Nightly Throw Up

Question
QUESTION: Hi.  I just bought a cocker Spaniel Puppy.  She is 10 weeks old.  The past two nights she has thrown up.  She eats her breakfast and doesnt throw up and eats snacks throughout the day.  The throw up looks like her dinner mushed up. This is the second week I have had her and been feeding her the same food, no changes.  This is the first sign of this. She is constantly eating things off the ground and I am always pulling things out of her mouth when we go outside or walk in the hallways.  I dont know how to stop her and am afraid she might be sick from this.  Could it be more? Is she okay?  Is there something I should do?  Thanks so much for your help!

ANSWER: The first thing you need to do is stop feeding her "snacks throughout the day." The only thing you will get from that is a very fat and sick dog.

Snacks and treats are for training, not for giving out like candy. Think of them as a snicker bar- would you eat those all day long? No, so neither should your new baby. You can give her small carrots for snacks once she is past the vomiting and you figure out what is causing it. Carrots are very good for them and they will eat them for life, do tricks for them and not get fat from them.

With the amount of sugar, salt and fat in most snacks it is highly likely that they are causing this vomiting. She is less likely to be sick from eating stuff off of the ground.

You did not tell me what food you are feeding either but if it something like Puppy Chow then that will make her vomit as it has milk in it and dogs are not lactose tolerant past the age of weaning.

Since she is vomiting a while after she eats it is true vomiting as opposed to regurgitation which happens when they eat and vomit whole food up right away.

Make sure she is vaccinated also, and while you didn't mention diarrhea, check to see how her stools look too.

I would get her off her current food if it is anything except Science Diet puppy growth and get her (slowly!) onto that. It is a better balanced diet with the correct amount of nutrients so she will be less likely to eat stuff off the ground also. She will be getting optimum nutrition for the money so the food will cost less in the end because she will require less of it.

It has over 50 yrs of veterinary research behind it and is what most vets feed their own pets at home.

So try that first, then if the vomiting is ongoing it's time for a check up with the vet before her next set of shots. Make sure she is on heartworm prevention also, and wormed regularly for roundworms, hook and whipworms. These can create upset stomachs too that will lead to vomiting, especially the roundworms.

I hope this helps. Please let me know how it goes with the food or at the vets.


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

QUESTION: Hi
I am new at this and I did not give you all of the information.  I am feeding her wellness puppy food mixed with purina dog chow (this is what the breeders were feeding her).  I thought Wellness was a good food. I dont feed her snacks unless we are training or if I have to put her in her crate.  when i said she was only throwing up her dinner 5-6 hours later I didnt think that maybe she is throwing up her breakfast and eating it...because she is in the cage for parts of the day I might not know this.  
I am definatly going to grab a bag of carrots tomorrow though and use those instead of the treats I have until she is older.  I dont know if you can give me any other information right now but I really appreciate your help!

Answer
My dog is 11 and has eaten carrots all of her life. She is not overweight because of that and her teeth are in great shape. Wellness and Purina puppy chow are both junk foods. They have no fixed formulation so every time you buy it it is different which leads to a lot of digestive problems. Like I said, there is milk in puppy chow and that is not good at all.

Get her on the Science Diet Puppy Growth. Keep her on it until she is one year old then switch to Adult light or regular. You do this and your dog will live a LONG and healthy life. I know, I have seen it over and over for over 28 yrs. Trust me on this one.
No Purina, no wellness, Iams, or Blue buffalo, No Nutro.

One food for life and a long, healthy and happy one. Feed only according to the bags directions with a little less in the cup then it says.
Use an 8 oz measuring cup ONLY.