8 month old cavalier throwing up in the morning

I have an 8 month old cavalier that throws up most mornings before he has eaten. Just clear and foamy. He has never been that interested in his morning meal and sometime waits until late afternoon and evening to eat his food. I was under the impression that this breed was very food motivated but not so much for him. I had read that perhaps his stomach was too empty in the morning and to make sure he got a snack before bed. I have been giving him a dog biscuit right at bedtime to make sure he had something in his stomach and that seems to have helped a little. I have been to the vet and they did not seem too concerned as he has gained weight and there does not seem to be any other symptoms so I am journaling his eating and vomiting for the next two weeks and then see the vet again if things have not improved. I have been feeding him Royal Canin puppy kibble. Anyone out there with a similar experience?

Thanks.......Lynn & Barkley

Lucky had this when he was younger. Our vet said the same thing about the empty stomach and we tried that and after 3 days of vomiting in the morning he stopped. He (knock wood) is 9 now and hasn't done it in a long time.

My dogs always get a small treat at bedtime, and I've never had any problems. Are you putting all his daily allotment of food out at one time? Maybe try feeding him 3 small meals a day, plus his bedtime treat. That way his stomach won't be empty for long.

Sorry to hear that your pup is experiencing some digestive issues. Here's some thoughts:

1. My dogs get fed in the morning and evening. Try putting the food down in the morning and evening, if he does not eat, then pick it up. It is highly unprobable that he will starve himself, and it will help you easily keep track of when and how much he eats. Is it possible, the food is sitting out too long and making him ill?

2. Consider switching off puppy food (very, very slowly), which is high in fat, and maybe is harder for him to digest? At 8 months, he can eat adult food, so a switch is inevitable.

3. I found that during the first year, Bosco had a lot of digestive issues which in his case resulted in loose poop. I have found that his diet still needs to be watched carefully (he is turning 4 this month), and I limit treats to very, very small portions.

4. If the dog biscuit at night continues to work, ignore items 1 - 3, and keep up with the biscuit! LOL!

The journaling sounds like a great idea. You can have hard facts if you need to visit the vet again on this issue.

Best of luck,

joan

I'd agree he is likely well able to manage juvenile or adult kibble at this point. Also in general it's a good idea not to leave food down all day to let a dog choose if and when to eat -- better to put it down in the morning, give your dog 10-15 minutes, and if nothing is eaten or only a bit, just (without making any kind of fuss) lift the dish and put away til the scheduled evening time and repeat.

You could try a different quality kibble or alternative food choice. Personally, I think kibble alone is a pretty dull option for dogs. Also, some kibble just doesn't agree with some dogs. In the Library section there are posts that suggest some healthy additions that can be made to a dry food diet.

I agree with others that often some puppies seem to have these digestive issues and they tend to go away after 12-18 months of age. I've had this with cavaliers, giant breeds, and kittens.

I always give a small dog biscuit at bedtime so they have something in their tummies.

For cavaliers that continue to have any sort of digestive issues into adulthood, I really strongly recommend keeping chronic pancreatitis in mind. Researchers are reporting a very high incidence of this in the breed and a damaged pancreas shows up regularly in necropsies. In my own and many friends' cases, cavaliers that had lifelong sensitive tummies ended up eventually falling into the category of having chronic pancreatitis and needing a specialised diet after having one or more serious bouts needing hospitalisation . Some professionals I've talked to think perhaps in general it is good to keep such cavaliers showing such early signs on low fat diets all their lives, and never feed any sort of fatty treats (especially not meat fat leftovers). There's a good DVD available on cavaliers and pancreatitis at www.cavaliermatters.org with the latest research and advice on management.

I just went through this with Maggie. She's almost 3 now. But it's empty stomach. There's an actual name for it I just can't remember what now.

I did a huge overhaul. I switched to raw food

But try dividing the meals(whatever you feed your pup) into 3s. One before bed. See if that works.
I've divided Maggie's meals into 4.

Morning. Lunch. Dinner. And before bed.

Not all dogs need that. But Maggie dose. And the throwing up stopped.