[AllDogBoots]

I'm sharing my story in hopes that it will be an eye opener for others. I think Cooper will be fine.

Thursday morning Cooper woke up and vomited bile. I'm familiar with him doing this as he's always had a fairly weak stomach. However it's been months, maybe ever 6 since I've seen him do this. Assuming he was hungry I fed him a cookie and he was fine. He and Max played throughout the day and Cooper ate both breakfast and dinner with no problems. We took our daily walk and spent some time training.

That evening after playing ball, Cooper drank some water and vomited it up all over the kitchen floor. Now I'm a little concerned.

Next morning Cooper wakes up and throws up bile. I call the vet immediately and visit 1 hour later. No fever, no pain, no mouth problems, not lethargic - everything checks out. My vet asks me about his food intake because she knows his food history and weak belly issues. I told her about 2/3 cup of Life's Abundance daily. She asked about treats. I explained that I've been giving more treats than normal because we have been consistently working on training for weeks. He's been getting Zukes, cookies, cheerios, Three Dog Bakery Treats, dehydrated fruits. And after telling the vet it became so obvious that I made my dog sick.

She prescribed over the counter antacid and said to watch him a few days. She gave him a shot of antacid to get him started. 3 hours later he vomited bile. I was able to get him to eat his kibble by throwing it across the floor and making a game out of it.

The next morning he vomited all of his food. I emailed my vet (it was sunday) because at this point I'm afraid it's something more serious - possible blockage. She explained that she didn't believe it was a blockage as Cooper would have vomited almost immediately.

Cooper is now on his 3rd day of chicken and rice. He hasn't vomited in 2 days and this morning I added a little kibble to his bowl. He is eating no treats whatsoever. He's also eating no cottage cheese in the evenings. I've been giving him cottage cheese with his Zyrtec every night because of his licking/smacking lips issues (which still hasn't stopped after 10 months). I'm thinking perhaps he's lactose intolerant.

I know this post is long but I'm getting somewhere with it. I learned just how much food I was giving to Cooper especially during training. He wasn't eating his regular kibble like he should have been because I was over stuffing him with treats and cookies! My vet showed me a shocking chart about calories and giving dogs people food. This was truly an eye opener.

Did You Know?

• Did you know that for a 20 pound dog, 1 small oatmeal cookie is the caloric equivalent of 1 hamburger or 1 entire chocolate bar for a person?
• Did you know that for a 20 pound dog eating just 1 hotdog is the same as a person consuming 3 entire hamburgers or 2 whole chocolate bars?
• Did you know only 1 ounce of cheddar cheese for a 20 pound dog has the same number of calories as 2 ½ hamburgers or 1 ½ chocolate bars do for a person?
• Did you know that if a 10 pound cat ate just 1 ounce of cheddar cheese it would be the same as if a person ate 3 ½ hamburgers or 4 whole chocolate bars?
• Did you know that just 1 potato chip for a 10 pound cat is the caloric equivalent of ½ of a hamburger or ½ of a chocolate bar for a person?
• Did you know that for a 10 pound cat, 1 cup of milk has the same number of calories as 4 ½ hamburgers or 5 chocolate bars do for a person?
(study by Hill’s Pet Nutrition)