[Leslie K]

Westie has always had sensitive stomach with occasional bile vomit and refusing of food. Only occurs in early morning accompanied by noisy stomach / intestines. In the last month has been virtually every morning. Murphy is 14 yrs old and has been on a twice a day feeding of prey type raw diet his entire life which eliminated skin allergies.
Have tried splitting his dinner and giving 2nd portion before bed as well as just giving him some sweet potato or 1/2 slice of bread at bedtime. That works occasionally but not enough. Any suggestions on what my senior boy might need in his elder years to make it through the night without waking with stomach distress? Maybe probiotics?

[Susan]

Hi Lesile,
As we age & dogs age we don’t make as much hydrochloric acid & get acid reflux, it’s called Hypochlorhydria-lack stomach acid & Hyperchlorhydra-excessive acid production both contribute to acid reflux in pets as well as additional symptoms burping, gas, rumbling/grumbling bowel noises, abdominal bloating, mouth licking swollowing, my boy grinds his teeth…
Is he on an anti acid medication?? you can try a mild ant acid medication like Pepcid (Famotidine) or I started Patch on Zantac (Ranitidine) we dont have Pepcid in Australia no more its an old ant acid drug & I think it interfered with other medications, with these 2 ant acid drugs you have to give tablet 30-45mins before they eat twice a day the doses are online… I’d ask your vet can you try Prilosec (Omeprazole) it’s an ant acid blocker, sends a msg to brain, its a Proton Pump Inhibitor (PPI) given just once a day, you dont need to wait 30mins before you take it like other ant acid meds, my Gastro Dr said its best taken first thing of a morning 20mins before you eat breaskfast, so by the the time you make your cuppa & his breakfast its about 20 mins, the only thing with PPI’s after you have taken it for 21 days you cant just stop taking a PPI, you must reduce slowly, Patched IBD vet recommended I do what he does with himself, he said to do give 20mg Prilosec tablet for 3-4 days then stop if acid has gone & he’s better, then if he gets his acid reflux again give the Prolosec for 3 days, you dont have to wait till the next morning to give table just give when he has any ant acid symptoms.
I found Patch was heaps beter while taken his Losec & then he’d be OK for 2 days then back to bad acid of a morning, vomiting yellow acid then after they vomit the excess acid burns their throat, I buy the Liquid Mylanta & keep in the fridge so its cold & when Patch had his acid reflux & has vomited up the acid I’d give him about 4mls of the cold Mylanta in a syringe….
Patches vet gives me 6 repeat scripts of the Losec now cause he takes it everyday, I buy from the chemist its heaps cheaper, it cost about $4-5$ a tablet from the vet, very expensive here in Australia….
Your poor boy probably has acid reflux, I did Endoscope + Biopsies for Patch, when vet looked down Patches throat everything looked great but the biopsies told a different story Patch had Helicbactoer-Pylori Spirals which cause bad acid reflux & IBD..

Acid Reflux is worse early hours of the morning, with the Prilosec I give Patch 20mg as soon as he wakes up around 6am, I have everything near my bed, the tablets & I full the syringe up with water the night before, just make sure after you have put the tablet on the back of his tongue & down his throat you have one of those 20ml syringes & put water in the side of his mouth slowly push the plunger on syringe so he swollows the tablet, the tablet washes down his throat & doesn’t sit & dissolve in his throat.
Another thing start feeding 4-5 smaller lean meals a day, I feed Patch 7am 12pm 5pm & 8pm, at 7am & 5pm these meals are a bit bigger & at 12pm & 8pm he gets 1/3 a cup….

Have you tried changing his diet to a cooked low fat diet, I do both but dont feed together feed at separate meals, I’ve started Patch on Freeze dried dehydrated raw now, its an Australian brand “Frontier Pets” there’s might be a low fat freeze dried raw brand in America & see if does he do better on the raw diet, cooked diet or on the freeze dried diet then feed the one he seems to do best on but after trying all different things for Patch the Prilosec worked the best…

[anonymous]

I would go by what a veterinarian that has examined your dog recommends.
I would not give over the counter medications or supplements, unless the vet approves.
I would consider making some diet changes as he probably can no longer tolerate raw and would do better on a bland commercial food, but first take him in for a vet visit, labs, senior workup.
There is probably a lot you can do under the guidance of a vet to keep your dog comfortable.
Best of luck.

[AntiCorn D]

We have a 4 yo Westie that is plagued by digestive problem: vomiting bile, constant licking, diarrhea, stomach noises. She also has severe allergies here in Florida, possibly lawn care related. She is on a hydrolyzed protein diet which is somewhat helpful and we’ve tried omeprazole with some help. I tried giving her a teaspoon of plain greek yogurt when her stomach growls and gurgles, and often it cures the sounds immediately. H pylori infection hasn’t been ruled out. She did end up with mild pancreatitis one time when she was vomiting a lot, also had some diarrhea; probably just dehydration, but lab work did show elevated pancreatic enzymes. I found this thread while searching for a raw food diet that may help the puppers. I was thinking about starting her on such a diet to see if it would help.

[Author]

Posts