Expert: Charlotte Sherrell, DVM - 9/30/2008

Question
My dobie who is 6 vomited about 5 times in the night, and on 4 of those he cleaned up his vomit. At 5h00 he left large deposits of foul smelling yellow puke all over his bed and carpet. He does not have diarrhea and passed a normal stool late last night. He's still bouncy and has just eaten some white rice with a fair bit of water added and he's eyeing up the rest in the pot, so still interested in food!! This was almost 2 hours ago and he's kept that down so far. His ears feel cold as they normally are and his nose is moist. At what point do I take him to the vet? He had a similar episode 5 months ago, only that time I rushed him to the vet as he was drinking massive huge amounts of water and plus he had diahrroea, neither of which is the case now. What would you suggest? Money is extremely tight otherwise I'd have taken him in like a shot!

Answer
Silvia -

You should take your dog to the vet as soon as you can.  Also, you may want to withhold food until you can have him seen by the doctor.  I recommend that you prevent him from eating in order to rest the stomach. Withholding food for a day should not be a problem inn as adult fdog.  Your vet may request bloodwork and radiographs to help diagnose what is bothering your pup.

Best Regards,

Charlotte Sherrell, DVM