Having worked for a veterinarian while in college, I saw dogs come into the clinic with a simple case of vomiting, only to find they were in critical condition and on death’s doorstep. For that reason, when any of my dogs becomes ill and starts vomiting, I do not wait long before taking them to the vet. I am not talking about a dog that ate grass, and turned around and spit it back up. I am talking about a dog that brings up a meal, then brings up water, and continues to vomit with an empty stomach.
This is what happened to my little boy a week ago. It was alarming because he is at the age where he picks up everything in the yard. Sticks, bark mulch, rocks, you name it, it is in his mouth. There are days that I feel like all I say is “drop it” and “no”. So I called the vet and hopped into the car to take him in. He wasn’t his usual self for the car ride and when he got there he wasn’t excited to see everyone. He was definitely sick. The vet wanted him to stay to be examined, and I authorized x-rays if needed. After dropping him off I started to worry.
About 45 minuets later I got a call from the vet with good news. He had palpated the abdomen and did not think Feargus was experiencing pain. For that reason he did not want to x-ray him. Instead he gave him an anti-nausea pill to get his stomach to calm down. He suggested I leave him there for 5 hours for observation, and if he saw anything alarming, he would re-evaluate him. Later that day, I picked him up and took him home. He was greatly improved, but would have to be fasted for 24 hours, continue of the anti-nausea pills, and then be on a boiled chicken and rice diet for a few days starting off with very small amounts fed frequently.
Feargus recovered well that night and after being fasted started on the special diet. He wolfed it down which was a great sign. Then as the day progressed and then night arrived I started to worry again. (I know I am a worrier). He had not gone to the bathroom other than to urinate since coming home. Two days into the chicken and rice diet and finally he went. The surprise was that, when he did, a long piece of string came with it. He had torn up a toy the day before all the vomiting had started which we had thrown away, and my guess is that there was a piece of string from it that he ate. This could have been a much more expensive problem than it turned out to be. We were fortunate it did not cause any damage as it worked its way through his intestines. Since then he has been fine, and we have hunted down every toy he has started to destroy, thrown them out, and replaced them. Better safe than sorry!
