6 mo. old yellow lab

Question
QUESTION: Hi Jen, thanks for taking my question.  I have a 2-part question.  The first is, my lab is 6 months old and I feed Kirkland chicken and rice 2x a day. He eats about a total of 3.5 cups a day...does this seem like the right amount to you?

Also, for the past two weeks, he seems to be vomiting in his crate at around 2-3am in the morning, which is a good 7 hours after I last feed him.  His vomit seems to be mostly undigested food. Otherwise he seems very healthy (i.e., playful, normal stool, etc.).  Any ideas as to what could be causing this? I even tried separating out his nightly feeding by 15 minute intervals, which didn't help.

Thanks for your advice!

ANSWER: Regarding the food, 3.5 cups is about normal and he can probably stay on that until he's old and needs to start cutting back.  

Not sure why he might be throwing his food up.  Especially so long after eating his meal.  It can happen when they eat too fast or drink too much and then they will regurgitate their meal (which is different than vomiting).  You could try giving 2 1/2 cups in the AM and the 1 at night so there is less food in his tummy.  You could also try wetting the food down so that it will not absorb more liquid in his tummy.  Is he doing this every night or just on occasion?

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

QUESTION: He hasn't been doing it every night but it's been consistent the past 3 nights.  The breeder I got him from said it could actually be because he's getting hungry so the acidity in his stomach is making him vomit, which I'm not sure is right. He does eat his food extremely fast, but like you said, if that was the problem it would be occurring closer to his feeding time. I'm not sure if it could also be a behavioral issue? I'd be more concerned if he was acting sick, but he's completely normal outside of this occurrence.

Answer
I was going to say that vomiting at night or in the AM can be a problem that folks have coined "Empty Tummy syndrome" and that tends to be hungry tummies vomiting up bile.  That can be fixed with a 1/4 cup of kibble at night or a few biscuits before bedtime.  My oldest boy used to get that as a young guy.  You COULD try it a couple nights and give a cookie after the last potty before bedtime and see if that helps the problem.  Unfortunately, I don't have a set answer for this, it will need to be a "try something and see".  

There is a difference between vomiting and regurgitation, and typically undigested food comes up with an unexpected "burp" while vomiting is stomach convulsions, the mouth will water, and then what's in the tummy will come up.  And typically regurgitation isn't that serious.  

I would try the cookie a few nights see what happens.  If no change, try a smaller meal at night for a few nights.  Is anything else in the vomit?  Grass or toy bits?