To fast or not to fast, that is the question

[ferky1]

Here's the story -- Miles has been healing well from his hernia and neutering 10 days ago. Other than that event there have been no note-worthy occurances or changes in his lifestyle or diet (he has been doing really well on puppy wellness for almost 3 months). 4 days ago he threw up a yellow foamy substance (stinky too!) but didn't seem to have any lasting effects. Every day since then he has thrown up one time. Tueday it was before dinner, Wednesday around noon and this morning at about 6. It has always been the yellow foamy stuff, never food. Interestingly he is still very playful and happy the other 23 1/2 hours a day. He is eating well, pooping happily and loves to run, chew and play.

Because the throwing up was reoccuring, the wife and I decided to move up his vet appointment for stitches removal from Saturday to today so we could get a professional opinion. We saw a new doc today and boy was he young! I swear I saw some acne! Anyway, he gave Miles a thorough exam, said the operation and scars looked great and removed the stitches like a pro. He then started to look for a cause for the throwing up and found none. His advice was to fast Miles for 24 hours and see how he does. If he throws up we are to bring him back for blood tests and maybe x-rays. If he doesn't, we are to feed him again and see what happens.

Here's my question - is a 24 hour fast common? I do it once a year for religious reasons and it sucks! I feel so bad for my little guy. He's been through so much the last few weeks and now we are going to withhold food?!?! Right now he is okay but I cannot imagine what he is going to be like tonight after dinnertime comes and goes. The worst of it is that he obviously doesn't know what's happening and he will be looking to me to settle his grumbling tummy. Maybe I'm being a sap, but I'm uncomfortable with forcing Miles to fast. Am I being silly? Am I just prolonging a diagnosis if I ignore the doc's advice and feed him anyway? This dog is turning me into such a weakling!!!

[courtnek]

a 24 hour fast is ok, and in this case necessary. They need to determine if
the food is causing him illmess, or if there is something else going on.
Doctors will often recommend a fast when a dog is throwing up but still seems happy and is going outside normally. If you dont feed him and he doesnt vomit, it could be something in the food that is causing him distress.
If he DOES vomit, then they need to run the other tests. Your vet may actually be trying to save you some money - xrays and blood work are
expensive, and this will tell if it's food or not.

I know it seems harsh to not feed him, but he'll be ok. It's only one day and it's not something you'll need to do all the time.

Good luck with Miles!!
:D

[courtnek]

p.s.

if you absolutely CANT stand the thought of the fast, ask the vet if you
can give him some cooled, cooked rice. Rice is easily digestible and
will stay down if nothing else is wrong.

[Horsefeathers!]

A couple of questions... Is Miles a Lhasa or a Shih (I don't remember? :oops: ). Also, how often is he fed, or does he free feed?

The breed thing may not matter (more curious than anything), but both of my Lhasas will bile puke on an empty stomach. It is really similar to what you describe... yellow, foamy stuff. They only do it on an empty stomach. I feed them at least two meals a day, three when I am home all day. I have seen this happen even with free fed dogs who simply don't eat often enough, even though the food is available to them. I would suggest (after following the vet's advice, of course), putting food down for Miles at least twice a day (more would be preferable if practical). Leave it down for an hour and if he doesn't eat it, take it away until the next mealtime. He may still go through a couple of episodes of the puking, but it should establish the habit of eating proper portions at designated times and therefore (hopefully) dramatically reduce or eliminate the puking (if the problem is similar to that of my dogs).

Just something to consider after following the vet's advice.

[DogPaddle]

My friend had a kid who would puke on an empty stomache - hypoglycemic, fixed with smaller more frequent meals or snacks.

As for the fasting, RAW/BARF diets have fasts built into them and in the wild a 24 hour period without food is not so uncommon, it may not be fun but it should be ok.

[ferky1]

Thanks for the advice. Miles is a 6 month old Shih Tzu. He gets 2 scheduled meals a day, no free feeding. I find it interesting to hear about other dogs puking on a empty stomach. Every time he has done it, it has been pretty far from his most recent feeding. He either does it in the afternoon or evening before dinner, or in the AM before breakfast. I have never seen him vomit after a meal and it has always been yellow foamy stuff, not food. So maybe it is an empty stomach "thing."

One knowledgable friend thinks that Miles has some sort of blockage, but I don't see how that could be given that he was eating and pooping well. Nothing seems to be blocked!

As an update, last night he was pretty unhappy about not getting dinner, but he eventually got over it. He didn't seem to miss breakfast this morning (he has never eaten as well at breakfast as he does at dinner). The last time he vomited was yesterday afternoon a few hours before his scheduled dinner (which of course he didn't get). Now we are going to let him go a couple more hours and then feed him an early dinner. I have a few questions about that:

I know that people recommend white rice and boiled chicken for sensitive stomachs. Should I give him that for dinner or is it okay to go right back to the Wellness? If I give him the rice and chicken tonight, am I setting him up to be disappointed when he goes back to the dry Wellness (I WILL NOT get into the habit of cooking for him!). Should I let him eat as much as he wants tonight, or should I limit him to a small meal because of how long it has been since his last? Any other recommendations?

[courtnek]

It wont spoil him if it's only once or twice. He may turn his nose up at dog food first feeding after, but believe me, they dont let themselves starve....

I have always fed rice when my dogs have an upset stomach (recommended by my vet) and they went back to eating dog food no problem. But someone here made a very good comment. If he is bile puking when he is hungry, he may have a blood sugar issue. It could be too high, or too low. In that case I would definitely recommend a blood
test, because dogs can become diabetic, just like people.

I have a lot of experience with diabetes, I've been a diabetic for 38 years, and my son is one as well. If the blood test turns up positive, jist let me know and I'll help you through it.

[ferky1]

I just wanted to have some closure about this issue and tell you how it worked out.

Miles fasted for a day and a half (he ate breakfast Thursday and then nothing until dinnertime Friday). We gave him boiled chicken and white rice for dinner on Friday which he loved - of course he would have eaten anything at that point. After that special meal he went back on just Wellness and everything has been great. His appetite has actually increased, he is eating all of his meals (which he never did before) and he doesn't even need yogurt on his morning meal to entice him to eat. He hasn't thrown up since the morning he saw the vet and he has been pooping regularly. All in all, a very good conclusion.

It looks like fasting was the answer to Miles' stomach woes. . . .

[Bentleythewonderdog]

Bentley throws up the yellow foam (and yes it stinks) ever so often. I think he just has a sensitve tummy and if he gets a hold of someones scraps he get a little sick. He was pretty bad one day and acting listless and not drinking water so I was affraid he would get dehydrated. I took him in, they had me put him on boiled rice and baby food, those chicken sticks finger food. He was also put on some antibiotics. But if Miles is acting fine other than the yellow foam, maybe just a sensitive tummy.

[courtnek]

glad to hear Miles is ok!!

WOO HOO!!!

:lol: :lol: :lol: