1 1/5 yr old Min Pin threw up

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

We have a 1 1/2 yr old rescue min pin and only had her for about 2 wks now and she has been very good with a constant food and walk schedule today when she ate her food in the morning she did not eat much of it and about 30 minutes later she threw up the little she ate, it was mostly her food that came right back up (she also ate it before I can clean it up), she has not really wanted to eat since... I have little exp. with dogs so wondering how normal is it for this to happen and is there anything I should or should not do or be on the look out for.

Thanks

ANSWER: Food that comes right up is from regurgitation, not vomiting. You can raise her bowl up if she eats to fast or she may be having issues with her food. You don't mention what brand she is on.

What she is eating has a lot to do with how she is keeping it down or not. Is she is getting is treats, or any table food?
These will cause digestive upsets as well.

It is not normal for a dog to regurgitate, so you need to figure out if it's the food or other things she is eating. She could have a nervous stomach which is touchy. She could have had problems in the past with digestive issues or pancreatitis (inflammation of the pancreas).

Let me know what kind of food she is eating and everything else she is eating and I can give you some recommendations.



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: She is eating Merricks Kibble and Wet Food. She's done pretty well with that except she prefers the wet so I put some warm chicken broth over the kibble. She gets treats like biscuits, Sweet Potato (Vitality I think), Chicken Strips (also Vitality), and just yesterday for the first time we gave her a tsp of plain yogurt because she has stinky gas. No table food at all.

Any recommendations?

Answer
Let me give you a small lesson in pet nutrition Jay. Dogs are made to eat one type of diet all the time, every day. They are not wolves, but are more omnivorous then they are carnivorous. Even wolves try and eat the same thing everyday. If they eat different foods they have a pancreas that gets pretty upset which can result in some serious problems.

When you feed foods like Merrick, there is a lack of consistency in the formulation of the food. They don't have a fixed formula so they can buy whatever is cheaper on the docks that day for their food. Most pet food manufacturers do this. Most, but not all.

Another thing about Merrick foods which is not a good thing is that they formulate their foods for all stages of a dogs life. (wilderness blend:Wilderness Blend is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food nutrient profiles for all life stages. ) What that means is that by law, a food that covers all stages is formulated for puppies. That means too much fat and protein for adult dogs. This food is also very fattening. Too much fat equals a fat dog, but so does a food that doesn't provide the amount of nutrition per cup that a dog needs for energy. So the dog eats more and more food trying to get that energy need met.
It's what I call the "trying to get a pound of steak protein from a box of saltine crackers".  It's not going to happen. This is why obesity in dogs is getting worse and worse.

That combined with treats that are also full of fat and sugars. Biscuits, whether or not the human kind or a milkbone, (you don't say what you mean by a biscuit) are very high in fat and calories. We call them Snickers bars for dogs. They also create terrible dental problems for dogs as they stick to the upper back molars, so if you don't brush your dog's teeth daily they will have dental disease before they are two.

The worst dentals I did were on dogs that ate Milk Bones.

The last problem with Merrick foods is that they are NOT in the business of researching the nutritional needs of dogs and their food is only formulated to meet the AAFCO needs but they don't do trial feeding so they really don't know how well their foods support a dogs health-especially in the long run.

Right off of the Merrick site on the Cowboy Cookout it says:
Cowboy Cookout is formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food nutrient profiles for all life stages.

This is a legal statement and what it means is what I just explained.

So now that you know what you are really feeding, let's talk about a food that not only provides optimal nutrition for your dog with less waste, but has been trial fed for over 50 yrs and has over 50 yrs of veterinary research behind it.

Now what would you rather feed your dog?  A food that isn't fed in trials and has no research behind it or a food that has been researched for superior nutrition and was one of the first foods created for disease prevention?

I am talking about Science Diet pet foods. Since it was started by Dr. Mark Morris, DVM over 50 yrs ago, it has been a pioneer in the wellness arena for dogs and cats. The result of this research and dedication is generations of pets that live longer, healthier lives.

Science Diet is a fixed-formulation food, meaning it never changes from batch to batch, including the ingredients used to make it. When a food changes it's ingredients sources from batch to batch this results in your dog getting indigestion and diarrhea, vomiting etc from it, even though you think nothing should have changed.

Now just because your dog regurgitated this food doesn't mean that she is having digestive issues that are serious but she might not be agreeing with the diet. Canned food is even worse because of the amount of fats and sugars in it, however it has more moisture so it passes through (mostly undigested) faster.

You might want to try the Science Diet Sensitive Stomach formula and see how she does on that. It takes three weeks for a food to start to really affect the dog so most of the time it's a good idea to get a bag large enough to cover the three weeks.
If you use the Science Diet you have to measure it according to the bag, which means you use an 8 ounce measuring cup, not a coffee mug or other cup.
She should get no more than a 1/2 cup a day. Some like to feed morning and night so that would be 1/4 cup twice a day. You can add warm water to it, not broth, but let her try it dry first.

Also take 7 days to transition to a new food to prevent any more digestive upsets. There are directions on the bag. If you decide to switch to give your dog the optimal nutrition that she needs, then you might want to try the three bag challenge and get some coupons to save money.
here is the page for that:

http://www.feedingisbelieving.com/believe/3-Bag-Challenge-Form.html

Another thing is that you don't want to give her much yogurt as dogs are lactose intolerant after they are weaned. Her gas is because she isn't digesting this food and because of the questionable ingredients. My pets have been on Science Diet for over 20 yrs and none of them ever have gas.

So that's the nutritional lesson of the day! I hope this sheds some light on what might be the cause of her regurgitating but if she continues to do this she needs to see the vet. I am trusting that she has been heartworm tested, on prevention and vaccinated and spayed.

If you have any more questions please feel free to write back.