Boston Terrier Digestion Issues?

coconutsboston

coconutsboston

O.G.
Aug 18, 2008
10,225
679
#1
I'm not entirely sure if I posted this last time the pup was sick, so I'll give a brief recap. A few months ago, the pup had a serious bout with diarrhea. Long story short, the vet said don't bring her in unless there's blood. I came home mid-day from work to check on her and thought I witnessed a crime scene. Several hundred $$, x-rays, scans, some meds, and an IV of fluids later, they have NO idea what caused it. (They also checked her out for the worm in her urine which was also seemingly nothing, if you remember THAT story.)

Fast forward to recently. She's been throwing up a fair amount. Like with pooing in the house, it's just not something she's ever done. Most of the time it's just once, and one time it was several times over the course of a few hours. She doesn't act like she feels bad, just embarrassed and ashamed. I've mostly suspected it was because she was playing too hard, until this morning, she woke up and did it. Just once.

I remember seeing a Blue Diamond brand of dog food warning on here recently with the OP saying they'd found mold in the bag. I haven't seen mold in ours, but I am wondering if maybe this has something to do with her throwing up? The only other reason I can come up with would be some undiagnosed/hard to find type of digestive issue. I know terrorists can have those types of problems. Anyone experienced anything similar?
 
#2
Since it sounds like the vet ran all the tests they could.. it wouldn't hurt to switch her food. I know when our dog was having GI issues for the1st year we had her.. it was a balancing act, basically we tried many brands & feed styles (grain free, raw, etc) until we finally found what agreed with her. Even now.. as picky as she is.. I have to mix it up bit.

G- Luck.. oh and it helps to buy from a pet feed store that accepts returns if the food doesn't work out for her :smile:
 
#3
I have a frenchie. He will get diarrhea randomly once or twice a year and I usually have no idea why it happens. One time I gave him crunchy peanut butter instead of smooth (very small amount) and he bled (once). I felt like such a horrible mom. Anyway, anytime i notice he's being weird or having stomach issues I make him some white rice and mix it in with his food. I make a small amount for two meals and I swear it helps.
Once or twice a month I boil a sweet potato and mix that in with his food which he LOVES. I add a big spoonful to each meal so one sweet potato lasts a few days.
What color is the vomit? If it's yellow they say it's bile and she may be hungry and needs a little snack at night. Does she eat twice a day? Morning and at night?
P.S. I think you meant TERRIERS can have those types of problems not TERRORISTS haha :smile:
 
#4
Thanks for the insight!

Oogie, I would never have thought about a store with a return policy! Thankfully the one I shop at said that they do, but they gave me a few sample packs to try before I bought it. When you switch your pup's food, do you use that powder that is supposed to transition them without upsetting their stomach?

Icanspotafake, the white rice and boiled chicken - why don't I think of these things? That is what the vet told me to give her when she was sick the first time. I've never thought of a boiled sweet potato, I bet she would love that! She's only had yellow vomit once. All of the other times it was food, right back up :sad: She was on a schedule when she was a baby, but she's become a very picky eater so she isn't technically on an eating schedule anymore. I put her food in her bowl and she typically picks around it until night time when she eats a little more. I have tried doing a schedule, even putting it in her crate and she won't eat until she's good and ready. Notwithstanding, when I tried the new food tonight, she ate it all in one sitting. (Really wondering if the Blue Buffalo isn't what has been making her sick the whole time after witnessing that! Or she could just be hungry...:thinking:)

About the terrorist comment, she owns the title very well. :biggrin: Shortly after posting about her digestion, I heard a mini-explosion and found her happily gnawing on a butane lighter. No clue where she got it. Thankfully the vet said she was going to be fine, but I'm sure that REALLY helped out with her already upset stomach.
 
#5
Coconutsboston, my dog had similar symptoms when he was younger. When we got him from the breeder, we bought the food they used (Blue Buffalo). He wouldn't ever eat, and would occasionally throw up/diarrhea. We switched food gradually (mixing both together) twice, but still same symptoms. The vet said to try avoiding corn and chicken based products, as they sometimes have allergy problems with those ingredients. My dog now eats California Naturals Herring and Sweet Potato. They make a supposedly "people grade" dog food, according to my pet store...they only use a grade of meat and everything else that is the same as what we could purchase in the grocery store or better.

This is also the only food that my dog WANTED to eat. Everyone swore that he would eat when he was hungry. I was told to try taking the food away and only putting it down at meal times, to train him to eat it at certain times. Nothing worked until we found a food that sat well in his stomach. It was like he was trying to tell us he couldn't eat the other food. Anyway, as long as I am careful and don't give him chicken based cookies, treats, etc., he seems fine.

Anyway, this is what worked for me. I wish you luck getting to the root of the issue!
 
#6
coconutsboston said:
Thanks for the insight!

Oogie, I would never have thought about a store with a return policy! Thankfully the one I shop at said that they do, but they gave me a few sample packs to try before I bought it. When you switch your pup's food, do you use that powder that is supposed to transition them without upsetting their stomach?
Click to expand...

I've purchased the powder but have never used it. I just mix in the new food with the old, starting with a little and eventually switch it over during the course of a week. How has she been?
 
#7
These dogs are so picky it's crazy. The not eating etc may be because she knows it makes or feel bad or because she genuinely doesn't like the food. My dog HATED simple solutions for example. This is why I started giving him california naturals lamb and rice with a small scoop of Evo lamb (wet food) on top. I mix in sweet potato or rice every now and then and he loves it. He's allergic to all things green. I will also cook up some yellow squash (thinly squashed) and he likes that. I think they get bored sometimes. Toby is on such a strict diet because of his allergies that I need to make it fun for him sometimes or he just decides not to eat.
For changing foods you gradually mix the new food with the old food starting off with a little of the new food with mostly old food. You keep going for a few weeks until it's just new food.
Some foods are just too rich for our dogs and they need something else. I also tried dick van pattens duck (which he was allergic to) but it was way to rich for him and he had the runs. Try out California Naturals. I buy the large bites lamb and rice even though he's a little dog and should be on small bites. I notice he takes his time with the large bites which are just bigger pieces and he chews whereas he inhales the small bites.
 
#8
oogiewoogie said:
I've purchased the powder but have never used it. I just mix in the new food with the old, starting with a little and eventually switch it over during the course of a week. How has she been?
Click to expand...
I didn't buy it mainly because we've never had a gastro issue just doing the 1/4 new food - mostly old food until she got weened off. She's been LOVING the new food, which is strange because it's the one she started out on and hated to begin with. Dogs...sigh. This pup is a product of her mommy for sure.

IcansPotaFake32 said:
These dogs are so picky it's crazy. The not eating etc may be because she knows it makes or feel bad or because she genuinely doesn't like the food. My dog HATED simple solutions for example. This is why I started giving him california naturals lamb and rice with a small scoop of Evo lamb (wet food) on top. I mix in sweet potato or rice every now and then and he loves it. He's allergic to all things green. I will also cook up some yellow squash (thinly squashed) and he likes that. I think they get bored sometimes. Toby is on such a strict diet because of his allergies that I need to make it fun for him sometimes or he just decides not to eat.
For changing foods you gradually mix the new food with the old food starting off with a little of the new food with mostly old food. You keep going for a few weeks until it's just new food.
Some foods are just too rich for our dogs and they need something else. I also tried dick van pattens duck (which he was allergic to) but it was way to rich for him and he had the runs. Try out California Naturals. I buy the large bites lamb and rice even though he's a little dog and should be on small bites. I notice he takes his time with the large bites which are just bigger pieces and he chews whereas he inhales the small bites.
Click to expand...

TBH I flat out switched her with this new food. I've washed more blankets and cleaned out her crate than I'd care to honestly admit. I kind of had the thought that it couldn't get worse. Astonishingly enough, she's been great with it. I've always weaned her before, but I just wanted to stop the throw up. The holistic dog food store did say that the Blue maybe had too much protein for her because of the size/weight and I'm thinking that holds true. Thank you SO much for your input on brands. CA Naturals, Acana, and Wellness were the ones I had been looking at had the sample of this one come back up.
 
#9
Update here: it definitely WAS the Blue Buffalo Salmon food that was making her sick. The gastritis cleared up completely. She hasn't thrown up once she's been on it (even though I didn't wean her from one food to the next).

To add insult to injury, she will actually hang out and eat an entire bowl of food whereas before she would pick around the same bowl for days. It makes me feel like a crappy doggy mommy to not have recognized this before.
 
#10
don't feel bad I went through the same thing. Since our pups can't talk all we can really rely on is trial and error. I was feeding Toby Simple Solutions once and HE HATED it. Would pick around and look at me with disgust. When I adopted him he was eating gravy train and snauseges so I bet he was feeling like "what is this crap!?" once I started giving him the healthy stuff. You spend all this money but at the end of the day I think we have to kind of see what their reactions are and if they like it. Sometimes they won't eat something because they know that it makes them feel bad.
Glad you found what worked! That food may have been too rich.
 
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