My one year old Westie has recently been vomiting, mainly bile.  I started to keep a diary of when she was doing it and it worked out at every 3 days but just lately it has gone to once a week.  She is fed on Royal Canin Sensible as she is quite fussy.  She doesnt eat much at a time, but after she has been sick I usually give her chicken and rice then gradually mix in her food, which she eats no problem.  I have tried putting warm water on her food to soak it just so that she eats.  She has a biscuit before bed so that she doesnt go to sleep on an empty stomach.  She does seem better when she has a full tummy but as soon as we go back to just biscuit she doesnt eat much again. 

This may sound daft but I wondered if dry food was too much like hard work for her as she is quite a tiny Westie and her teeth are very small.  But then the question is what do I feed her as my other Westie is fine on the biscuit, but he is much bigger! 

She is usually fine after she has been sick but the last 2 times it seemed quite pinky orange and I was just a bit worried.  I would rather try different things with her before I take her to the vet, as she is otherwise a healthy little dog with loads of energy!

Some advice would be much appreciated, thankyou.

Hi Linda

> She does seem better when she has a full tummy but as soon as we go back to just biscuit she doesnt eat much again.

Firstly that being the case I wouldn't go back to just plain dry complete with her.  If the problem is food related and you've identified that as a possible cause then perhaps look into feeding a moist complete or half and half but TBH I would want to change to a food with different ingredients if I suspected that to be the cause.  It will have nothing to do with the size of her teeth. 

Bringing up bile regularly is something to be wary of if left untreated - there can be numerous reasons for this happening and unfortunately numerous problems as a result.

> She is usually fine after she has been sick but the last 2 times it seemed quite pinky orange and I was just a bit worried

This suggest possible blood in the vomit - the dog should be seen by a vet to establish the cause and best way to proceed.

> I would rather try different things with her before I take her to the vet, as she is otherwise a healthy little dog with loads of energy!

Otherwise seemingly healthy dogs can have serious underlying problems - I don't wish to alarm you but were this a child would you not immediately take it to a doctor rather than second guess what may be wrong?

regards, Teri

When do you feed her and how many meals a day is she on?   My westies can do this as well, but, I find its when they have an empty tummy.

I feed mine , (except the pups) twice a day a small meal in the morning and the rest at tea time.  I got the bile mostly when I fed them once a day, thats why I changed to twice.

The bile is usually yellow and a can be a bit frothy. but if its orange you should see a vet never seen it this colour.

Hi Marguerite

I feed her twice a day, mainly because she tends to be a picky eater, so that she always has something in her tummy.  I have done this with my last two westies as well as they do seem to have a tendency to vomit bile.

I have made an appointment to see the vet as it is a bit worrying if there is a trace of blood in it.  Will let you know what they think.  Hopefully it will be something that we  can deal with without medicines.

Hi Linda,

Just a thought, we had a Sheltie who used to vomit bile in the mornings. We found if we gave her a small bowl of cornflakes just before bedtime then she'd be fine the next day.

Obviously you need to rule out anything serious though so hope all goes well at your vet's appointment.

Just an update.  I took her to the vets.  She said she appeared healthy and did not seem clinically unwell, so put her on Antipepsi (?) to line her stomach, an hour before feeding.  She also recommended I just feed her chicken and rice for 4 weeks.  All was going well, but then this morning, she ate a whole lot of grass again and vomited. She had lasted 5 days again.  However, she is eating much better.  So I shall take her back to the vet again.

Update - A stool and blood sample showed campylobacter.  So she was given antibiotics for 2 weeks.  Strangely enough, she also came into season, but is now absolutely fine.  She is also eating a lot better than before, which makes me wonder how long she had the bug for??