into 3 meals?

 

[Manydogs]

The first thing I would try is giving him a much better food. I would also try famotidine. One of my bullies occasionally gets a very "growly" stomach. I give her a famo, and it calms her stomach. Worth a try. You changed food from one lousy one to another lousy one. Most vets recommend foods they get paid for!

 

[Bulldog2001]

definitely stay AWAY from ALL Royal Canin, Hills and also stay away from ALL Purina dog food, even the sensitive skin and stomach adult and puppy food, all fillers/garbage.

A better food will be the best for his health.

 

[benny]

imo switch back to Pro Plan but switch to their sensitive skin and stomach line. At 8 months you can do the adult formula.

I know you’ve been doing lamb, try salmon. Lamb can be an allergen.

IMO the proplan lines are great. I respect the passion of others on the forum though.

 

[Bulldog2001]

I know you’ve been doing lamb, try salmon. Lamb can be an allergen.

IMO the proplan lines are great. I respect the passion of others on the forum though.

It’s all grains, with very little salmon in it.

Look at all the synthetic vitamins in the food, if they have to add it all back in thru synthetic vitamins/minerals then that means that the quality of the proteins/ingredients are low quality and very heavy processed.

The rice, the oats are also high glyphosate foods that it gets absorbed into the food and can’t be washed off(glyphosate=active ingredient in round up weed killer).

Those grains are highly inflammatory causing any disease!

Mycotoxins/mold grow in those ingredients like all those grains, organic oats are better.

Animal fat: doesn’t say what animal the fat comes from!

Little to no nutrition in it that’s why it has to be added back in thru synthetic vitamins that aren’t absorbed anyway.


I’m NOT against Kibble, I just recommend AVOIDING the low quality foods, and get in a higher quality kibble.


Just stating a fact that it’s low end food and highly inflammatory. But it’s the owners choice of what they feed even if it’s very low quality.


By law, all those manufacturers just need to add ONLY 3% animal products into their dog food. Rice and grains are common allergies too.


I do respect peoples choices on what they feed their dog. But a high quality food is what the 8 month old bulldog needs(the thread starter), not more Purina or Royal Canin.

But what may work for 1 dog may not work for another.

 

[thett]

Hi there! And let me first say how adorabull Russell is!!!

My first thought when reading what you describe is if it is only happening while sleeping, maybe it's his soft pallet? Like most EB they have a larger pallet and some require surgery to reduce. I am wondering if when he is asleep he is getting so relaxed that maybe it's causing saliva to regurg or go back in his throat and causing him to throw up??

It could also be reflux.. if so, i have been giving Omeprazole per my vets instructions and it is definitely helping mine.

I know my thought here is just a thought and i'm certainly no expert.. maybe some of the others can weigh in... I do hope you get to the bottom of this though. I will say as the others have stated, it's best to get him on a better grade of food.

Keep a close eye because if he does throw up while sleeping you don't want him aspirating. (Totally not trying to scare you) but the aftermath of that is not fun for him or you. Aspiration pneumonia is so serious so just keep an eye out for possible symptoms.

 

[dmcguinness37]

Wow thanks for all the feedback folks. Sorry for not responding over the weekend. Probably wasn't a good idea on my part to ask a question on a Friday afternoon and then go MIA for 2 days. Apologies about that.

Your boy is absolutely adorable!

How much do you feed at each meal and when is the last one he gets at night?
I would look to move off the RC/Hills food a he might be having issues with that in general.... they are not great foods nutritionally.

Thank you He gets fed 1 and 1/4 cups in the morning and 1 and 1/4 more in the evening. Ya seems like most people are recommending we switch off of RC. We only switched onto it to see if that would help with his issues but it doesn't really seem to have.

He’s a beautiful bulldog!

imo switch back to Pro Plan but switch to their sensitive skin and stomach line. At 8 months you can do the adult formula.

Are you adding probiotics or anything else to his food? If so which one and how often? Giving too much or too often, I have noticed, seems to cause vomiting hours after meals.

What treats is he getting?

He may need to be fed more often, I am assuming it’s not possible to split into 3 meals?

We don't add any probiotics to his food. Sounds like maybe I should look into that. And to be honest we haven't been giving him many treats because we didn't want to aggravate his issues. When we do give treats I usually give Blue Buffalo Bits Salmon or Turkey treats. I can't say that I notice the treats causing any issues. Sometimes he gets so excited to eat treats though that he ends up swallowing them without chewing and ends up coughing them up. So we're trying now to make sure he calms down before treats but it's tough.

The first thing I would try is giving him a much better food. I would also try famotidine. One of my bullies occasionally gets a very "growly" stomach. I give her a famo, and it calms her stomach. Worth a try. You changed food from one lousy one to another lousy one. Most vets recommend foods they get paid for!

Thank you for the advice. Sounds like we'll have to look into a better food.

definitely stay AWAY from ALL Royal Canin, Hills and also stay away from ALL Purina dog food, even the sensitive skin and stomach adult and puppy food, all fillers/garbage.

A better food will be the best for his health.

Thanks for your insight into the makeup of low quality kibble. Pretty eye opening to read so I'll look into changing that up ASAP (obviously by mixing new and old over a few days).

 

[dmcguinness37]

Hi there! And let me first say how adorabull Russell is!!!

My first thought when reading what you describe is if it is only happening while sleeping, maybe it's his soft pallet? Like most EB they have a larger pallet and some require surgery to reduce. I am wondering if when he is asleep he is getting so relaxed that maybe it's causing saliva to regurg or go back in his throat and causing him to throw up??

It could also be reflux.. if so, i have been giving Omeprazole per my vets instructions and it is definitely helping mine.

I know my thought here is just a thought and i'm certainly no expert.. maybe some of the others can weigh in... I do hope you get to the bottom of this though. I will say as the others have stated, it's best to get him on a better grade of food.

Keep a close eye because if he does throw up while sleeping you don't want him aspirating. (Totally not trying to scare you) but the aftermath of that is not fun for him or you. Aspiration pneumonia is so serious so just keep an eye out for possible symptoms.

Thank you! Haha "adorabull", that's cute. My vet has referred me to a local animal hospital and we have a consultation in a few months to see if Russell could benefit from any surgeries, so hopefully we'll get that sorted out in the next few months. Thank you for your advice.

 

[benny]

Thanks for your insight into the makeup of low quality kibble. Pretty eye opening to read so I'll look into changing that up ASAP (obviously by mixing new and old over a few days).

if you're going to throw away your current food please find somewhere to donate
With that said, Orijin and Fromm gave me problems. I credit Pro Plan for solving them when it was all said and done. I realize people hate purina, I was one of them. Do not let the toxicity over food on these forums discourage you. Food is tough, and personal

 

[Cbrugs]

if you're going to throw away your current food please find somewhere to donate
With that said, Orijin and Fromm gave me problems. I credit Pro Plan for solving them when it was all said and done. I realize people hate purina, I was one of them. Do not let the toxicity over food on these forums discourage you. Food is tough, and personal

I always say what works for one, may not work for another. Food is such trial and error to find the right fit. I know a lot of people don’t like grains but both my girls get Open Farm with Ancient grains and do very well on it. While I personally wouldn’t feed Purina, I know many breeders and show dog people that do. To each their own! Everyone should do their own research and feed what they’re comfortable with and what works for them.

 

[Bulldog2001]

I always say what works for one, may not work for another. Food is such trial and error to find the right fit. I know a lot of people don’t like grains but both my girls get Open Farm with Ancient grains and do very well on it. While I personally wouldn’t feed Purina, I know many breeders and show dog people that do. To each their own! Everyone should do their own research and feed what they’re comfortable with and what works for them.

I’m not against grains at all, some dogs may do better on a good with grains, but if they have a grain allergy, then grain free is good.

The Quality of the food with grains is what I was referring to, I’m not saying the open farm with grains isn’t good that your feeding. Just wanted to clarify that so I don’t offend anyone. I was just referring to low quality foods in general.

Definitely every dog is different, but no matter what trying the higher quality foods first is better than trying Purina or low end foods first for trial and error.