Help Needed! Gags and vomits every day. Any ideas?

[MacAttack]

Hi there. I'm a new user with an 8-month old bully boy named Mac. Over the past month, he has vomited just about every day. He eats and drinks well, is thriving and gaining weight, is on Royal Canin Bulldog Puppy food, and takes Pepcid every night on vet's recommendation. He seems to have sleep apnea where he will wake up gagging for breath and then will sometimes gag up his food as well (can be as much as 6 hours after eating). The vomiting is usually only once a day but can be two smaller ones at times. He had surgery several months ago for a stomach blockage and was on antibiotics for pneumonia. We know bullies have breathing issues, but has anyone else experienced this sort of thing? We've been told that he may grow out of it? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!!

 

[ChanelnBrutus]

[MENTION=2894]2BullyMama[/MENTION] [MENTION=2]desertskybulldogs[/MENTION] [MENTION=2071]Davidh[/MENTION] [MENTION=2092]JAKEISGREAT[/MENTION] [MENTION=2291]cowsmom[/MENTION] [MENTION=1714]Sherry[/MENTION]

 

[BruceP]

I would find a GOOD Vet that is a bully specialist... But, having said that, at 8 months he probably could be on a high quality all stages food and then you could cut back slowly on the amount. Both of these may help.

 

[bullmama]

Something is not right.... I am trying to think back to another bully who had almost exactly the same thing going on.... I think it was [MENTION=959]kazzy220[/MENTION]'s Maggie? I am pretty sure she changed food and it went away completely. I will contact her now and ask and make sure she sees this.

 

[JAKEISGREAT]

Hi! I just welcomed you on your profile page. I have no experience with reoccurring vomiting like this. Jake has vomited whenever he has gotten and swallowed something he wasn't supposed to. Did he have this problem before his surgery? If not, I would look at getting a second opinion and make sure everything is ok with his past surgery. I don't believe this is something I would wait and see if he grows out of it. I also would recommend a change in his food. Royal Canin isn't a very high quality food. There is always the chance he's having problems with something in his food. Since many Bully's have problems with chicken as a protein, I would try Fromm Beef Fritatta. It's grain free and beef is usually easy for them to digest. He is more than old enough to go on an All Stage Food like this. If you go to our Dog Ratings Page you can read up on all the differences and why it's so important to understand dog food. I'm sure others will soon chime in. Good Luck and please remember, if you do a food change, go slow over a 10 day period. We can give you specific instructions.

 

[kazzy220]

Hi ... it does seem a little similar to what we used to experience Maggie. I can't tell you how much money we spent on vet visits for acid reducers and antibiotics because they thought she had some kind of stomach bug!!!

Turns out that after finding this website that the food I was giving her was basically a load of crap and she was reacting to that.

She would vomit and sometimes it would be a clear phlegm, sometimes it would be like a yellowish bile, and sometimes there would be food in there that she had eaten many hours before. I do remember her throwing up during the night as if she was choking.

Unfortunately, and not knowing any better, we had her on Beneful or I would sometimes try other brands knowing nothing about the necessity to slow transition!!!! As soon as I found this website I discovered the error of my ways and with the help of another member here transitioned Maggie onto the Fromm 4* range. It was like a miracle cure for us!! I haven't had the need to try another food since.

So I DITTO what everybody else has said on here ... first thing to try is a much better food than Royal Canin - which is not as bad as the Beneful I was using but is still pretty crap - and see if that helps settle his stomach. Once you've transitioned him onto a better food you will then need to play around with whether he needs to be grain free and which protein source works best for him remembering that a lot (not ALL) bulldogs seem to have a problem with chicken.

For me this would be my first course of action.

The only other thing I can think of is an elongated palette but if he's already had surgery then I'm sure the vet would have mentioned this already!!

Hope it helps ......... and don't hesitate to PM me if you need any more advice or info!!

 

[Davidh]

First change his food to a good all stage food. Next find a good bully vet. It sounds like he has an elongated palate, and that's what's giving him the breathing and gagging problems, plus this will give him problems when he eats as well. It could also be causing the vomiting. The food could also be causing the vomiting as well. At 8 months old it is time to switch him to adult food anyway. Royal Canin is not the best food around. Check out the dog food rating article here on the forum to get ideas of a better food. Here is the link to the article.

http://www.englishbulldognews.com/forums/content.php?r=219-Dog-Food-Ratings

 

[MacAttack]

Thanks so much everyone for your wonderfully quick and helpful responses! The vet had mentioned him possibly needing pallette surgery later on after he turned one (and, no, this didn't happen before the surgery). In the meantime, we'll try switching his food. We had switched him to Blue Wilderness before the stomach surgery and the vet wanted us to go back to RC afterward as she likes it. We'll see if we can find Fromm around here. BTW, Mac's symptoms are just like Maggie's, but also as DavidH mentioned.

Oh and where does one find a bully specialist vet? We live on the east coast of central Florida. Our vet is really trying to do her best for him and is awesome with him, but is sounds like we should probably find a specialist for these types of issues at least...

 

[cali~jenn]

Only experience I have with something similar is when I had Cutty on some food years ago that gave him insane reflux, or that was my guess. He would wake up in the middle of the night and regurgitate a huge amount of food. Not heaving tho like throwing up. It just came out more like the exorcist. I switched foods and he never had it happen again. Hope it is something that easy for you.

 

[MacAttack]

Cali~Jenn, that's similar and I've often wondered that myself if is some sort of reflux issue. I'll post the results if that's okay with everyone.

 

[2BullyMama]

Thanks so much everyone for your wonderfully quick and helpful responses! The vet had mentioned him possibly needing pallette surgery later on after he turned one (and, no, this didn't happen before the surgery). In the meantime, we'll try switching his food. We had switched him to Blue Wilderness before the stomach surgery and the vet wanted us to go back to RC afterward as she likes it. We'll see if we can find Fromm around here. BTW, Mac's symptoms are just like Maggie's, but also as DavidH mentioned.

Oh and where does one find a bully specialist vet? We live on the east coast of central Florida. Our vet is really trying to do her best for him and is awesome with him, but is sounds like we should probably find a specialist for these types of issues at least...

Hello and welcome!!

My boy had everything you mention and Davidh is spot on too.... Nitschke was allergic to rice and would do exactly as Kazzy220's Maggie did and as your baby is doing at night. Our vet told us at 8 months Nitschke would need palate surgery, but would not do the procedure till he was at least two... which we did and his breathing did improve and the apnea was pretty much all gone.

Good luck.

Check our vet recommendation list under the health section to see if there is a vet near you

 

[Baconator]

[MENTION=6061]MacAttack[/MENTION] here is the link to the Vet Recommendation page on the site
http://www.englishbulldognews.com/f...ews-Recommended-English-Bulldog-Veterinarians
and if you can't find Fromm in your area you can get it from petflow.com it's priced well and if you order over a certain amount shipping is free.

 

[bulliemommi]

Have you also tried giving a few meals instead of one big one? Our guy used to vomit sometimes and I think it was due to empty tummy. He now gets breakfast and dinner and very rarely spits up. I hope your baby is well soon.

 

[Jackieshoes]

Same thing for my baby Dexter, he's about 4 though. If he eats too fast (he's on C/D but I'm looking to change) or if he gets overly excited, he's going to vomit. Just like y'all's, clear, yellow, or sometimes food. He doesn't act like r feels bad but I always wondered and thought it was just kinda normal.

 

[Twice]

Are you giving Pepcid with his meals? It should be given 20 minutes to an hour before he eats. If it is some sort of reflux issue, the Pepcid might not work. Some pups do better with Prilosec