Shelby L you can’t give omeprizole as needed, because it takes a week to start working. You also have to be really careful if you’re giving Prilosec OTC as the pills are time released, so you should try to keep your dog from chewing them if possible. One of my dogs is on it and I have to push the pill towards the back of her mouth so she swallows it instead of chews. Medications that you can give for quick relief from symptoms are Pepcid or Pepto-bismol, but if your dog is on a systemic steroid like prednisone don’t give Pepto.
My two chihuahuas (they’re related, aunt and niece) both have acid reflux issues. My youngest Nilla has been to the vet so many times for GI issues. Her symptoms have ranged from nausea to diarrhea. There really hasn’t been much of a pattern to her symptoms, except that she’s most likely to have an episode at night or after a playtime with my other chihuahua. The really upsetting thing is that when she gets one of these episodes she often paces. She’ll run back and forth the length of our apt until total exhaustion. If we try to stop her she will fight us to keep pacing. We took her to an internal medicine vet, who said it could be acid reflux or IBS. We have noticed that both dogs lick the air and blankets, and Nilla burps quite a lot. Both dogs’ also have extremely loud bowel sounds, and their abdomens feel bloated in the hours after eating. Both dogs eat Royal Canin Hydrolyzed Protein Dry Kibble for small breeds and occasionally get a RC HP cat treat. I probably give gas-ex every day to at least one, but usually both of them. Nilla takes Prilosec, and has been on prednisone for the last several couple months, and my other dog Minxie takes Pepcid twice a day. Nilla has had an ultrasound which showed nothing abnormal, but I’ve been hesitant to get her scoped since it requires anesthesia. Nothing seems to work long-term for either dog’s symptoms, and I think the longest either dog has been symptom free was a week, but the symptoms always come back. Both dogs are fairly young (Minxie is 2 yrs and Nilla is 1.5 yrs) and it’s horrible that they can’t even enjoy playing since they get sick afterwards. I read in several posts that wetting their food might help so I will definitely try that. I gave probiotics in the beginning and it didn’t seem to do anything, but my vet gave a different kind so I will try them. I haven’t tried them yet, because the vet told me I couldn’t give the probiotic and metronidazole together. But we haven’t given the metro in a while so I’ll give the probiotic a try. I will also give apple cider vinegar a try, but I’m not sure of the dosage since both my dogs weigh about 4.5 lbs each. Has anyone had any luck with those food bowls that are designed to make dogs eat slower? Nilla tends to try to really quickly gulp her food down, which is definitely not helping her burping and gas problems. Sorry this post is so long. If anyone has any other suggestions they think might help, I’d greatly appreciate it. Thanks.
