throwing up bile every AM

[shawnzeppi]

Hello,

My female has been throwing up bile (yellow semi-transparent) each AM for the past 2 days. She is going to the vet in 2 days anyway, and this is not an emergency since it only has been happening in the mornings. She also has no appetite for her treats she usually gets after peeing/pooping.

She has no diarrhea or any other symptoms as far as I can tell. She will not eat her usual food in the AM, but eats it later in the day. In the AM we have made her chicken and rice and she gobbles that.

This symptom is amazingly similar to a canine IBS that my first yorkie had (he was on Canine ID for the last ~5 years of his life). But that was hard to diagnose and he actually had an operation (cant recall what they thought it was, but the operation was not necessary and very expensive, even though the surgeons only charged us 1/2 since it turned out to not be necessary), so he ended up on anti-inflammatory medicine (pregnizone) with the special food for the rest of his life. Anyhow, I am sure there are many things it could be. Anyone have a similar experience and have these symptoms gone away over time for anyone?

[Ellie May]

That can be normal in the mornings if she has an empty stomach.
Make sure she eats before bed.
Because she doesn't have much of an appetite though, I would maybe go into some diagnostics.

What food is she on?

[Wylie's Mom]

Could be IBS, but I'm not sure I'd treat for that until other things are tried, to settle the tummy. Have you tried feeding her a little something right before you go to sleep? It could be that her tummy is so empty upon waking that she actually feels nauseous. You could also try giving some Nutrical right upon waking or give a bit of cracker (if she'll take it) to settle the tummy. Does she have free-feed kibble available at night? Are her stools firm and normal? What are you feeding?

[shawnzeppi]

Thanks for the replies, I can try to get her to eat something before bed time tonight. She eats Nature's Recipe for toy dogs and has been on that for at least a year. She usually likes it a lot, it has never made her or her brother sick as far as I can tell (and that would include nothing bad after eating as much of this food as she wants) and most importantly, the ingredients are all healthy. So I really doubt its the food, but we do take it away a couple hours before bed since she sleeps in our bed and we dont want her to get up early to go. She is a little different with her poop; she goes a lot, and its usually a bit soft but never diarrhea. I thought that was because she is a high strung and anxious little girl. But it may be related. I will tell you what our vet says.

Incidently, although I doubt its related, I gave her a bath and trim today and found a big gross tick in her ear and just removed it. She is on medication that stops ticks from reproducing, but I wonder if it had some sort of bacteria or virus that could have made her sick?

[Wylie's Mom]

Originally Posted by shawnzeppi

She is a little different with her poop; she goes a lot, and its usually a bit soft but never diarrhea. I thought that was because she is a high strung and anxious little girl. But it may be related. I will tell you what our vet says.

Incidently, although I doubt its related, I gave her a bath and trim today and found a big gross tick in her ear and just removed it. She is on medication that stops ticks from reproducing, but I wonder if it had some sort of bacteria or virus that could have made her sick?

I would change that food asap. Anytime a dog has chronic soft stools, it is a sign that the food is not agreeing with their system. A dog's poo should be firm, formed, solid. If it is not, it's likely the wrong food and could cause all sorts of compounding problems.

As for the tick, was it a deer tick? Is Lyme Disease common in your area? Vomiting can be an initial symptom, loss of appetite, lethargy, joint pain (even limping). Here is an article if you suspect this:

What Is Lyme Disease In Dogs... Learn All About The Signs Of Lyme Disease in ThePetCenter.com

[shawnzeppi]

First off, I really appreciate the help. No, the tick did not look anything like a lime disease carrying deer tick; they are a problem in my area that is "infested" with deer, my first Yorkie contracted that at one point and could not even stand up until he was treated with anti-biotics.

I did find this article when I googled for the bile vomiting problem:

Why is My Dog Vomiting Yellow Liquid? Causes for this Chronic Form of Canine Stomach Upset

She may just need an antacid as the article suggests...

Now she will not even eat fresh cooked chicken, so I still doubt the food is the issue, but it could be since she ate some kibble last night after she had lots of fresh chicken and rice.

I did move the vet appointment up to this afternoon since we are so worried about her not eating today, not even the fresh chicken. I dont know how much antacid to try, so I am leaning towards waiting until we see the vet this afternoon before I try that approach.

[sunamand]

My little guy does this from time to time too, sometimes a couple of days in a row...just like you said, early in the morning, then he has no appetite, but later (usually around noon time) he will start picking at his kibble. The first couple of times it happened, I was very concerned, however after seeing a vet, we couldn't locate the root cause of his vomiting, and just chalked it up to upset tummy. It did eventually stop after a few days, however, this past week, he did puke up bile on friday am, and again on sunday am. Today's back to normal...

[shawnzeppi]

$400 later (although some of this was for her regularly scheduled exam, fecal, and worm pills), she got Cerenia and Famotidine injections and tablets and a blood test, results TBD. She is on Canine ID and the Cerinia tablets for a few days. Hopefully the blood test will come back negative and this is just a passing episode. One additional thing we are worried about is that she was chewing on a new foot stool I bought and ate some wood and must have digested some of the finish. This thing was made in the far east, so that is always a concern. Anyway, she at least is displaying no symptoms at this point.

[Princessgrace]

My little Grace is only alive because of her liver shunt. She has no portal vein. We started giving her Activia Yogurt (Plain only) before going to bed every night. She will bother you until you give it to her! Don't try to go to bed if you have forgotten! Grace has really slept well at night and hasn't gotten up sick since I started this. That would give your baby something on their stomach at night. Just a thought.

Debbie

[shawnzeppi]

Blood work is back and she is very healthy!!!

The vet also recommended Activa yogurt, by the way - so that was some good advise, too, thanks! For now, I will start mixing in her kibbles slowly into the Canine ID until it runs out, & then its back to her kibbles and hopefully she will be back to normal after her meds run out. But I will try giving her just a little Activa before bed time to see if that helps like its supposed to.

[ItIsSad]

My little boy has been doing this (vomitting yellow semi-transparent liquid) for 2 days now, too. I immediately contacted my vet and he said my Boogie has gastrich. He told me to feed him more than twice a day, only with smaller rations, but it doesn't help. Boogie still takes his Nutri-plus gel, though, and even though he looks hungry he still doesn't take his food.
I have stayed beside him all the time ever since he vomitted his first yellow liquid. I don't know what to do anymore, my vet has only been saying that I do what he told me. And I did, but it doesn't work. It. Doesn't. Work.

Edit: Anybody can recommend me a good medicine, or does he not need any?

[London01]

Originally Posted by ItIsSad

My little boy has been doing this (vomitting yellow semi-transparent liquid) for 2 days now, too. I immediately contacted my vet and he said my Boogie has gastrich. He told me to feed him more than twice a day, only with smaller rations, but it doesn't help. Boogie still takes his Nutri-plus gel, though, and even though he looks hungry he still doesn't take his food.
I have stayed beside him all the time ever since he vomitted his first yellow liquid. I don't know what to do anymore, my vet has only been saying that I do what he told me. And I did, but it doesn't work. It. Doesn't. Work.

Edit: Anybody can recommend me a good medicine, or does he not need any?

How much time is in between Boogie's last meal at night and his bile vomit in the morning? Even with the more frequent daytime feedings, if his tummy gets too empty overnight, acid builds up and can cause bile vomit. Maybe try feeding him right before bed if you are not already doing that? This is pretty common in small dogs

Good luck! Keep us posted!

[London01]

Originally Posted by shawnzeppi

she got Cerenia and Famotidine injections and tablets and a blood test, results TBD. She is on Canine ID and the Cerinia tablets for a few days.

A few weeks ago, London was vomitting bile in the morning. I was so mad when the vet sent me home with Cerenia, which may stop the vomiting but does not address the underlying cause. Anyway, the experienced YTers were correct in London's case...it was just acid build-up due to an empty tummy overnight. Although the vet said "maybe it's just a virus", the YT diagnosis made more sense because the vomit was always in the morning on an empty stomach.

Good luck with your little girl!

[shawnzeppi]

Originally Posted by London01

A few weeks ago, London was vomitting bile in the morning. I was so mad when the vet sent me home with Cerenia, which may stop the vomiting but does not address the underlying cause. Anyway, the experienced YTers were correct in London's case...it was just acid build-up due to an empty tummy overnight. Although the vet said "maybe it's just a virus", the YT diagnosis made more sense because the vomit was always in the morning on an empty stomach.

Good luck with your little girl!

Thanks, London. I understand that the Cerenia tablets are not a long term solution, when the pills run out will the vomiting continue? On the other hand, this is the first time this issue has come up, so it could be something like a short term virus or bacterial infection in my Daisy's case. Anyway, I am going to start the activa and will let you know how it goes, have not gotten to the store yet to get it, but I have not been in a hurry to do so because...

With regard to the Cerenia tablets, I am not going to give her any more of those after last night anyhow. ALthough they were 100% effective in stopping the vomiting, they had an unacceptable side effect - soft stools that got worse and worse until she had bad diarrhea, and I had to give her medicine to stop that. So my next move is going to hope that this was indeed a short term issue, and to get the the yogurt tomorrow so she hopefully wont need any more medication. That diarrhea stuff is so potent that even a tiny yorkie proscribed dose was enough that she would not go at all today - poor thing. I am going back to kibbles and stopping the chicken and rice/Canine ID I've been feeding her the last 3 days until she decides its time to poop again!

[labrown]

Originally Posted by London01

How much time is in between Boogie's last meal at night and his bile vomit in the morning? Even with the more frequent daytime feedings, if his tummy gets too empty overnight, acid builds up and can cause bile vomit. Maybe try feeding him right before bed if you are not already doing that? This is pretty common in small dogs

Good luck! Keep us posted!

This is a very true statement, and I think it answers a very common question on this forum. It took me a month to figure out this was what was going on with my dog. Welcome to YT! Keep that good information coming!