Sunday morning scare

oliwa

Saturday was a beautiful day so I chained Snickers up so she could romp in the front yard and she was having a lot of fun chewing my shrubs, chewing a newspaper, staring at birds, and jumping around in the snow. Saturday is also "puppy training" day so I took her to play with the other dogs. While I was the pet store I bought her some Happy Hips Sweet Potato chews and Zuke's Cranberry bone. The whole day went like an ordinary Saturday...she played with the others dogs, I gave her a sweet potato chew and her new bone when we got home, and she was so tired that she skipped dinner. She liked the sweet potato chew, but only chewed her bone for about 5 minutes.

Later that evening all was normal...she was curled up next to me on the sofa and was sleeping for several hours. We went to bed around midnight and that was it all went downhill.

She was tossing and turning in her crate, like she couldn't get comfortable, and started to whine. I took her outside and she peed. We went back to bed, but she kept whining. I decided to put her in bed with me and happily jumped up and laid down...but shortly after she continued to toss and turn. She jumped down, walked around, whined a little more, and then threw up. I got up and cleaned the mess and gave her some ice water. She drank a decent amount. I took her to the family room and she kept pacing and whining and then threw up 2 more times.

At this point I'm fearing bloat or torsion so I put her on the sofa and feel her belly...I didn't feel anything hard. I petted her a little bit and she continued to pace. I took her outside and she peed, pooped, and threw up again! When we came in she laid down on one of her beds and tried to go to sleep. She seemed to be comfortable and I was calling all of the emergency clinic finding out locations, directions, symptoms to look for, etc. After she seemed ok for about 20 minutes she woke up, stood up, and threw up 3 more times! Her last throw up was pretty clear and I was like "ok, that's it, we're going!". I felt her belly and it was still soft. She laid back down, quickly went to sleep, and was fine. I gave her a little food when she woke up and she kept that down, her energy returned (went for 2 walks and she was running), and had no other issues.

I'm thinking she ate something outside, but I'm not sure. I was also wondering if her new treats could have caused her sickness. I also read that Basset's can get bloat.

Anyone have any ideas about what caused her sickness? And how to prevent bloat?

Mistersquiggles

I hope Snickers is better... could be that something she ingested (newspaper, plant material, etc) upset her stomach or gave her excessive painful gas. That can lead to bloat, as can exercise after eating. From what I've read, though, constant vomiting can be a sign of bloat, but generally with bloat, they can't vomit much up... it's usually more dry heaves or just some foam.

Mikey

Huh...does she normally have a sensitive tummy?
Something didn't agree with her-the wonderful thing is often when they throw it up they are all better!

Mikey threw up before and I was picking through it. I know thats gross but that allowed me to find the culprit (peices of a santa hat) -were you able to 'go through' the puke? Or get a good look at it at least? Sorry I know it's gross-but it's a great way to see what's wrong-just by whats in it. And often just bile (plain yellow with no food) is an indication the tummy is too acidic and antacids can be given on vet supervision.

Actually you know what-I checked out both of those treats and while they look great-the second one you posted contains nutmeg which can be toxic. If you have anymore throw them out (Don't ask me why the put toxic ingredients in dog treats-but tomato, garlic and onion can be found in lots and they can all accumulate and cause toxicity) I'd bet she didn't react well to the nutmeg.

DANGEROUS PEOPLE FOOD FOR PETS
DOG TRICKS, TIPS AND INSIGHTS, Foods that are Harmful or Fatal to Dogs.

oliwa

No, I didn't go through it, but it's not a bad idea. It looked like undigested soft dog food (which I cut up into small bites for training) among yellow bile.

Last night I gave her the bone again and she chomped it for quite awhile and has shown no ill effects. I was unaware that nutmeg could be poisonous, and I am more puzzled to see garlic as a toxin when I've heard feeding a dog a little garlic with their meals is a flea deterrent.

I'll read the articles you linked and I guess I'll have to do more research.

Brittany

I want to say but could wrong that garlic IS a toxic but if you feed dogs small amounts it is okay. Personally, I don't feed any amount because who is to say what constitutes too much.

Mikey

Nutmeg is not something I'd heard of earlier but when reading the ingredients that struck me as funny-as nutmeg can be hullucinagenic in humans in sufficient qualities so I googled it and found it among toxic lists. I found those sites when googling.

In general though some things are 'toxic' and some things are 'not good' for them-I just stay away from both.

Garlic can be toxic in different amounts for different dogs-the ingredient in question is Thiosulfate and it can cause Hemolytic Anemia in dogs in sufficient quantities. (the cure for that is stopping the garlic) -Since the quantities are unknown and dependant on dog size and metabolism etc-I just don't give any significant quantities of garlic and steer clear of garlic containing foods (it has accumulatory affects).
it is not toxic like say chocolate (theobromide) is (ie. one good dose is lethal) but it can accumulate and cause big problems.
BBB : Vol. 67 (2003) , No. 7 pp.1594-1596

GreatPyr

Great. I just bought my first bag of Wellness and look at the ingredients:

Lamb, Menhaden Fish Meal, Oatmeal, Ground Barley, Ground Brown Rice, Rye Flour, Tomato Pomace, Canola Oil (preserved with mixed tocopherols, a natural source of Vitamin E), Salmon Meal, Rice Bran, Tomatoes, Ground Millet, Natural Lamb Flavor, Ground Flaxseed, Carrots, Spinach, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Dicalcium Phosphate, Calcium Carbonate, Potassium Chloride, Minerals [Zinc Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Ferrous Sulfate, Copper Proteinate, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Manganese Sulfate, Sodium Selenite], Vitamins [Beta-Carotene, Vitamin E Supplement, Ascorbic Acid (Vitamin C), Vitamin A Supplement, Niacin, Calcium Pantothenate, Riboflavin, Vitamin D-3 Supplement, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Thiamine Mononitrate, Folic Acid, Biotin, Vitamin B-12 Supplement], Choline Chloride, Taurine, Mixed Tocopherols (a natural preservative), Glucosamine Hydrochloride, Chondroitin Sulfate, Chicory Root Extract, Garlic, Yucca Schidigera Extract, Green Tea Extract, Dried Lactobacillus plantarum, Enterococcus faecium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus fermentation products.
This is a naturally preserved product.

Criosphynx

the toxicity of tomatoes and garlic, the amounts that may/maynot be harmful are often debated


I had my dogs on wellness for over a year...no deaths

pawzaddict

My first thought was definitely bloat. But if she seems fine what could have happened is a blockage or she ate too much too fast? Seems like she is doing better?

Those scares are horrible..so is cleaning up large amounts of vomit lol.

oliwa

Yes, doing great after 2 months.