# 5 month old puppy throwing up food



## Dollfaise (May 26, 2013)

I have a Lab/German Shepherd who is approximately 5 months in age. He's a pretty happy, peppy fellow most of the time but sometimes, he throws up his food and I can't figure out why.

He generally doesn't eat in the morning, he nibbles but spends most of his time playing. He'll eat a bit more at lunch and spend the rest of the day nibbling. He's never fed more than 3 meals, he just takes a long time to nibble at it usually. Sometimes he'll eat faster if he's particularly hungry but this doesn't seem to dictate whether he throws up or not. His weight is fine though, he was about 18 pounds during his first visit and shot up to 32 pounds at his second. He's growing like a weed! No concerns from the vet whatsoever.

He's not tired, still has his ornery I-want-to-do-things-my-way moments, and was just at the vet a few weeks ago.

He just threw up about 20 minutes ago but he was also running around like a lunatic... I'm just afraid that because it happens often enough for me to take notice, that something is wrong. The only other problem I have noticed is his eyes are a bit red sometimes. This only started in spring and was more pronounced when I took him home for a visit - into the country where we both, I am assuming, have terrible allergies. Since returning home, he's been better. The vomiting doesn't appear to be connected and even when he's outside and his eyes are red, he appears fine (although I intend to check into allergy meds when money isn't quite so tight).

Any thoughts? I hate to run to the vet again - I will if it's best - but I don't want to drag him over there if it's something stupid since we were just there for what I thought might be a bladder infection but turned out to be him being a butthead. =/


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## Sparkles123 (Dec 3, 2012)

What are you feeding?
My pup used to just look at the food, then walk away....eat maybe later in the day...throw up bile in the morning....
The vet put her on ant acid meds for life, but luckily someone told me about RAW feeding and since I started that, she has never thrown up and can't wait to eat every meal ( I feed ground raw....Oma's pride or Darwin's)


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

Running around after eating can upset the tummy, that could be it. Try to get him to chill out for 30 minutes after he eats a meal. 

Being too hungry when he does eat can also upset the tummy.

If he isn't throwing up more than say, 1-2 times per week and is eating and drinking and peeing and pooping normally, I wouldn't stress. I'm not a vet, but it seems that just like small children, puppies sometimes just puke.

Seasonal allergies can often be treated with Benedryl or a few other OTC allergy meds for humans which are all really cheap. Double check dosage with your vet, my vet will 'authorize' over the phone so long as she knows the weight of the dog and the dog is healthy otherwise.


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## Dollfaise (May 26, 2013)

I haven't actually noticed how often he throws up but it feels like a bit much sometimes. Although I will admit I'm a bit overwhelmed right now so just about everything feels like a bit much sometimes. Throwing up twice in one week could feel like half a dozen times to me right now. 

I let him eat some this morning and then when he began to play, I crated him to keep him from potentially puking again. So far, so good and he's napping.

When I had him at my parents', he didn't throw up once. He'd eat outside on our porch and generally just chill because he's too much of a Momma's Boy to run too far away. So for four days he was fine.

I started him on Blue Buffalo Freedom Puppy Chicken when I got him. But then someone told me it wasn't good enough and switched me to Purina Puppy Chow. Within the past week, I switched him again to Purina Dog Chow after his Vet said he could stop eating puppy food because it's not giving him the nutrients he really needs at this stage.

I don't recall him having thrown up nearly as much when he was on Blue Buffalo although I'll admit he wasn't on that for more than a month I'd say before I switched him over. Could he just not really be good with Purina?


I'll call the vet tomorrow but I'll likely have to go in anyways, he's having trouble with an ear now as well. His right ear is a bit red, there's an odor, and he's shaking his head quite a bit. He didn't start doing this until last night so I can't do anything until tomorrow.


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

IMO, Blue Buffalo is definitely better than Purina Dog Chow. The best food of course is a food that a dog does well on, but it could easily be that Purina isn't settling well on his stomach. 

If you're looking to keep to the same price range as Purina, consider Taste of the Wild, 4Health from Tractor Supply, or Fromm's Classic to name a few lower priced, higher quality foods. If Blue Buffalo works, then just go with the adult food.


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

Blue Buffalo is one of the better food and purina is pretty bad. That might be your problem right there. 
I second everything that Shell said


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## Dollfaise (May 26, 2013)

Money is a little tight but I think Blue Buffalo is doable, it's not a fortune really. I only switched because this other person fancies himself a dog trainer and convinced me BB wasn't good enough. But I think I'll go back to it and see how he does because I don't want him to feel ill and I don't want to spend all my time picking up puppy puke. =/

Thanks everyone!


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

I checked the ingredients on the BB Freedom Adult Chicken formula. 
First 10 ingredients (so the bulk of the food) is:
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Peas, Potatoes, Pea Starch, Chicken Fat (preserved with Mixed Tocopherols and Citric Acid), Turkey Meal, Pea Fiber, Tomato Pomace (source of Lycopene), Flaxseed (source of Omega 3 and 6 Fatty Acids)

Now here's the first 10 ingredients for Purina Dog Chow adult formula:
Whole grain corn, poultry by-product meal, corn gluten meal, animal fat preserved with mixed-tocopherols (form of Vitamin E), meat and bone meal, soybean meal, egg and chicken flavor, whole grain wheat, animal digest, salt

While I'm not going to get into the whole corn vs peas vs grains or no-grains debate, I'll just note a few things that could be causing problems or that I have seen be less suitable to a few dogs. In the Purina, corn rather than meat is #1. Not a good start since I do think it isn't as good as a name meat or meat meal as the main ingredient. Then there is "meat and bone meal" where is doesn't even tell you what animal the meat is from. That's not good for when a dog might have a potential digestive problem with a given meat and it tends to indicate an even lower quality of meat than dog food usually has (and they aren't exactly processing filet mignon into dog food to begin with  ) Then the "eggs and chicken flavor"? Eggs are good and healthy but just the flavor? Not adding much nutrition. It also has several artificial colors which are particularly silly in dog food because they are strictly for the owner to think it looks more, I dunno, fun? 

In the Blue Buffalo, there is a lot of peas and pea protein which means the meat content is not as great as it might seem but at least it starts with 2 named meats (one a meat meal which is a good thing) and has another named meat meal in the top 10 ingredients. No grains which does help some dogs, all named meat products so you know at least what animal things are coming from -- for example, my dog cannot eat pork. Pork is fine for dogs, nothing wrong with it except my dog can't handle it. So the generic "meat" label doesn't fly IMO cause people need to know what is in a food.

As a whole, I've had better success feeding foods without corn, wheat and soy. Dogs eating Purina Dog Chow and Pedigree tend to have horrible coats, horrible poop, and upset stomachs way too often. 
I do feed both grain-free and grain-inclusive foods and as long as the overall protein/fat is a suitable amount and the ingredients are good enough quality, I think both are fine. I do like going grain-free for dogs that need to gain some weight since most of the grain-free formulas are higher protein and fat.


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## Dollfaise (May 26, 2013)

Wow, thanks for that! What brand would you suggest? Blue Buffalo or something else? What do you use?


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

I like costco's kirkland food if you're tight on money, first 10 ingredients are
Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and vitamin E), egg product, dried beet pulp, potatoes, fish meal, flaxseed,.....

if not tight on money then I love Acana or Origen, both are from the same manufacturer (Champion) but some dogs can have problems digesting the richness (protein/fat/other content) of Origen and Acana is lower in those areas. 

Acana top 10 ingredients= Chicken meal, steel-cut oats, deboned chicken, whole potato, peas, chicken fat, whole egg, deboned flounder, sun-cured alfalfa, chicken liver,...
Origen top 10 ingredients= Boneless chicken, chicken meal, chicken liver, whole herring, boneless turkey, turkey meal, turkey liver, whole eggs, boneless walleye, whole salmon,...

I got those ingredients off http://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/ and the ingrediens do change slightly with flavor and variety within the brands


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## Shell (Oct 19, 2009)

If Blue Buffalo has worked before, then start with that and see how it goes. It is a solid quality food IMO.

I feed a casual rotation of foods. Meaning, I feed one for 2-3 bags and then grab another one of whatever good quality is in stock at my local little "boutique" shop. But my dog doesn't have a sensitive stomach to switching foods as long as they are all comparably high quality types.

So I feed/ have feed with success: 
Fromm's Classic (grain-inclusive, the grain frees are very good but pricier; this is the cheapest of the bunch at $1/lb), Acana Wild Prairie (the cheapest of the Acanas but the priciest of my rotation), Taste of the Wild (reasonably priced grain-free), Earthborn Primitive Natural (good price and high protein but too high in ash for long term feeding) and Earthborn Coastal Catch (grain free, moderate-high in ash content but has been great for picky eaters cause they love the fish smell)
I also like Orijen but it is out of my budget for 2 large dogs. I go through about 40 lbs of food per month give or take. 

Several of my friends love The Honest Kitchen and Grandma Lucy's freeze dried food. There are some formulas that are good for sensitive stomachs. Most people I know have pit bull type dogs and they tend to have sensitive skin and stomachs and all the above listed brands have done well for that need.

I like to aim for about 28-32% in protein on average, I add an egg 1-2 times per week and feed packed in water sardines as treats. Fish oil is a good supplement. If a dog needs a little help with dry skin or dry coat, I add a little fish oil or olive oil to their food.


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## taquitos (Oct 18, 2012)

Flaming said:


> I like costco's kirkland food if you're tight on money, first 10 ingredients are
> Chicken, chicken meal, whole grain brown rice, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat (preserved with mixed tocopherols and vitamin E), egg product, dried beet pulp, potatoes, fish meal, flaxseed,.....
> 
> if not tight on money then I love Acana or Origen, both are from the same manufacturer (Champion) but some dogs can have problems digesting the richness (protein/fat/other content) of Origen and Acana is lower in those areas.
> ...


Just to add to that, if youa re concerned about grains, Acana has a grain free line (called Acana Regionals), which imo, is better than the Acana regular line, but just my two cents ^_^


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## Flaming (Feb 2, 2013)

taquitos said:


> Just to add to that, if youa re concerned about grains, Acana has a grain free line (called Acana Regionals), which imo, is better than the Acana regular line, but just my two cents ^_^


I completely forgot about that. Yeah regionals, my mothers dog is grain sensitive (sometimes a rash and always itchy) so she recently switched to regionals and other than slightly stinkier farts she's doing great.


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