[laurelac]

Hey All-
I have a 3 1/2 year old Havanese named Maya. She has always done a bit of burping, gagging, and not quite throwing up - but it seems to have gotten a little worse lately. It's like she throws up just a bit, gags on it, and then swallows. Very strange. I'm just wondering if anyone has any experience with this. I also wonder if it might be her diet. She has always been a fine eater until recently she has slowed down in her consumption but begs more than ever, and seems really hungry. I was feeding her Iams and then did some searching online. Some indications seem to point toward acid reflux. One person recommended switching her food to Purina One Smartblend. I did that and she gobbled that down consistently for the first 4-5 days. Now she is starting to leave some of that behind. The burping, gagging, and not quite throwing up has continued. Just wondering if it's serious enough to bring to the vet or if there is something else I should try.
Thanks for any input!

 

[Buzzys Mom]

My guess is that a lot of people will chime in here, but those are poor quality dog foods. I would recommend you talk to your vet and get her on higher quality dog food- that would probably help with the indigestion.
Good luck and keep us posted!

 

[Suzi]

I was going to say the same thing. Somewhere shortly after I got Maddie I was Emailed a video about dog food you learn to look at what is in the ingredients. Sometimes even vets do not know.
I choose Blue Buffallo because the added DHA is freeze dried so the vitamins are not cooked out. other people will let you know the important things to look for.

 

[baileyandenzo]

i feed both of mine blue buffalo (adult chicken and rice, and puppy chicken and oatmeal) and they LOVE it.

 

[DorothyS]

Many of the poor quality dog foods include a lot of grains. You want something that focuses on meat products and fruit and vegetables. Dogs cannot digest grain, so it is just filler that goes through them. Check this site for more information:

http://www.dogfoodanalysis.com/

The gagging, etc could be a sensitivity to something in the food.

 

[whimsy]

I would take her to the vet and have her checked out before doing anything else.

 

[davetgabby]

Welcome , I'm thinking along with Evelyn. Although these are not the best foods and may have too much grain, I would get her checked by a vet. A lot of people feed these with no problem.

 

[galaxie]

I would definitely change her food.

When is she doing this throwing up? My suspicion is that it's probably in the morning and she hasn't eaten since at least the night before? She is most likely throwing up some stomach bile. This happens to Stella sometimes when she doesn't eat her breakfast. I was very concerned and took her to our vet, who said that it wasn't a big deal and that it was because her stomach was empty. She suggested that if we noticed Stella not eating her breakfast right away that we could opt to give her 5 mg of Prilosec to calm her stomach. I don't suggest medicating your dog based on my dog's diagnosis, however, you should definitely take her to your vet to make sure it's not something more serious. I was worried about liver function because throwing up bile can be a sign of poor liver performance. Thankfully, in Stella's case, it wasn't!

 

[laurelac]

Thanks all for your input! I will keep track a little closer about when this is happening and then take her to the vet and see what he has to say.
I appreciate the experience of other Havanese owners. This is our first Havanese and we are sold. It's nice to know what typically happens.