Senior dog tummy troubles

[DawgLady]

We adopted a senior, mixed-breed, large dog about 6 months ago. Within the last month, he’s vomited a couple times. He just vomited his breakfast again today. He went to the vet and his bloodwork looked fine. Overall health looked fine (although he’s dropped a few pounds). They just gave us some probiotics and told us to watch him. His appetite is great and his energy is appropriate for a dog his age (11-12). We haven’t changed foods…although we did change flavors of the food he’s on from venison to lamb.

I will absolutely take him back to the vet, but I want to start thinking about dietary changes. I will cook for him if I need to (boiled chicken and white rice are easy on tummies). But will this satisfy his nutritional needs? Maybe there is a sensitive stomach formula of something we should try?

I dunno. Anybody have thoughts?

[OzarksRider]

From your description, it sounds like your dog may be regurgitating rather than vomiting. Vomiting expels the contents of the stomach, and it’s usually preceded by signs of nausea such as restlessness and lip-licking. Regurgitation, on the other hand, expels the contents of the esophagus. It often (but not always) occurs shortly after eating, and the dog does not appear nauseous.

In older dogs, especially larger breeds, the esophagous can lose its tone and consequently does not transport food to the stomach as efficiently. Try feeding your dog 3-4 small meals throughout the day and see if this helps. You might also give him a famotidine tablet to calm any acid reflux, but ask your vet first.

[DawgLady]

Wow, those are great thoughts. I’ll definitely try the smaller meals spaced out. Thank you so much.

[Mango20]

My older dog (11) is having sudden tummy troubles today. She wouldn’t eat any dog food for breakfast or dinner. She’s thrown up twice. She ate a slice of bread this morning, a couple of treats, and some turkey and rice about three hours ago, but is clearly still uncomfortable. She is lying down, but has gotten up and changed positions several times. I wouldn’t be too worried if this was my young dog who eats everything and seems to pass it fine, but my older dog had a few mast cell tumors and other growths removed a few years ago, and has grown new ones since then. It makes me worry what might be lurking for her internally. I’m hoping she’ll feel okay in the morning, or I’ll take her in. She was perfectly fine yesterday.

[Weezer]

Does the dog eat really quickly? Maybe put his kibble in a slow feed bowl or put large rocks in his bowl so he has to work around them to eat. Good luck!

[Pico_Banana]

You might want to try this:

https://www.proviable.com/proviable-forte-kits-for-dogs

It’s a pretty powerful probiotic in two different forms – both a paste and a powder. It helped my senior girl get over some pretty bad tummy upset/diarrhea a couple of times. My vet actually prescribed it to me but you can buy it OTC as well.

I actually give my male dog the capsule form of the probiotic on a daily basis because he will occasionally have an upset tummy and is pretty gassy. The probiotic makes a huge difference.

[DawgLady]

Thank you, this is well worth a shot.

[Pico_Banana]

Also, to get him over the immediate tummy upset, you’re on the right track thinking of a bland diet for a short period of time. A more balanced meal than chicken and rice is either the Royal Canin or Hill’s digestive canned food. I know most people go to the Hill’s ID, but our dogs (all relatively picky greyhounds) have had a very clear preference for the Royal Canin.