Dog vomiting bile and will not eat or drink anything

by Chris
(Vineland, NJ)

Yesterday my dog woke me up at about 6am to go out. He peed then threw up. Back inside he threw up again...and again. It was all foam. He behaved fine....active and alert.

After one other throw up he went and pooped inside as I was cleaning up the throw up. The poop was normal! Not runny or soft. Called vet at 9am and got him there at about 10:30am.

X-rays normal. Vet felt him all over and no obstructions were found. Temp was 101 (tech said this was normal). Vet checked pupil response....normal. By this time he was very lethargic.

Buster is an 8 month old Morkie. He weighs 9.5 lbs and is normally VERY wild, active, courious, and nosey about everything. He just let me hold him which is NOT normal. Vet gave him antivomit shot, IV fluids and some blood work. Sent us home....

Buster was lethargic all the rest of yesterday. He managed to pee once or twice. He pooped one more time and it was again normal. We gave him water at about 8pm per vet instructions. About 5 min later he threw it up. He was lethargic but restless all day. He would not lay still but obviously felt terrible. Oh yea....at about 4pm I picked him up and he immediately projectile vomited green fluid.

Back to the story...

We slept with him last night because he seemed to want to move around a lot and we wanted to be nearby in case he started to whine or get worse. Woke up today and he was shivering and still lethargic. He would not eat anything....not even bacon with eggs. He would not drink at all. He wont even lick honey off our fingers. To add to it, he threw up a small amount of bile too.

Background:

Buster loves to eat EVERYTHING. He has a particular fondness for acorns. We try to get them from him but he swallows them sometimes. Hard to avoid them since we have about 50 mature Oak trees on our property. We have a Koi pond and he likes to drink the water. Again, we try to stop him. The pond is clear with some but not much algae. He also loves to eat human food, but just gets stuff that falls to the floor. He loves sticks, bark, some green plants to. I think he was a cow in a former life. We normally feed him solid Puppy Chow with some wet Pedigree. He is finicky when it comes to dog food but will eat anything else.

So now that is where we are. He is asleep by me now. He shivers when he exhales but is quiet. He does manage to bark when he hears a dog bark and he greets people as they come down stairs from waking up.

My fiance is a nurse and says he might be toxic somehow from the acorns....maybe renal failure. I personally have no ideas....he is just really sick.

Thank you for any help

Chris

Comments for
Dog vomiting bile and will not eat or drink anything

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My Online Vet Response for: Dog vomiting bile and will not eat or drink anything
by: Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

Hi Chris,
I agree with your fiance--Buster IS toxic from something. It has caused a severe gastritis and if his fluid and electrolyte balance is not restored, he will have kidney problems, more dehydration and more organs will fail.

In my opinion, a blood panel should have been done in the beginning. With all of the vomiting, any foreign body in the stomach would be gone by now.

Consider an ultrasound, plus IV fluids and B-vitamin and B-12 injections. He may have an acorn lodged in his pylorus or duodenum. If there is an intestinal obstruction that is not too far past the stomach, considering his small size, it may possibly be removed by an endoscope rather than an abdominal surgery.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

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DISCLAIMER: This educational advice is based on the depth of your question and the picture you submitted. The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Buster update
by: Chris

We went back to vet. Vet now felt something in his abdomen. 2 more xrays showed dialated intestines. vet gave him more IV fluids and antivomit meds. Vet said if not better by 9am friday he would need surgery. prob not cheap but we were ready to do it.

At about 10pm thursday night he had a sudden turn around. he started eating and perked up. By friday afternoon he seemed fine but was not drinking. still not drinking today (saturday). we have to trick him to drink by adding alot of water to his food. so that is where we are today.

My Online Vet Response for: Dog vomiting bile and will not eat or drink anything
by: Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

Hi Chris,
Yeah!! At least he is NOT vomiting, and he is EATING! The thirst part is not that critical. Hopefully, the food you are feeding is BLAND, and will contain enough moisture. This would be chicken or turkey baby food (such as Gerber's) in small amounts (about 1/4 jar) fed every 4-6 hours through the day. Some cooked rice (1-2 tsp) can be added to it also.

Start adding in some acidophilus. If you use the brands that are in a capsule form, you can open a capsule and sprinkle 1/2 capsule into the food 3 times daily for the next WEEK.

With the dilated intestine seen on the x-ray, you should expect to have him pass gas soon. If the food is being digested through the intestine properly, with normal peristaltic motion, then hopefully, he may even pass whatever was causing the 'obstruction' in the first place. Therefore, keep a close watch on his stool!

Thank you for sharing his progress.
Please keep us posted by coming back to this page and clicking the 'click here to add your own comments' link below.

Take care,
Dr. Carol Jean Tillman

P.S. If you've found this service or our web site helpful, please "Like" us by clicking the like button at the top of the left margin. Thank you!

DISCLAIMER: This educational advice is based on the depth of your question and the picture you submitted. The above should never replace the advice of your local veterinarian, as they have the ability to evaluate your dog in person.

Related Pages:
- Dog Vomiting,
- Ask a Vet Online Library - Dog Vomiting Section

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