# HELP! Westie With Tummy Trouble. Vomiting bile and mucus/blood in stools



## StormGirl84 (Jun 28, 2007)

I have a 7 year old westie, Charlie, who is having tummy problems AGAIN. We got him a year ago, do not know a thing about his past life, except his age and name. He is a good tempered, happy little dog, BUT.......

He tends to vomit in the mornings. He has been doing it on and off for quite a while, with two or more vet visits in between to try and solve this problem. 

He gets up late, won't eat, goes out into the yard, vomits a small amount of yellow foamy bile, and then won't eat until around 2 to 4 O'clock in the afternoon. After that he is fine, until the next day, when it starts again.

When he eats late at night, SOMETIMES he feels fine in the morning, but not always. He usually eats a small amount three or four times a day, as per one vets advice, to keep the acid from building up in his stomach.

I've been giving him a mild anti acid pill at night, which seems to help (the vet has prescribed them at one point) but I'd like to not have to give him pills at all!

He used to eat Purina Pro Plan, Salmon and Brown Rice, but I heard that Natural Choice with Chicken, Rice and Oatmeal is better for his sensitive stomach, so I am trying that.

Please give advice. I feel like it would be a waste of money to take him to the vet again for the same problem, as he would only do the same things he did before, which only helped for a short time. (He gave him antibiotics, special food, and anti acid pills) 

Today he had some mucus and what looked like bloody diarrhea, but that has not happened for 4-5 months, usually very healthy in that respect.


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## poodleholic (Mar 15, 2007)

The yellow bile is an indication that it's been too long between meals. 




> When he eats late at night, SOMETIMES he feels fine in the morning, but not always. He usually eats a small amount three or four times a day, as per one vets advice, to keep the acid from building up in his stomach.


He may be eating too much late at night. My (rescue) male needs a small snack before bed, or he will puke up bile, and then can't eat for hours and hours, and the cycle gets worse. I give him low fat cottage cheese or plain yogurt (live culture) around 10:45 pm, and he does fine (and has for 6 years now). When I first brought him home, he'd gag and puke all day long, plus had projectile bloody diarrhea. I hand fed him very small, bland meals 6-7 x day (poached chicken breast and white rice in the beginning), gave him Pepcid AC, and Immodium AD, later regulating him with canned plain pumpkin. The food he did/does best on is EVO, small bites. 



> Today he had some mucus and what looked like bloody diarrhea, but that has not happened for 4-5 months, usually very healthy in that respect.


Could well be collitis, and the vet may prescribe Flagyl. Do keep a close watch on this, and take him to the vet if it doesn't clear up in a day or two. I would let his gut rest at least 12 hrs., then feed him poached chicken w/white rice for a couple of days, and gradually get him back to his normal food. Plain yogurt (live) is good, offers some probiotics, and easy on the GI system.


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## StormGirl84 (Jun 28, 2007)

Thank you, you really do seem to know what to do! I will give it a try, and let you know how he does.

Anyone else with a suggestion?


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## DuckyNDogs (May 20, 2009)

As far as blood in the stools, thats a vet issue.

With the vomiting, I would cut out any feeding less then 3 hours before bedtime, and add either a low-fat plain yogurt with live bacteria cultures or a probiotic powder to the food to help with stomach issues. My old FCR used to throw up a couple times a week, now that he takes a probiotic he never vomits. 

Hope this helps your little westie


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## StormGirl84 (Jun 28, 2007)

So I should give him the yogurt with his food just before bed? and how much yogurt, a table spoon or two?


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## lillie20 (Oct 17, 2008)

My dog would vomit bile at least once a week. Now feed more frequent 3xs and last meal around 1030pm. In morning feed by 7 or bile will most likely happen. Also, give 1/2 pepcid at nite. Rarely does it anymore. Agree, use probiotic daily and it does help. Just need to get him on a feeding routine without long gaps. Some dogs just can't be feed once a day, I know, I have one.


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## HORSEandHOUND (May 28, 2009)

plain boiled chicken, white rice, and yogurt (1tbs) and feed him 2-3 times a day. 
What is his normal diet?
My recommendation (although costly) would be to take him in for a scoping (colonoscopy) while these can be symptoms of getting into something naughty, or food sensitivity, or parasites, or bacterial... it could also be something really serious like cancer in his intestines. Because its a recurring thing with him, i'd want him scoped just for the peace of mind.


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## StormGirl84 (Jun 28, 2007)

Hi, it's me again. Okay, heres the deal: Tried the yogurt Idea. Fed him a tablespoon of plain low fat yogurt every night before bed, (about two to three hours after last meal) and he did fine for a long time.

Once in a while he would get up, vomit, not eat much until later in the day, but mostly fine.


Lately he doesn't want to eat in the mornings, even if we offer him yogurt, and now not only did he vomit bile in the morning, have some blood in his stools, (not sure it was blood) he has also just vomited up his dinner.

Please could someone tell me what exactly a probiotic is, where I can get some, and how much? He did so well for so long, and now it doesn't seem to be what he needs.

Please help, he is such a sweetie and very healthy otherwise!


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## Xie (Feb 5, 2009)

Has he been tested for Inflammatory Bowel Disease? If this is ongoing and traditonal methods aren't clearing it up that's where I would be looking.

One of my parent's dogs had very similar symptoms and we figured it was just a sensitive stomach so never went farther with testing. I brought her to work one day to do a dental cleaning and did pre-anesthesia blood work which showed something weird with her liver. We did a liver biopsy and it came back with inflammation of the liver consistent with IBD.

We now have her on a different food that is working wonders. For the first time in her life she actually has a HUGE appetite and no more vomiting or diarrhea. It's been pretty amazing seeing the change in her since the diagnosis. Oh and all of her liver values have gone back into the normal range as well.

If you can I'd see about doing to test (traditionally it's an intestinal biopsy) and see what the results say. If you can find the underlying cause it's much easier to treat.


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## lillie20 (Oct 17, 2008)

With all going on, I would run it by your vet again, especially with bad stool. For probiotic, can buy at any pet store, petco, etc. or from your vet office. I use the powder type and sprinkle on food daily. Use it even when feeling well. Aslo, ask your vet about giving 1/2 pepcid at nite, I give to mine to just avoid problems. Last solution, maybe your food is not agreeing with him? Look at the ingredents, grain, corn can cause stomach issues. Or he doesn't eat because he doesn't like it. I'd go back to the boiled chicken for awhile. Althou a pain to make, actually is quite reasonable. I make mine ahead of time and freeze.


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## Boonkiemom (Feb 24, 2009)

StormGirl84 said:


> I have a 7 year old westie, Charlie, who is having tummy problems AGAIN. We got him a year ago, do not know a thing about his past life, except his age and name. He is a good tempered, happy little dog, BUT.......
> 
> He tends to vomit in the mornings. He has been doing it on and off for quite a while, with two or more vet visits in between to try and solve this problem.
> 
> ...


My dog, a bichon, has similar problems. Her GI issues started after her 3 year rabies booster that nearly ended her life. It turns out that this particular vaccine can cause a type of ulcerative gastritis. Be rest assured that if your dog does have a lot of mucus in stool, that the mucosal lining in the intestines does re-grow in about 48 hours. 

One thing I learned that seems to help with the AM vomiting is to give a small treat or food shortly before bed and then again when rising. It appears that an empty stomach is part of the problem. I've also noticed that whenever I leave town, either before or after her condition flares up and she'll vomit with little specks of blood in it. So I'm guessing that stress plays a roll in the condition. 

As far as food, I give my dog organic, canned pumpkin mixed in her regular (grain-free) kibble or other homemade food like ground beef or chicken. Dogs love the pumpkin and it helps to heal their digestive tract. I would also suggest supplementing with pro-biotics, omega-3's, L-glutamine powder (repairs the lining of digestive tract) and digestive enzymes. This is especially critical if you are giving the acid pills. Reducing the acids makes it harder for the food to be broken down and can lead to other problems including bone-density issues. Also, unless the vet can prove that the dog has an infection, stay away from anti-biotics. They can make the situation worse; they did for my dog.

I wish you the best. I know how frustrating and frightening these things can be. They do seem to pass for a time then flare up again....so you feel like you'll never get a handle on it.


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## sschwegler (Dec 29, 2009)

I have a 5 year old westie with this problem - she has had a sensitive tummy since she was a pup and I really had to experiment with her diet. What finally worked was a raw food diet - twice day feeds and wheat free biscuits morning and night to keep blood sugar up. It is the low blood sugar which causes the vomiting and the cycle you speak of. When she has more exercise I give her more meals/snacks. The folks at the dog food store have been amazing and helped more than the vet - and for nothing! They said the bloody stool is likely an IBS and and the pro biotic yogurt mixed in with the food did the trick. Very occasionally we still have the vomiting and not eating cycle and I pull her off all food except a little cooked chicken and rice (very small meals) until her stomach settles. I have a huge network of Westie owners and breeders as friends and they all swear by the raw food diet - it is a bit more expensive but really helps the little ones have a happier life. Good luck


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## Willy (Feb 4, 2013)

Same issue with my 5yr old Westie ( upset stomac in morning, loud stomach noises, throwing up bile). I switched to grain free Nature's Recipe. It has chicken, pumpkin and sweet potato. Also feeding smaller more frequent meals. My dog loves the food and has not had an episode since.


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## georgiapeach (Mar 17, 2012)

Westie's are notorious for having stomach and skin issues. I'd definitely feed him a LID diet, grain free, or else raw. A good probiotic that I got for my boxer is *Complete Probiotics for Pets*. I got it at Vitamin Shoppe, but you can also get it on line. Here's a link to it, with information given by Dr. Karen Becker, a holistic vet. Ordering information is at the bottom of the page: http://probiotics.mercola.com/probiotics-for-pets.html.

My westie mix doesn't have tummy issues thank God, but she more than makes up for it with her skin issues. I've found good success with California Natural kibble. It's for sensitive dogs (digestive or skin).

With the bloody diarrhea, I'd definitely have him tested for IBS and/or colitis. They're both very painful, and I'd hate to see him suffer.


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