# Throwing up in the morning



## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Lucy's kind of always had this issue, but at sometimes it's worse than others. When she wakes up in the morning, within 5-10 minutes she'll throw up this nasty yellow stuff that kind of looks like egg yolk.

She's always done this from time to time for her entire life, but for the last 3 morning she's done it which is kind of getting me a little worried. Three mornings ago, she actually woke me up, to the sound of her throwing up. The two morning after that, right before I fed her, she'd throw up.

She's acting normal otherwise. After she throws up, she doesn't want to eat, so she'll miss her morning meal. At night, she'll eat her PM meal without a problem. She's running and playing, so she's not acting sick. She's just been throwing up a lot lately, but it's always right in the morning and no more. Poops fine - no diarrhea or anything like that.

Anyone have experience in this or have any idea what I should do? Is a vet check something I should do?


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

When does she have her last meal? My dog will do this also when he gets hungry and the acid in his stomach builds up too much. I find that adding in a small meal right before bed eliminates the problem. So he'll get his regualr evening meal at 6pm, but I'll give him like 1/2 a cup before bed.


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## BlackPuppy (Mar 29, 2007)

My female does it all the time. Sometimes she'll go a long time without doing it, but she's been doing it more since the new puppy arrived, so I figured it had to do with stress. 

I agree that feeding a small meal before bedtime helps.


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

It's stomach bile...because she has a empty stomach. 

I would start with making sure she gets a bedtime snack. I would also say feed her asap in the mornings...but if this doesn't work because she gets up before you...or this happens too quickly after she gets up... you can also consider leaving a bowl of kibble out for her to find in the morning...


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

JKlatsky said:


> When does she have her last meal? My dog will do this also when he gets hungry and the acid in his stomach builds up too much. I find that adding in a small meal right before bed eliminates the problem. So he'll get his regualr evening meal at 6pm, but I'll give him like 1/2 a cup before bed.


Well she's on different hours than the rest of the world. I work pretty late nights so I feed her when I get home (2 AM) and I feed her about an hour after I wake up (1 PM). So from the time I last feed her (2AM) to around the time I wake up (Noon), it's about a 10 hour difference.


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## LaRen616 (Mar 4, 2010)

Wow

My boy never did that and I feed him at 5 am and 5 pm


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Myamom said:


> It's stomach bile...because she has a empty stomach.
> 
> I would start with making sure she gets a bedtime snack. I would also say feed her asap in the mornings...but if this doesn't work because she gets up before you...or this happens too quickly after she gets up... you can also consider leaving a bowl of kibble out for her to find in the morning...


Lucy's never been a big eater. Sometimes she'll eat and sometimes she wont. She's been like this since the day I brought her home. I've tried feeding her the second I wake up, but all she'll want to do is sniff it and go lay down. 

It's not like she's lazy either. She kind of just gets in this zone for the first half hour when she wakes up. Whether it's a nap or a full nights sleep, it will take her at least a full 30 minutes before she's fully awake, but when she's awake, watch out. She's nuts - Ready for anything. 

That's why I wait about an hour from the time we wake up until when I feed her. If I don't, she wont touch her food.


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## Minnieski (Jan 27, 2009)

We had this problem with Minnie, exactly what you're describing (she's never been a big eater either). It eventually progressed to gastritis and an overnight stay at the vet's. Here's what we're doing now, and she hasn't thrown up in over a month (which is AWESOME since she was throwing up so frequently):

First off we switched her food from Wellness Core to Purina ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach (please no ProPlan bashing, this formula is actually a decent food if you read the ingredients, plus she's not getting sick anymore).

7am - breakfast - 1 C of food, with about 1000mg of slippery elm (3 capsules wrapped in cheese - she won't just eat them) and 10 mg of Pepcid (1 tablet).

12 pm - lunch - 1 C of food

5 pm - dinner - 1 C of food

10:30 -11pm - 4th meal - 1 C of food, 1000mg of slippery elm and 10 mg of Pepcid (we use to store brand). 

We tried different variations of things, 1/2 c at night, etc, but this is what has been working the best for her. It's so nice not to lay awake worried that your dog is going to throw up. I would give this a try for a week or two and see what happens. It cost us $700 at the vet's office and they didn't find anything wrong with her. 

I hope she feels better soon!


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Ok now it's getting even weirder. I just got home from work and she was fine. She was happy I got home and acting normal as usual.

So I go and start putting her meal together and as soon as she sees me grabbing her food, she runs to the corner and starts throwing up. All yellow stuff like the morning and now she has this pathetic look on her face. It was weird. She was fine until she saw me starting to put her meal together and it got her sick or something.

All she did was sniffed the meal and walked away. Now she's laying down. She's acting normal until the food comes out now. I mean she has normal energy. No other symptoms, but she won't touch her food and she's vomiting this yellow stuff, but only in the AM when she first wakes up and now she did it when I just got home from work, but not until the food came out.

She pulls this again tomorrow and I'm definitely taking her to the vet for at least a check up. Something has to be up. Maybe she's mad about this whole P&G takeover of innova like me and this is her way of going on strike.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

She did it again... she was fine all weekend and I woke up and she was fine for about an hour. The second I bring her food out and start preparing for it, she goes to the corner and throws up and wont touch her food now. It's like the thought of eating made her throw up or something.

I dont get this dog at all. She was fine all weekend and ate every meal and didnt throw up. She didn't just eat either... she ate ethusiastically like she was really hungry. I figured it was some kind of upset stomach or something, but she's right back to where I was last week. Throwing up because of an empty stomach and not wanting to eat her meal.


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

Try feeding her as soon as you get up.


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## JKlatsky (Apr 21, 2007)

My thrower-uper has to eat on a very strict schedule. If the acid builds up enough that he doesn't feel well he won't eat because his tummy hurts and then throws up the bile in his stomach. I agree with Myamom. Feed him as soon as you get up. I would try to split up his daily kibble and feed every 6-8 hours so you keep something in his tummy.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Myamom said:


> Try feeding her as soon as you get up.


She was perfectly fine until the food came out. She puked and now she's just sitting in her crate being quiet.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

JKlatsky said:


> My thrower-uper has to eat on a very strict schedule. If the acid builds up enough that he doesn't feel well he won't eat because his tummy hurts and then throws up the bile in his stomach. I agree with Myamom. Feed him as soon as you get up. I would try to split up his daily kibble and feed every 6-8 hours so you keep something in his tummy.


You need to listen to what people are saying.

It's stomach bile cause she has an empty stomach.

*When she gets all excited (mealtimes?) it upsets her stomach so she vomits up the bile.* Most of our dogs do NOT like to vomit in the house and think they are 'bad' dogs (not that we said they were). 

It looks to me like she is now associating mealtimes with her vomiting and being a 'bad dog'. So she doesn't want to eat cause she doesn't want to vomit and doesn't want to be bad.

The way you manage this, is EIGHT HOURS EARLIER. You need to feed her more like every 8 hours rather than every 10 hours. 

Try to make her meals more tempting so she does eat. Add canned, or eggs or cheese or whatever. Don't want this to become a vicious cycle with her REALLY not enjoying mealtimes anymore.

It may even help if you just give her a few of the HUGE milkbone biscuits before bed or at the 8 hour mark.

GSD's can have stomach or digestive problems, and they can also be sensative to our moods or what they THINK our mood is. So we have to be creative and think ahead to manage and head off issues before they ARE issues.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

She doesnt really get excited when it's her meal time. She was never food crazy or has much of a food drive. When I prepare her food, she typically just sits there and watches me until I put it down for her to eat. No barking, no whining, just quietly sits there and waits for me to put the food down and give her the ok to eat. Definitely not getting over excited or anything like that.

When she does throw up, i'm definitely not scolding her or making her feel like she did something wrong. If anything, I completely ignore it and just clean it up. No good girl, no petting, no bad girl.... just ignore and clean it up.

As for making her food more interesting, she does get a pretty good variety and she typically (except lately) liked it all. I gave her raw eggs, green tripe, and all the merrick varieties. Sometimes some steamed chicken. She gets interesting stuff.

I'd like to feed her every 8 hours and i'll try giving it a shot, but she just doesnt want to eat every 12 hours as it is. Feeding every 8 hours is going to be tough, but i guess i'll have to give it a shot.

Are there any vitamins or supplements i could give to possibly help the acid in her stomach thats making her sick? Maybe pepto or something? I'd like to give her something every day to help, i'm not looking for a short term band aid or anything like that.


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## athos (May 20, 2010)

I've had this happen to my pup but he had been riding in the car for about 50 minutes, It was past his eating time so yeah its probably bad doggy heartburn


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## Minnieski (Jan 27, 2009)

Lucy Dog said:


> She doesnt really get excited when it's her meal time. She was never food crazy or has much of a food drive. When I prepare her food, she typically just sits there and watches me until I put it down for her to eat. No barking, no whining, just quietly sits there and waits for me to put the food down and give her the ok to eat. Definitely not getting over excited or anything like that.
> 
> I'd like to feed her every 8 hours and i'll try giving it a shot, but she just doesnt want to eat every 12 hours as it is. Feeding every 8 hours is going to be tough, but i guess i'll have to give it a shot.
> 
> Are there any vitamins or supplements i could give to possibly help the acid in her stomach thats making her sick? Maybe pepto or something? I'd like to give her something every day to help, i'm not looking for a short term band aid or anything like that.



Please see my previous post. Pepcid, slippery elm, etc. My dog isn't excited about eating either, but when she was having tummy troubles she would throw up when she saw her food sometimes. Have you tried any of the advice offered?


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Minnieski said:


> Please see my previous post. Pepcid, slippery elm, etc. My dog isn't excited about eating either, but when she was having tummy troubles she would throw up when she saw her food sometimes. Have you tried any of the advice offered?


I haven't just because I thought she was doing better and it was just a random stomach bug or something. I guess it's not.

About the pepcid and slippery elm... How much and at what strength? How often? Is it every day or just when stomach problems come up?


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Lucy Dog said:


> When she does throw up, i'm definitely not scolding her or making her feel like she did something wrong. If anything, I completely ignore it and just clean it up. No good girl, no petting, no bad girl.... just ignore and clean it up.


I absolutely believe it's not anything you are doing to make her feel bad, I think she's doing it all on her own cause she's a sensative GSD that doesn't like messing up the inside of the house. 

And our dogs can be quietly excited enough that an empty stomach will cause problems. 

Try the meds recommended (heck, I've heard gingersnaps work, the ginger is calming) and changing up when/how you feed. 

Good luck!


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## Myamom (Oct 10, 2005)

The first step is to just feed her on a regular schedule...preferably breaking it up into 3 small meals...to keep her stomach full. 

I would feed her asap when you get up (not an hour later)...before you leave for work...and before bedtime. 

If you are still having a problem...then you can move on to adding supplements to help her. But I would start with the regular feeding schedule first as she may not need them.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> I absolutely believe it's not anything you are doing to make her feel bad, I think she's doing it all on her own cause she's a sensative GSD that doesn't like messing up the inside of the house.


Oh you don't know Lucy. This dog would destroy the house if I wasn't careful. She doesn't have much of a food drive but she would play 24/7 if she could. 

Thanks for the advice everyone. I'll try the new feeding schedule. I also like the idea of a couple big biscuits throughout the day to keep something in her stomach. I just went to the store and bought these "old mother hubbbard" biscuits. They look like the milk bones but without the crap.


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## Minnieski (Jan 27, 2009)

My previous post, hope it helps:



Minnieski said:


> We had this problem with Minnie, exactly what you're describing (she's never been a big eater either). It eventually progressed to gastritis and an overnight stay at the vet's. Here's what we're doing now, and she hasn't thrown up in over a month (which is AWESOME since she was throwing up so frequently):
> 
> First off we switched her food from Wellness Core to Purina ProPlan Sensitive Skin and Stomach (please no ProPlan bashing, this formula is actually a decent food if you read the ingredients, plus she's not getting sick anymore).
> 
> ...


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

She didn't eat her dinner again, only sniffed it, but at least she hasnt thrown up.

I don't know how I'm going to get her to eat a meal every 8 hours when shes going days without eating sometimes. 

So frustrating with this lately. She never used to be like this too. I mean she was never crazy about her food like my other dog who spins in circles whenever his food comes out, but at least she always ate her meals. She's become so picky lately.

I really don't think she's sick either. She acts completely normal. Full of energy and all that, she just doesnt care about her food at all lately. I'll hear her stomach gurgling too so i know shes hungry, she just doesnt want to eat and it causes her to throw up because her stomachs empty. So frustrating.


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## onyx'girl (May 18, 2007)

what about scrambling an egg with some cheese mid-meal. It may get her back on track.
She may be associating vomiting with eating kibble, but other foods for a bit won't hurt her til she sees that food doesn't = barfing.


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## Minnieski (Jan 27, 2009)

onyx'girl said:


> what about scrambling an egg with some cheese mid-meal. It may get her back on track.
> She may be associating vomiting with eating kibble, but other foods for a bit won't hurt her til she sees that food doesn't = barfing.


I agree. After our girl was sick for a while she didn't want to eat her kibble, but she wanted the puppy's, which was really strange because it was the same puppy food that she had turned her nose up at when she was a puppy. We also find that a little white rice helps a lot too.


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## jeng0304 (May 1, 2010)

This sounds exactly like my dog. Doesn't like food and puking stomach bile.

Frankly, I know you want to feed your dog a healthy diet, but find sometimes she will eat. I went through multiple bags of kibble and many types of supplements, treats, and canned food.

For a while Duke was eating canned food mixed with kibble because that is the only think I could get him to eat so that he didn't puke.

If she won't eat a meal, try treats. I've found that if I gave treats right when I went to bed and right when I got up in the AM he wouldn't puke. Are treats all the time bad? Yes, but I'd rather do that then see my dog puke every day. 

To prove my point- my now 110lb dog once weighed 70lbs and looked horrible. 

I finally found a kibble that he like sort of liked and between that and treats I was able to stop the puking to about once a week.

I am now feeding raw and (knock on wood) haven't seen him puke since I started. I still supplement with freeze dried meat treats at night just to make sure.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

onyx'girl said:


> what about scrambling an egg with some cheese mid-meal. It may get her back on track.
> 
> *She may be associating vomiting with eating kibble, but other foods for a bit won't hurt her til she sees that food doesn't = barfing*.


I agree, find something she will eat. The eggs and cheese sound good. I know I add canned catfood, so many varieties. At this point I'd be adding ANYTHING, spagetti sauce? grated cheese? cottage cheese? yogert? any meats, Hamburger Helper? 

She may not be sick now, but if she stops eating cause she doesn't want to vomit, you will end up with a sick dog.


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## jeng0304 (May 1, 2010)

MaggieRoseLee said:


> I agree, find something she will eat. The eggs and cheese sound good. I know I add canned catfood, so many varieties. At this point I'd be adding ANYTHING, spagetti sauce? grated cheese? cottage cheese? yogert? any meats, Hamburger Helper?
> 
> She may not be sick now, but if she stops eating cause she doesn't want to vomit, you will end up with a sick dog.


Haha, sounds like me. When Duke was really bad for a while, I was adding anything and everything. I didn't care how healthy it was...I just wanted my dog to eat. 

PS. the gravy topper things they sell for dogs- did not work


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

So I woke up this morning and gave her one of her new treats to snack on. She ate it up. A couple hours later I gave her some of her kibble, canned, and a litte leftover rotisserie chicken from last night and she currently eating it all right now. She was even excited when I put the bowl down. No puking or anything. Hopefully this is a sign of good things to come.


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## MaggieRoseLee (Aug 17, 2001)

Just keep feeding her thru out the day and every day that goes well should help her get over this. :thumbup:


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## Wulf03 (Apr 19, 2010)

I came across this post while researching the exact same problem with my 9.5 year old shepherd. He throws up or is nausea every morning. I try taking him on a short walk then giving a bone and then feeding a small meal a few hours later usually this works.
Also I give bones befor bedtime but lately he just throws the bones back up in the morning. He has had pancreaitus two years ago and has been on a strict diet of Purina Pro Plan chicken and rice ever since. He has extreme allergies and the Pro plan c and r is one of the few foods that he likes to eat that does not have stuff he is allergic to inside it.
I was thinking about calling vet again and trying to get some type of meds for his stomach. He is already on Metrodozile every other day and has been on this for nearly 4 years. Without he develops extreme bloody diarhea in a few days and also his stomach makes loud noise and he will not eat until given the pill and in a few hours it is quite and he is ready to eat.
But after reading this forum I believe I will try leaving a small amount of dogfood out with him at night and even given a small amount first thing in the morning. If he will eat it. He is a very strange gsd with strange habbits. Also he has been sickly all his life.
If worse comes to worse like another person already posted he does not seem to feel bad after throwing up and usually eats a few minutes later. So perhaps as long as it does not occur every day perhaps throwing up will not really hurt him.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

I give Stosh a little handful of kibble before bed and leave it out- sometimes he eats it sometimes not but it stopped the 'morning sickness' he had as a pup. I think he got so hungry overnight that once the acid started flowing when he knew breakfast was on its way he spit up, then ate.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

look into a test for ALT , a liver enzyme. I would say that some liver problem may be at the route . Bile breaks down fat , so an enzyme with lipase would be a good addition. If there is enough inflammation you may have IBD, irritable bowel , which needs a good digestive enzyme and probiotic . A liver cleanse , something with Milk Thistle. My friend the Master Herbalist and University Prof says Stinging Nettle !!! 
Liver cleanse is recommended for heartburn, GERD, acid reflux -- bile.

look to the cause not the symptom.

Carmen
Carmspack Working German Shepherd Dogs


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Hey... i remember this thread.

This has been a pretty common problem for Lucy up to about a couple months ago when I finally started her on probiotics and it's made a HUGE difference. 

Since I started her on the probiotics, she hasn't thrown up that nasty yellow bile once. I'm very happy with the results so far.


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

LOL, I saw this thread come back up, and I thought, "oh no, not more problems!" 

Great update  thanks for the follow-up.


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## Lucy Dog (Aug 10, 2008)

Lisa saved Lucy's stomach! She gives some great advice when it comes to this stuff... she definitely knows her stuff. 

She's a much healthier dog these days due to those probiotics. What a difference they've made!


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

:wild:

I was just relieved that it was something as simple as probiotics. Maybe that's a good first step for many of these dogs.


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## Stosh (Jun 26, 2010)

Lisa T rocks!! Thanks for all your help with Stosh-- and all the others!!


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## Pattycakes (Sep 8, 2010)

Glad to hear that Lucy is doing so much better!


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## Wulf03 (Apr 19, 2010)

My dog ate some food shortly after throwing up and seemed to be fine the rest of the day. He even run and played and almost over done it. Seemed to be a bit stiff. I have to really watch that he does not over do his running as of the last 6 months he also throws up shortly after long hard runs.
Anyway I gave him bones befor bedtime and iam going to leave a small bowl of food out with him and also give him some as soon as he gets up in the morning. If this doesnt help I will call vet and see what she says. I aslo read alot of people recomend pepcid ac for dogs but with my boys super sensitive stomach I dont know if it would help or hurt.


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## carmspack (Feb 2, 2011)

wulfo3 there is a difference between health promotion and disease management. I think the majority of Dr's , veterinary and human are the latter. I have seen some chronically ill, 11th hour dogs do a turn around when they seek health from a holistic vet . The approach is different. First experience for me to see this was when I was recommending Dr Paul McCutcheon in my area. Many in the greater GTA will have heard of his clinic . 
Do you have a vet who pratices an alternative type of care.
One of my very good friends and her sister both started out as conventional vets. Her sister continues to be conventional . Dr "Victoria" just could not do it any more went back to school , got her degrees in holistic , naturapathic , alternative medicine and now selects alternative first but will resort to or blend conventional treatment as needed.
Is there anything you can do for your dog to help his sensitive stomach?
Carmen
Carmspack Working German Shepherd Dogs


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## JOSHUA SAMPSON (Feb 21, 2010)

love those probiotics I swear by them!!

Yogurt and brewers yeast tablets being my favorites!


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## LisaT (Feb 7, 2005)

Thanks Lucy Dog and Stosh :blush:


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## Samba (Apr 23, 2001)

Gastritis can cause stomach upset. The dogs can aappear hungry and then not eat. They can have stomach pain and vomiting. It is believed to be more common than understood before.

If it is this, treatment for gastritis might be an idea. I don't kmow the holistic things for it. But, the allopathic meds I have used have been effective without bad side effects,


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## Wulf03 (Apr 19, 2010)

I have been feeding my dog a small morning meal for the past two days and it seems to have stopped the throwing up and grass eating. He still tries to grab an occasional bite of grass and eats dirt with my other dogs. Hopefully he will continue to do good.


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