Hi All

I have got a 5 month old westie who seems to be sicky quite a bit, we usually get up to a bit of sickness about 3-4 times a week, usually it happens overnight but this week he has been sick a couple of days during the day, i have put this down to the very hot weather we have been having but i just thought i would ask. We have got a couple of westie's that live near us and both of the owners say that their westie's get sickness and their vets have told them that westie's are prone to sickness as they have got sensitive stomach's.
What i cannot understand is as soon as he is sick he is running around playing so he cannot be feeling poorly, it is just that i have never had a dog before and i didn't think they were sick as often as this. I just wondered whether there were any other westie owners or breeders perhaps on the board that could give me some info, i am seeing my vet mid August to get him 6 monthly checked so i will ask him then but would have liked to have found out from some other westie owners beforehand. If he seemed poorly i would take him to the vet now but he charges around playing afterwards and eats and drinks fine that i cannot seem to think there is a lot wrong with him.
Hope somebody may be able to help.
Thanks
Helen

I have a 16month male Westie called Buddy who ever since i got him has had a delicate tummy. I admit to making the problem worse when he was a pup by trying different foods too quickly just to get him to eat. Since then he's had a few different brands of dry food to see if i could get his poo firmed up. BUT ALSO, he's had the odd bout of sickness, i would often come home to see yellow/brown staining on the floor which i found out was due to him having frothy bile like vomits. He seemed to only do this when he was desperate to get outside. On days where he did'nt have to wait to get out he would be fine. I thought it might be abit stress related but i'm not sure. More recently he took to vomiting non digested food after his morning meal. I was'nt sure if it was because he wolfed it down and his tummy could'nt hold it. It was upsetting to see this because he looked so distressed, scraping at the ground, howling and could'nt sit still. Once he got it up he would be fine running around and looking his usual happy self, even trying to eat the stuff( i did'nt let him). His last proper vomit was 6 days ago.
For the last 3 days i've been weaning him onto Nuturediet as it was recommended for colitis. Don't know for sure if Buddy has colitis but the change in food has so far improved his motions. They're firmer and less frequent-- so fingers crossed that i've found the answer.
I know this probably does'nt answer your question but good luck with your little white friend. If in doubt see the Vet.
Budmad

Helen,

If your Westie is vomiting yellow bile then the reason he is throwing up is because his stomach is empty. As you say he mostly throws up overnight, I suspect that's the reason.

I have a Cairn, very closely related to Westies, and she threw up a lot until I learned the reason. I now give her a couple of dog biscuits before I go to bed and she is fine for the night. She also gets a couple of biscuits or a snack (part of my lunch!) in the middle of the day, if not, she throws up.

Stacey