My dog is throwing up and not eating

[igghy]

My dog threw up 4 times last Friday, Feb 6. I took him to the vet. She thought it may be either obstruction or panreatitis. She gave him antivomit medicine and a fluid shot. She gave him low residue vet formula for him to eat. He stopped eating and threw up again on Wed, Feb 11. His last BM I am aware of was on Wednesday. I went back to the vet on Thursday on Feb 12. A different vet saw him this time. He didn't suggest obstruction. Instead, he was mainly concerned with pancreatitis and carried out a blood test. It ruled out pancreatitis. The vet then suggested anti vomit medication so that my dog would eat and drink. I refused. I thought if he has an object blocking somewhere, he shouldn't eat. I forcefed pedialyte to him about a cup or two everyday to wait it out. He seemed to be doing better but then began to throw up again on Sunday. He is now hospitalized with IV. They plan to run an xray on him. In the meantime I am so worried. What are his chances for survival? My dog urinated a couple of times a day every day but he was quite dehydrated when we got to the vet.

[Jennapooh3]

Hi. My 4 mth old pitbull puppy has stopped eating his food. But will eat the treats i give him...which i give a few a day. Hes vomiting even tho hes not eating. He pees an poops fine tho. Any suggestions? Hes also still playful.

[igghy]

Thank you for the support. The tissue where the wooden ball was stuck was bruised and swellen. Luckily the ball didn't have sharp edges and it didn't tear. The vet said it should heal given time. His vital organs were also stressed from dehydration but not damaged. He is planning to keep him hospitalized for a few more days. He had not eaten since the 9th of Feb. The recovery probably won't be quick but we are just happy that he is coming home sooner or later.  

[katew888]

Good grief, good luck to you and your kiddo.  Please update us on his condition!

[ginger899]

I am glad that after all the worry that it is solved. Now all he needs is time to recover and heal, and your care and love. (See? Your daughter was right) He has been through a lot, with this, and so have you. I hope he continues to recover well, and his strength gradually builds up again.

[peekawho]

We've sure had 2 bad intestinal cases in the past couple of days, here!
I hope that's it!  

Igghy, I hope he recovers quickly.  

[Jaybay]

Whew!  Did the vet say the intestinal tissue in that area looked OK?  Hopefully your dog will make a quick recovery now that the ball is gone.  Don't be surprised if it takes a few more days before he feels like eating.  Any time the intestines are disturbed, they tend to sulk for a while.  The dog is the best one to determine when he's ready to try food.  I was scared to death that our dog Maggie wouldn't pull through after a similar surgery because she didn't eat for nearly 4 days.  VERY scary.  I know what it feels like myself - bowel resections are no fun.

This IS a very serious condition, so try to be patient and not expect great things too soon.  Once he is able to hold down a bit of food and keep himself hydrated, he should be able to come home.  I had to put a spreadsheet together to keep track of all Maggie's takehome medications.  It was crazy!

Hang in there - it's looking much better!  :-)

[igghy]

Just got a call from the vet. They found a small cedar ball in my dog's intestine. He is weak but luckily no further damage from this. Thank you fro replying and helping me out to get through.

[igghy]

Yes the slow diagnostic was very unfortunate. In the meantime, I got a call from my vet, he now thinks there's a blockage. The dog is being operated on right now. He weakened so much that the vet didn't want to waste any more time. I am hoping my dog pulls it through. When I brought back my dog, they should have taken the next step instead of repeating wait and see. Our regular vet was not available that day.

If he doesn't pull through, what would be the best way to break the news to my daughter? She's 15 yrs old. I tried to communicate that this could be a serious condition before dropping her off at school this morning. She is an optimistic kid and wasn't worried. She was sure he will pull through. While I genuinely hope she is right, that makes my job even harder in case it doesn't turn out right.

[Jaybay]

I'm so glad you contacted the university hospital.  Great proactive work on your part!  I'm a bit concerned that your current vet clinic seems to be moving a bit slowly on diagnostic testing, but glad to hear he's getting the supportive care and pain management he needs in the meantime.  Keep after them!

[igghy]

Thank you for the reply. I am worried to my wit's end. They put him on a multiple medication, anti-bio, anti-vomit, something to stop stomach bile, and some morphine for pain killer. My dog had a abdominal pain on the right side that I noticed. It must have gotten worse. The vet said the x ray shows thickening of the wall of the stomach. He doesn't see obstruction yet. Worried about cancer. They are running the blood test again. I am so nervous. Didn't sleep much last night. I contacted a local university vet hospital should need arise. I am waiting for the vet to call back with more result.

[ginger899]

Dehydration is common, and happens quite quickly after repeated vomiting. The pedialyte you are getting down him would have helped somewhat but probably couldn't quite get on top of it. That's why they put him on IV. Best solution, and a very quick way to get him re-hydrated.
I guess the vet is trying to locate the source of the problem,at first I suppose, by elimination (this is where delays occur, but they are trying their best, and are only human I suppose) Re-hydration is the most urgent thing, then the Xray to see if anything is obstructing his gut. As a blood test has been done, I wonder if it was tested for any possible infection?  But you could ask about that.

If he hadn't been eating, and regularly throwing up, it is fairly natural that he wouldn't have a bowel movement.
The only thing you can do now is to wait for the results. I am sure they will do all they can. You could ask about whether they think this could be infection of some kind? And whether his liver is functioning normally.

A re-hydration IV is not the end of the world, so try not to worry about that, though it seems an animal is in a bad way when it has to be hooked up to an IV. It's just the best, fastest way to get fluids in.

It's hard to say what is the cause of his vomiting, and hope the vet finds out as quickly as possible, and your dog gets the treatment he needs. And I hope he is ok. Please do let us know, if you have time.