Gelert being sick often

Hi, I wonder if you can help.

Gel is a 6 year old Dobe.From the start she has always been a "Sicky" dog, but over the last 3-4 weeks she seems to be sick almost every day.Usually she has her food (twice a day,morning and early evening) then has a BIG drink - she has dry food with a bit of warm water in,plus soloxine tablets and propalin syrup both of which she's been on for years...then she's sick.Not every meal,and maybe not every single day,sometimes we get a couple of days when she's not sick,but more often than not.

It just seems so weird.The rest of the time she is fine.She is fit, not too fat.She doesn't get a lot of extra treats but she will eat anything she finds anywhere.

It seems to be the water, I don't know if she gets a pocket of air in between the food and the water which makes her sick.

Has anyone else had anything like this?
Any ideas?

Awww, pour Gelert.

I would just try to see how he is with plain food, Chicken/Fish, or Dried food just on its own. That should be easier to digest. See is Gelert is sickly then. Might just have an over sensitive tummy.

If you think its water.

If you are adding water to dried food. I would take the Water for a short period during feeding to give time to digest.

Min xxxx

hi gill,
i dont think it is a good idea to let her have a big drink straight after eating, try to limit the amount of fluid by only putting a bit in the bowl at a time. Dobermanns are prone to bloat and as a precaution we have never allowed vast quantities of water for about an hour after eating. also you could try even smaller more frequent meals. My book actually says limit water consumption for an hour before and after feeding, water to be consumed in moderate quantities. Bloat actually causes the stomach to rotate and even partial rotation stops the food entering the stomach so the only way is up. Not a nice thought i know but could be worth a try experimenting with the water restriction to see if the problem stops. ( My OH once lost his leonberger to bloat at the age of 3 and is now extremely wary.)
is she actually vomiting or regurgitating ( does she retch or effortlessly puke ?) on the bright side she could just be over filling her stomach and again restricting the water will probably help.

let us know what happens.

Hi Gellygoo not sure what you mean by sick...yellow bile? undigested food? water? I would first check her teeth and mouth to make sure she there isn't a tooth problem preventing her from chewing her food. What does the vet say?

I would also be inclined to feed proper food rather that complete and would not allow her to drink huge amounts in one go because of bloat, water should never be restricted but I would keep adding to it in small amounts in the first couple of hours after she has eaten .

Hi, Get her to the vet, this could be kidney failure! A friend's dog had this and by the time they realized it was too late

I really hope it's nothing but better to be safe than sorry.

Probably a stupid question but have you had a vet check her out recently? Maybe recheck thyroid levels and a general all over exam, blood tests etc. Not saying the vomiting is anything to do with this but I have seen some cases where the soloxine dose has had to be changed.

The bloating (or worse a torsion) as already mentioned would be a big concern if it were my dog, if she is gulping down air with the water thats one of the ways she could torse, if the stomach does actually flip over then she would need emergency surgery....as opposed to just bloating. My whippet used to bloat fairly regularly but I think because she was only small it didnt go any further so I would just walk her for about half an hour and it would 'get rid' of some of the 'gas'. Larger deep chested dogs though can torse after they bloat.
A lot of vets Ive worked with have recommended using elevated bowls for food and water, they believe it reduces the risk of bloat/torsion(GDV). I dont have links for any studies done on it but it might be worth asking what your vet thinks.

Heres a link from the Merck Veterinary Manual about GDV if your interested.

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/in...305.htm&hide=1

Im not saying the vomiting is due to this but its useful information to have especially if you have a breed that is more prone to it than other breeds.

(hope its okay that I put this link in, I did look for info on this in this site but couldnt find anything....please let me know if this is not okay for links like this and I wont post any more. Thanks)

Thank you to everyone for the help and suggestions.

Flipper, as you suggested, we are already using an elevated feeding station for Gel, as I had read that these helped in larger dogs.

Trouble21, I think she is regurgitating as it seems to reappear quite easily, no apparent retching or stressing.

As you all said, I think I will limit her water for a while around feed times and see what happens.I can't believe I didn't think to do this, I kind of thought she ALWAYS had to have water!!

Thanks once again, this site is fantastic for times when you are worried about anything at all. There is always someone willing and able to spend time trying to help.

A quick update


Since 6/4 Ive been taking Gel's water away when she is fed - just for a short while - and she has not been sick AT ALL!!!! I'm so pleased.

Once again ......thank you.

Thats great news, glad shes feeling better.

Great news so pleased to hear she is doing well