We have a six-year old boxer mix that has had a sensitive stomach since she was a puppy. Now that she is an adult the vomiting she had experienced as a puppy is rare but she still gets indigestion a lot. We have had to keep her on a dry food diet to keep her from getting sick which has worked well now for several years.
One morning when I was preparing to feed her I noticed a loud grumbling coming from her stomach. It was so loud that I heard it across the room. That was on a Saturday morning so I took her to the Vet right away. I was afraid that she may have bloat, a problem that can occur in a dog with a deep chest. What happens when a dog gets bloat is the stomach actually rotates within the chest. The Vet told us that if bloat is not dealt with quickly the animal would die. He took x-rays and found that her stomach was in the correct position ruling out bloat.
The vet at that time figured that she must have a virus because one was going around and he had had several complaints similar to ours that same morning. He prescribed some medication for the dog and we thought that was the end of it.
Around two weeks went by and the dogs symptoms had disappeared so we thought she was ok, that it was only the virus. Then one morning we were having hard boiled eggs and the dog was crazy about eggs so we gave her some. Later that afternoon she threw up everything that she had eaten all day undigested. The food had been in her stomach for at least eight hours and no signs of digestion at all. So we went back to the Vet to try to find out what was wrong with her this time. She had never thrown up undigested food before so this was possibly a new problem. Well, after another x-ray and exam the Vet saw what was wrong right away this time. It turned out that the piece of egg that we had given her earlier in the day had plugged the outlet from her stomach preventing digestion from taking place.
It was one of the tips of the egg that acted like a plug and it fit perfectly. Our mistake was thinking that she would chew the egg but she didnt. The vet also determined that the food that we feed her is too big. The kibbles for that type of dog should be no larger than a pea so if she swallows some of them whole they will be able to pass through her digestion system. My mistake was in giving her larger kibbles thinking that they would help keep her teeth clean and that probably would have been the case if she chewed all of her food. So if you have a dog that is having some stomach problems that you really cant pinpoint the cause of make sure the food is not too large for the type of breed dog that you have. Your Vet should have a chart to show you the size kibble your dog should have.
Bob Crane is the author of http://www.fordfseriestrucks.com a website that helps you find what you need for your Ford Truck. He also runs a blog at: http://www.fixnkeep.com The blog discusses preventative maintenance and corrective fixes on cars and things around the house. "Why buy new if you can fix what you already have."
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