vomiting, stress and depression

[Desiree]

My dog Jake has been vomiting clear mucoous, somtimes yellow liquid once or twice a day for the last 2-3 weeks. It started about a week after one of my other dogs died, also about a week after putting him on some meds to deal with his OCD licking. We took him off the meds thinking that was the problem but it didn't help. The vet had us change foods which I have tried to do gradually. She also diagnosed him with a bladder infection and pancreatitis. Other than the little bite of cheese he was getting with his meds he hadn't eaten anything different than normal to affect him and he has always been able to tolerate a bit of cheese ok in the past. Is it possible that all this has to do with him being stressed and depressed that his buddy is gone? He has been on antibiotics for 5 days now which has helped with the pain he had (he would yelp when we touched him sometimes) and he is playing again. But he stil looks sad. We have 2 dogs so he still has a friend. I have been trying toys to keep him busy but he doesn't want to play with any thing he can't destroy and eat... Any ideas???

[Mattie]

Desiree, what are you feeding him on and how often?

This sounds like what happens when a dog's stomach is empty, my little Joe would do this on an empty stomach.

[Desiree]

I had been feeding him Purina One Lamb and Rice, then the vet had me switch him to Science diet duck and potato for his skin. I have been mixing it to get them switched over. They have food out all day but usually don't eat until around 5pm and then off and on until bed time. They just don't really eat when Im at work.

[Mattie]

Science food is rubbish, as I am in the UK I don't know the good dog foods in the USA but I am sure someone will tell you what they are. Science foods are sold by vets, they have a vested interest in you feeding it to your dog. The rule I go by with dog food is, the less ingredients there are the better, food with a lot of ingredients are usually full of aditives to disguis just how rubbish the food is.

I would stop the free feeding and feed 2 or 3 times a day, 3 will be better if you can do it, but if twice a day, try and get the feeds as near to 12 hours apart as you can. I feed my dogs 3 times a day and it suits them. They get the same amount as they would fed once or twice but in 3 feeds.

Another reason for not free feeding is, you know what they eat and how much, when free feeding you don't know how much they are eating, changes in their eating can often be the first sign there is a problem developing, you can't see this if free feeding.

I also add a bit of tuna, sardines, mackeral etc to their food, if I don't have any tins in I will add a teaspoon of tinned dog food, this will change the smell and hopefully make their food more interesting. I also soak their food for a few hours before feeding it, Merlin used to be dehydrated even though there was water always down, when I soaked the food he was no longer dehydrated.

Jake may not be eating, they only way you can be sure is to stop the free feeding and have feeding times.

[runlikethewind]

Yes I would have a serious look at the diet. It could be all the antibiotics, the meds for his licking (!) and the illnesses he's had but I would really look into his diet. Over here in the UK, we have a general mistrust of all things dietary sold by vets....Awful really as there are vets on here giving advice and I do feel sometimes bad about that but that's the way it is over here. If you look at the ingredients... they are all the wrong way round - meat does not figure first and it should. With pancreatis (sp), I wouldn't give him cheese ( too fatty). Even a small amount could set him off

Have you considered raw feeding? I believe you can get pre-prepared raw food in the US. Why is he licking excessively anyway? He sounds a bit stressed generally.

[Desiree]

First the licking. The vet first thought it was OCD behavior. So we were putting bitter tasting stuff with lidocaine on it to discourage the licking. Then one of my dogs was sick and I was so focused on her that I kind of let his let slide b/c it wasn't as serious as Darlas cancer and trach. I know, thats not fair to Jake and it was wrong, I admit. Then the vet wanted to put him on the meds which was about 3 days after Darla went to the Bridge. Then the vet said to switch his food to a "hypoallergenic" food in case he had food allergies. Then when he started getting sick and yelping we took him in and she diagnosed pancreatitis and bladder inf. I had had the thought that maybe he was bored and stressed but I haven't been able to find anything he is interested in pllaying with, so I have been taking him on extra walks. Then add in the depression... I think my vet is big on food allergies. Every dog I have had she has said has been allergic to something, so they all used to eat Purina one Lamb and rice and everyone was good for quite awhle. Do they suddenly develop
allergies like that?

Now the eating times, sorry trying to remember everything. He refuses to eat unless I am in the room with him. If he is eating and I go upstairs he stops until I come back. So I always leave the food down just in case... I measure out a bowl per day for them and they always eat all that when I get home plus some occasionally if they ask. I know his eating has been a little off lately but he has been eating. How would I go about changing their eating schedule to 2x a day?

Is there a brand of food that anyone would recommend?

Also I guess I should say, again my fault, he is a high strung kind of dog. We joke that he is part Dingo. I didn't do very well socializing him as a puppy b/c honestly, I never went anywhere expect walks and there are no dog parks where I live. I have really worked on that in the past couple of years and he is much better with new dogs and people now. He still is nervous at first but better. He is so bad that I have to give him ace promazine to take him to get his nails trimmed.

I have really screwed this dog up so now I have to figure out how to un-screw him I am all ears (or eyes in this case) for any help. I don't want him to be miserable for ever.

Thanks

[Mattie]

First the licking. The vet first thought it was OCD behavior. So we were putting bitter tasting stuff with lidocaine on it to discourage the licking. Then one of my dogs was sick and I was so focused on her that I kind of let his let slide b/c it wasn't as serious as Darlas cancer and trach. I know, thats not fair to Jake and it was wrong, I admit.

There was nothing else you could do with the way Darla was, I was the same with Ellie, they needed 24 hour attention so everything else had to go. My dogs did a lot better than my house

Gracie use to lick everything, it didn't matter what it was, this was a learned behaviour with her and Tilly thought Gracie licking her was wonderful, Ellie took over licking Tilly when Gracie went to the Bridge but not as much. Gracie didn't like licking my feet as much as the rest of me so I encouraged her to lick my feet instead, she went off to do something else.

Then the vet wanted to put him on the meds which was about 3 days after Darla went to the Bridge. Then the vet said to switch his food to a "hypoallergenic" food in case he had food allergies.

Is this the same vet that you had for Darla? If so I would change my vet.

Can you let me have a photo of Jake with a list of ingredients in his food and I will dowse to see if he is allergic to any of the ingredients. I use this as a start with a dog that has allergies, it can then be followed through.

Then when he started getting sick and yelping we took him in and she diagnosed pancreatitis and bladder inf. I had had the thought that maybe he was bored and stressed but I haven't been able to find anything he is interested in pllaying with, so I have been taking him on extra walks. Then add in the depression... I think my vet is big on food allergies. Every dog I have had she has said has been allergic to something, so they all used to eat Purina one Lamb and rice and everyone was good for quite awhle. Do they suddenly develop
allergies like that?

Yes dogs can suddenly develop allergies unfortunately, just as we can.

Now the eating times, sorry trying to remember everything. He refuses to eat unless I am in the room with him. If he is eating and I go upstairs he stops until I come back. So I always leave the food down just in case... I measure out a bowl per day for them and they always eat all that when I get home plus some occasionally if they ask. I know his eating has been a little off lately but he has been eating. How would I go about changing their eating schedule to 2x a day?

He will be missing Darla, mine are especially Tilly, the Bach Flower Remedies will help, they are helping Tilly.

It may not be Jake eating the food, it could be your other dog, sorry don't know his/her name which is why it is better to have set meal times for our dogs. Often a dog not eating is the first sign there is anything wrong, it was for Joe, for the first time in his life he didn't eat his supper, 5 minutes later he collapsed.

Is there a brand of food that anyone would recommend?

Hopefully someone in the USA will be able to tell you.

Also I guess I should say, again my fault, he is a high strung kind of dog. We joke that he is part Dingo. I didn't do very well socializing him as a puppy b/c honestly, I never went anywhere expect walks and there are no dog parks where I live. I have really worked on that in the past couple of years and he is much better with new dogs and people now. He still is nervous at first but better. He is so bad that I have to give him ace promazine to take him to get his nails trimmed.

Don't blame yourself, it is wasting valuable time trying to turn Jake round . My dogs are not used to having people round because they don't often see any, they are good with other dogs because they live with other dogs, at one time I had 6.

I have really screwed this dog up so now I have to figure out how to un-screw him I am all ears (or eyes in this case) for any help. I don't want him to be miserable for ever.

Thanks

TTouch will help him when stressed, do a search on the internet, it will be worth going to a workshop if you can, you will learn how to do it properly, you can still do it without going on one. I find it works with Tilly, Reiki also helps, I can send that to Jake if I have a photo.

[Desiree]

I got the Bach flower stuff today. It has a mix of 4 things in it, the star of bethlehem, and something for allergies and depression and then some rescue remedy. I gave him some as soon as I got home. Vet gave me some prednisone for him too but I am gonna wait a few days and see if the Bach stuff helps. How long before you see a difference using these drops??
I have considered another vet. At some point I may switch. It is hard since she has been our vet for so long and she wasn''t there the day Darla died so she didn't even know she was alone. Not that she isn't still responsible. I will tho if Jake continues to have problems. I am really sooo proud of him with this new dog. He hasn't growled once. Just a couple "hey, thats against the rules!" barks last night. Zippy has atleast kept Jake occupied and playing so maybe thats a good thing. I will get you a pic and a list of ingredients.