Hi All

I have got a 17 week old westie called Hamish, yesterday he started being sick just after his tea, i am not sure what caused it as a couple of things happened throughout the day, we had killed 1 of those hairy caterpillar's in the garden but there was still some left on the paving slabs which he was licking at, also he had licked some flakes from a laundry tablet that had fallen onto the floor, this was about 1 pm yesterday and he was not bad until around 4.30pm. It seemed to be as soon as he had licked the remains of the caterpillar that he started to be sick and was gasping for his breath. I rushed him down to our vet who gave him a steroid injection and an antibiotic and said to starve him until breakfast this morning. Last night he was very sleepy and kept on reaching as if he was going to be sick but only brought up clear flemmy stuff. This morning he seems brighter, he has had his breakfast and has not been sick anymore but he still keeps reaching as if he is going to be sick, not all of the time but if he is laying down he suddenly gets up and reaches a couple of times and then settles back down again. I have also noticed that he has been sneezing occasionally today, would this have anything to do with the sickness or not?
I have got an appointment with the vet again tomorrow but just wondered whether anybody could advise me whether he should be reaching now as if he is going to be sick, we have never had dogs before so sorry if this seems a stupid question but we are new to the doggy world.
Thanks
Helen

Hi Helen

If he is still retching then the best thing would be to ring your vet and have a word with them - it is always safer (if more expensive) to err on the side of caution, and most vets are happy to talk to yuo on the phone so you can explain exactly what is happening

Please let us know how Hamish gets on and if you find the cause

Christine

Hi

Thanks for your reply, i did phone the vet at lunchtime and they said that as they suspected it was the soap powder it has propably made his throat a bit sore and due to the sickness yesterday he is probably just very tender which is still making him feel sicky. The sneezing they seem to think is all to do with the soap powder as it would have irritated his throat and nose. I have fed him again early afternoon and touch wood up to now he has managed to keep this down, he just keeps reaching every now and then but nothing comes up.
I have got an appt with the vet tomorrow so hopefully things may have settled down by the time we see them. He seems okay in himself just a bit quiet but as the weather is warm at the moment it could be this upsetting him aswell.
The vet said that as long as he is not being sick then not to worry too much, but if the sickness starts up again i have got to take him down as an emergency, so i am just watching him like a hawk to spot if anything changes.
I will let you know how we get on.
Thanks
Helen

How's Hamish today.
Budmag (westie owner)

Hope hamish is ok! Had to smile at his antics though! It's impossible to stop them licking or eating all sorts of odd things :)

Hi All

Thanks for asking after Hamish, the little monkey has now made a full recovery and is back to his old self. I was concerned about him as he was really sick and off colour but on taking him back to the vet on Monday she said that he was fine, he still hasn't learnt his lesson as he is still roaming around looking for bits on the floor, the soap powder is now out of reach from the little monkey so i expect he will move his thoughts onto something else!!!
He is into everything and it is very hard as he is there like a shot as soon as something drops onto the floor, with never having a puppy before we are learning that you have got to be very QUICK in picking things up.
Thanks again
Helen & Hamish