I have a 7 month westie. From time to time he is sick in the early morning between 4 - 7 am. When it was just a couple of times and far apart I just put it down to him eating something he shouldnt have (in the garden). His appetite is not altered or his behavour. However it seems to be happening more often although not frequent if that makes sense. For example last night he wasnt in the garden as it is very frosty here so I dont think he eat something horrid. He woke me up at 6 am and he went out for a wee just for a couple of mins then we went back to bed. Half an hour later I heard him vomit, he eat it up then went back to sleep. He eat breakfast as normal and was as lively as ever - no evidence of being unwell. This is beginning to concern me but I am a little reluctant to take him to the vets when it is not happening all the time and he does not appear unwell. Has this happened to anyone else?

Hi June,

Ordinarily if they bring up bile (yellow liquid, often frothy) it is simply slight excess acid and feeding a little later at night or offering just a small amount of biscuit before bed time will resolve the issue.  However if you find this doesn't work IMO it warrants further investigation.

If he is bring up *undigested food* on a regular basis, then definitely worth visiting the vet for further check up as that is more likely to be a sign of a problem that requires treatment or investigation.

HTH, regards Teri :)

 

Thanks Teri, I think it is bile although because he eats it again I dont always see it, but saw it once and it did look yellowy brown and frothy but a fair amount of it. I have been feeding him between 4-6pm, is that too early then? Perhaps 630 or 7pm. He is usually starving and bolts it down really fast. He was sick again last night that makes 3 times this week. The only food he has had other than ND was a lamb bone my husband gave him last night with a few bits of raw meat on it which he picked over all evening in great delight!

Hi again June,

Personally IME if they eat it it's not bile - bile is vile (no poetic connotation intended ;) )  He's possibly bringing up some food with saliva and then bile hence he MAY eat what's not soaked in the acidic gastric juices (sorry to be so graphic) but won't lick up any of the yellow stuff (which will turn even a dark carpet green - so clean up fast :rolleyes: )

I feed adults twice daily, around lunch time and then late evening (approx 9.00 pm).  If any are sick at say 8 hours since last meal,  I wouldn't expect to see any actual food in what was brought up (unless they'd unearthed something themselves in between :rolleyes: )

Do you feed twice daily?  If so, can you alter his meal sizes and times and break his daily ration into three meals with the third being around 9-00 pm?  If possible try and do this and see if it makes a difference.  Personally though, I'd give this regime a maximum of one week trial and if he's still being sick within that period seek a vet's opinion.  If it's at all possible, when you hear him being sick get to him immediately so that you know whether he is bringing up food or not and if so what state of digestion it's in.  Likewise keep a note of how long has lapsed between him being fed and being sick.  Then if needed your vet will have an idea of where best to start specific investogation from.

HTH, please update when you can.  Regards, Teri :)

ps. if you only feed once a day at present, definitely change that to at least twice, once late morning/mid-day and again mid/late evening - you don't have to double the feeding ration, merely split his daily allowance into two portions.

I guess at 7 months he is still growing and might need a feed increase anyway.
My boy is now 3 and had a real problem with sickness in the morning (always bile). It happened so often that the vet did blood tests etc. Anyway, it proved to be the easiest of things to sort - he now has a really good size supper - not just a few nibbles. His daily ration has been split into 3 more or less equal portions, supper being very slightly less and quite late - 10pm. He just seems to be one of those poor things that can't cope on an empty tummy.
Hope your boy is better soon.

Val

Thanks Terry and Val. Yes I do feed him twice a day on Nature Diet 7am and between 4-6pm. Until he was 5 1/2 months old I fed him 3 times a day on JWB- then he started to not eat all his meals so I cut out the mid day meal. Perhaps this was a mistake. (However the sicky mornings happened about 3 times since he was 12 weeks so that doesnt account for it or the change in diet) He is eating 1 pack a day split into 1/2 pack per meal.  I will keep a note of when the sickness is happening because it is variable, it can be a few days in a row and then nothing for a month. Its difficult to pinpoint why its happening, unless he has eaten something he shouldnt have, he is still very chewy and everything goes into his mouth that he can find.
It sounds a good idea to feed 3 meals again, I dont think I could get away with not feeding him breakfast though! He is ravenous in the mornings sick or not! The difficulty is that I can't always get home at lunch time, and I have been feeding him between 4-6 partly to settle him before we eat at 7-8pm but also because we go to training classes 2x week which are getting later and later as he moves up to "older classes",  so would it be ok for the 2nd feed to be say at 4 and then supper at 9-10?

Hi again June,

Yes it's perfectly acceptable to give him a really late supper - mine have been fed as late as 11-30 pm if I'm trying to squeeze in an extra meal or if we've been to dog club ;)

Try and keep the meals as evenly spaced as you are able to comfortably fit into your personal life style - there's no really hard and fast rule beyond that - gotta be flexible, but I'm sure you know that already :P

Good luck with him - and please let us know how things are going.
Best wishes, Teri :)

Hi Teri & June (sorry, couln't resist it !).

As you put that your dog is really hungry in the morning - sickness or not - it maybe tells us that a late supper is needed so that the tummy doesn't get too empty.
I feed mine at 9.00 (ish), 5 (ish) and again anytime after 10pm.

Good luck

Val

Thanks Teri and Val. I am starting the new regime today and will see how it goes over a one month period.