We took our 4 yr old shih tzu to the vet yesterday as he had been throwing up a lot the day before.He started throwing up blood the next morning and we decided to take him to the vet right away (we had an appt. already for our new puppy to get her boosters). They said he had a problem with his GI tract and that he had a very slow motility (not sure if that is spelled correctly, but basically his feces were not traveling through his body quickly enough and they had built up in his colon). We brought him home and he had been as active as usual (ie. not very, unless we let the puppy play with him), but seemed very happy. Today he began throwing up again. He threw up the food the vet gave us for him and he threw up foam. My mom just left to take him back, but I'm worried. He's my mother's dog and they have an amazing bond, she loves him to death. Not only would I be devastated if he was very sick, but I don't even want to imagine what my mother would do if he died.
We just spent almost $2,000 for treatment (and finally surgery) for my sister's cat's urinary problem. Money is tight and I know my mom would pay almost any amount to keep him alive, but only within reason. Anyway, I just want to know any ideas of what's wrong and, hopefully, some assurance that this is a small problem. My mother (who is a nurse) thought that he had an ulcer, which makes sense as the stress of a new puppy could cause one. Any ideas?