Lulu- diet and possibly allergies

Why is she on an allergy type diet?  NB is typically considered to be an allergy food.  ARE there already known allergies?

Has she been tested for internal parasites?  This would be a good place to start.  Often dogs have poorly formed or soft stool because we are overfeeding them, so be sure that isn't the case.

Vomiting.  What and when?  Is it a liquidy yellowish stuff?  If so that's bile and comes from the tummy being too empty.  You can feed the same amount of food, or less, but break it into more meals.  If the vomit is solid and looks like something, or looks like undigested food, then you really do need to get her to the vet right away.

mary555kay

.  I hate to bring her to the vet because he wants to do all kinds of tests and put her on all kinds of medications, which I would rather not do.

  Hi and welcome to the forum;   Have you already discussed this with the vet or are you assuming that's the case? If your dog has been vomiting for 2 weeks I think it's time to have her checked. The vomiting could be caused by many things and the vet can help you find out what it is.

Yes, she had allergies when I got her so i switched her to NB after a few months.  The vomit is undigested food. There is no pattern to when she vomits.  One time it was in the afternoon at the dog park, another time it was early evening before dinner time.   Sometimes it is after drinking water, one time it was from coming in from a walk.  One time it was early morning before breakfast  Like I said she does not act sick.  She has allergies to wheat, soy and corn. 

The big deal, tho, is HOW LONG after eating is she puking up undigested food.  This is a big huge mega hairy thing -- if she's puking up undigested food right before the next meal -- VET ***NOW***.  That can be a sign of renal problems (major renal problems.

Soft stool can be a lot of things -- it can be large intestine related (the large intestine is supposed to remove the excess water -- explosive diarreha is small intestine, unformed diarreha is large intestine usually).

You might be better off to try a different type of vet if you aren't happy with how your current vet works.  http://www.tcvm.com - I've had super good luck referring people thru the Chi Institute.  The TCVM vet is going to be better informed on food issues and may be less likely to run big expensive tests.

However, something like a fecal for parasites or a basic blood test if renal problems are suspected truly is something ANY vet should do.

She has no parasites, been tested several times-all her blood tests - and she has had many- are  normal.  Then the vet wants me to do more tests and change her food and she ends up worse and I have had her at the best she could be.  The vomiting has no rhyme or reason and I don't even think it is related to the soft stool.  I also do not think my vet listens to what I have to say.  He wants her on his dog food.  I do not want Lulu on dog food that is mostly carbs, I want her on meat.  The carbs is what probably ruined her gut in the first place.  She does not have diarrhea- just soft stool.  When she had diarreah it was full of blood and mucus. 

Believe me, I know all about the parasites, and I have spent the money on the tests (several times) at the vet.  It is not that I do not want to spend money to bring her to the vet, I don't want the vet to tell me to change her diet again and I will end worse.  But the vomiting is out of no where.  Could she get this from ingesting sand at the dog park?  The dog park is by the beach at she chews on the ball which gets full of sand, so I am sure she ingests some sand.  So maybe the sand is making her vomit?

While anything is possible, I wouldn't think that sand would cause her to vomit up undigested food.  Have you had a fecal done?  There are tons of parasites and some of them only show up in the stool....and not so they can be seen with the naked eye.

It sounds to me like it's time to find a vet who will listen to you and with whom you feel comfortable, one who you feel that you can trust.

 Have you tried an elimination diet or a RX food with hydrolyzed proteins that the body can't react to such as Hill's z/d?  It took doing that for my Woobie to finally deduce that it was anything with feathers that was causing his problems.  A homecooked elimination diet could consist of boiled hamburger and rice for a period of several weeks (usually 3 months is recommended) to give the body a chance to stop reacting and then slowly introduce a tiny bit of a new food and watch for reactions.  It can be a very frustrating process.  Good luck!

 First food allergies are not indicated by soft stools - intolerances can be but allergies no.  They turn up as skin and ear disorders more often than not.

Have you tried giving her live yogurt (stonyfield or dannon etc - plain not flavored and full fat is best) or other probiotics to help her gut?   That may clear up the soft stool.

As for the vomiting, I think after two weeks of it you should get her checked and look at a different vet.  I am from LI originally and might be able to come up with a few names if you are struggling with your current vet and don't know another.  I think it could be related to the sand which is likely very salty - dogs will often throw up if they ingest sea water.  BUT it could be lots of other things and I would definitely like to rule some of them out

Last fall my dog went through a bought of spitting up fairly regularly and the vet gave him tagamet for a week and it cleared.  He was constantly spitting up after he had a big drink but hasn't since - so it may be something simple but the vet told me there were some serious conditions that would cause this so see a vet to rule some out

Good luck and keep us posted

"Acidopholis" w/Probiotics is great for the stomach and digestive tract.  You can get this from any vitamin store. 

i really think it is time for you to find a different vet! REALLY REALLY! not only for this issue, but also for any issues that might come up in the future!

also, you say she has been tested, but how long ago was that? it sounds like you tested a while back. (or maybe i am just reading too much into your post... if so, i apologize) she could have picked up something new since!

with these smaller things that persist, it is always a gamble. it is *probably* nothign serious, but it might just be something that should be treated right away, and that is exactly why you need to find a vet that you can trust and that will listen to you! trust me, i was in your position for quite a while and it can make all the difference in the world, once you find a vet that you trust. if moca could speak, she would thank my current vet for finally recognizing that her skin infections needed treatment (old vet dismissed me, when i said it was uncomfortable to her). and working with me to find a medication that cleared her chronic ear infections (old vet would just prescribe the old stuff over and over and over, when it clearly didnt work!). it will put YOU at ease, knowing you have someone to go to on these issues, and it will definately benefit your dog! looking for a new vet is a pain, but it really is worth it...

(wow, long ramble, sorry... lol)