Potential outbreak of prolific vomiting in dogs

OMG my lab had this over Christmas, the lack of appetite for a few days afterwards and prolific vomiting made it or stand out from usual stomach upsets.
We didn't take her to the vet as she was at her worst over Christmas and boxing day then improved, we did keep a very careful eye on her though.
 
I can’t believe anyone goes to the vet because their dog vomits for 24 hours, we seem to have become a nation of animal owners that can’t do anything without a professional holding our hands. That’s a ridiculous article imo, implying there is a strange vomiting disease going on, dogs vomit for lots of reasons, withhold food for 24 hours and amazingly they generally recover just fine ! For the people that will jump on me, obviously see a vet if it carries on !
 
There is a bug going around quite a few areas, I know of a couple of daycare/training businesses who are on the alert over it as it's pretty infectious.

It's not the vomiting/shits that's the problem, it's the associated dehydration, especially in dogs who are elderly or already ill.

I'm sure the University of Liverpool
wouldn't have published an article about it if it wasn't an issue....
 
It’s been going round where I am. There was some speculation that it was some kind of poison, because several dogs walked in a certain area got it, but now so have various other dogs not walked there.

I’d seriously think about going to the vet if my dog was being sick constantly for over 12 hours, if only to rule out other conditions which could be serious. I go by the theory it’s worth the consultation fee for my peace of mind.
 
I'd be taking my dog to the vet if they'd been vomiting constantly! If they've been sick once or twice, I stop their food for 24 hours anyway, but if it continued I'd definitely be getting an emergency vet appointment. Maybe that makes me a complete numpty but I'd rather people thought ill of me than my dog being ill. And to be honest, anyone who has that opinion doesn't deserve a second thought from me anyway.
 
JennBags said:
I'd be taking my dog to the vet if they'd been vomiting constantly! If they've been sick once or twice, I stop their food for 24 hours anyway, but if it continued I'd definitely be getting an emergency vet appointment. Maybe that makes me a complete numpty but I'd rather people thought ill of me than my dog being ill. And to be honest, anyone who has that opinion doesn't deserve a second thought from me anyway.
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Me too, and have done. Apparently we have the bug around this area too.
 
bonny said:
I can’t believe anyone goes to the vet because their dog vomits for 24 hours, we seem to have become a nation of animal owners that can’t do anything without a professional holding our hands. That’s a ridiculous article imo, implying there is a strange vomiting disease going on, dogs vomit for lots of reasons, withhold food for 24 hours and amazingly they generally recover just fine ! For the people that will jump on me, obviously see a vet if it carries on !
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Wouldn’t you judge each instance of vomiting on how it presents? My Lurcher started vomiting one morning, she was vomiting Everything back up within a minute of food going in her mouth. To me that suggested she had a blockage. Took her to the vet immediately and issue was resolved when she passed something absolutely disgusting which was clearly blocking her system. Not something I would have left.
 
CMcC said:
Wouldn’t you judge each instance of vomiting on how it presents? My Lurcher started vomiting one morning, she was vomiting Everything back up within a minute of food going in her mouth. To me that suggested she had a blockage. Took her to the vet immediately and issue was resolved when she passed something absolutely disgusting which was clearly blocking her system. Not something I would have left.
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What did the vet do to treat her ?
 
Our local vets have reported 40 cases of severe vomiting over a very short period apparently, so it appears there's some sort of bug around. If mine vomit food back I'd monitor them for 12 hours initially, but if they're unable to keep even water down they'd be straight to the vets. I think it also depends on demeanour, if they also look miserable or in discomfort, vets here we come. Peril had Giardia recently and although she's usually fit and well, this made her very poorly, very quickly, they rehydrated her, gave probiotics and antibiotics and she was, thankfully, fully recovered within 72 hours. We're still working to put on the weight she lost during that episode though. I'd rather waste their time, than have them say "if only you'd brought her in yesterday".
 
Stiff Knees said:
Our local vets have reported 40 cases of severe vomiting over a very short period apparently, so it appears there's some sort of bug around. If mine vomit food back I'd monitor them for 12 hours initially, but if they're unable to keep even water down they'd be straight to the vets. I think it also depends on demeanour, if they also look miserable or in discomfort, vets here we come. Peril had Giardia recently and although she's usually fit and well, this made her very poorly, very quickly, they rehydrated her, gave probiotics and antibiotics and she was, thankfully, fully recovered within 72 hours. We're still working to put on the weight she lost during that episode though. I'd rather waste their time, than have them say "if only you'd brought her in yesterday".
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I took my Woolfie into the vet at the first possible opportunity when I thought there was something wrong with her eye. She turned out to have meningitis and got more and more poorly, we lost her less than 2 weeks later which was absolutely devastating, she was only 8 months old and the most wonderful pup, my total heart dog. I cannot imagine the guilt I would have felt if I hadn't taken her in so soon, I would have blamed myself for losing her, whereas although I am still heartbroken, I know I did absolutely everything in my power to help her.
 
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How does it benefit a dog who's vomiting due to a foreign body, twisted gut or severe infection to be starved for 24 hours? Hell the current medical recommendation is don't starve at all in the vast majority of cases as it slows gi healing.

Of course you should seek medical attention for prolonged vomiting episodes...esp if it's 24 hours of ongoing constant vomiting...How well do you think the body copes with losing that much fluid and electrolytes??
let alone with dealing with the underlying cause thats causing the vomiting.

Sure there's lots of minor causes for vomiting in the dog....but there's also lots of life threatening illness'...especially with that ongoing vomiting pattern. It's not as simple as animals only vomit due to upset stomachs! Vomiting is symptom not a diagnosis.

Starving and waiting 24 hours will kill some dogs that could have been saved with early medical intervention.

It is also a very good way to end up with a much more expensive bill in the "mild" causes of ongoing vomiting.
An illness that could have had been treated early on with a simple injection of an anitemetic and some bland food instead Is left to continue to vomit and drives the animals body into dehydration and electrolyte disturbances needing hospitalisation and iv fluids etc....It's a false economy to wait with severe vomiting if it is a financial concern.

Hope you dont feel the same about human medicine because again in a human protracted vomiting,adult and especially in a child, should be assessed by a Dr for the exact same reason as a dog. Sometimes it's a massive red flag for major issues.

Ignorance really is bliss.
 
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My dog had this a few weeks ago. Started vomiting at 7.30 in the morning and I had her in the vets by 9.30am.
I too would normally give it 24 hours but the sheer ferocity and frequency of the vomiting plus the obvious discomfort of my little dog meant an urgent visit. It then returned a 9pm in the evening a few days later so another emergency visit to the vet. It took a good week for her to start feeling better.

You should judge each case by the symptoms being presented. This is not 'just' a sickness bug.
 
rara007 said:
Some of these dogs are vomiting 20 times in an hour- you might not get the 24 hours you’re waiting out to see if it carries on!
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The actual article that we are supposed to worry about says typically the dogs vomit between 4 and 8 times and the treatment is bland food and plenty of water. Do you need a vet to tell you that ? I see no where that any dogs vomit 20 times an hour, I imagine they would run out of anything to vomit long before that !
 
bonny said:
Do you all rush to your gp if you start being sick and demand tests ?
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For a start dogs can’t tell us what the problem is, how much it’s hurts,
Etc, nor is it likely to be something life threatening without any other symptoms in people.
My vet will check heart rate as a minimum and also thanks to their training they can feel a lot that I can’t. This isn’t an overworked GP, vets are a business and I’m quite sure they don’t mind if the owner wants to pay for peace of mind.
 
meleeka said:
For a start dogs can’t tell us what the problem is, how much it’s hurts,
Etc, nor is it likely to be something life threatening without any other symptoms in people.
My vet will check heart rate as a minimum and also thanks to their training they can feel a lot that I can’t. This isn’t an overworked GP, vets are a business and I’m quite sure they don’t mind if the owner wants to pay for peace of mind.
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Obviously vets are happy for you to visit as often as you like and even more happy to do tests etc.
 
Jeez, 20 times in an hour!! You can never hope to replace that fluid yourselves without veterinary intervention, and there's always a reason for vomiting whether it be just a bug or something much more serious. When Peril started vomiting she was on the shooting field, beating with OH. She had stopped for lunch, had water, eaten a small meal and was running around one minute as right as rain, the next minute vomiting and looking very sorry for herself. Despite us getting her to the vets within the hour she was still considered dehydrated. She is fantastically fit but it really knocked the stuffing out of her, so quickly, it was frightening. The treatment she received was second to none and I'm sure was the reason she recovered so quickly. Had that intensity of vomiting happened to our 13 year old, it could have been the end of him. I should have also said that now I know there is a bug going around, if mine vomit, they'll be straight to the vet for their opinion.
 
What is that well known cliche? ‘Better to remain silent and be thought a fool than speak and remove all doubt’....

I’m the first to treat my dogs stomach upsets conservatively with probiotics and bland food, this is clearly something very different. The problem on this thread appears to be a lack of recognition of that fact.
 
skinnydipper said:
I prefer not to leave things to chance with my pets. The price of a consultation is nothing compared to the life of a dog.

Why take the risk?
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^^This.
When Jake was poorly, back in April, he simply refused his supper time gravy bone, nothing more, he was urinating as normal, tail was wagging, no temperature, no outward sign of illness, not noticeably listless or in discomfort, 30 minutes after, he began to look a bit pi**ed off and within an hour he was at the vets being scanned and immediately underwent emergency surgery for a ruptured spleen. To me, that single sign, a refused gravy bone, was enough to know that something was very wrong with him. The vet who looked after him, did an amazing job, he had very recently lost his dog to a splenic tumour and had not seen the signs, when he'd gone downstairs the next morning his dog was dead in its basket having haemorrhaged. He congratulated me on spotting it. I'm taking no risks with either of mine.
 
bonny said:
Do you all rush to your gp if you start being sick and demand tests ?
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No, but this vomiting bug is quite horrible, a few v young and also elderly dogs have not able to be saved by the vets.

A dog isn't a person. A good owner takes notice of changes and acts accordingly.

My very local vets put out a warning last week as they have dealt with a large number of cases since xmas and no sign of slowing up.
 
bonny said:
Do you all rush to your gp if you start being sick and demand tests ?
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The better example I can give would be if i had is a small child with those symptoms (because an adult would be able to explain if there were additional helpful symptoms to give a likely cause quicker).

If I had a small child who was vomiting multiple times for no known reason for hours on end...I wouldn't go to the GP in most cases...I'd go to a hospital.

I'd get them examined by a Dr and then see what they thought the most likely differentials were and what treatments were likely to help. Given its a non verbal child I'm talking about if the clinical exam didn't provide an obvious answer then yes I expect they would need to run some tests . I wouldnt need to demand anything. If the Dr decided it's mild ilness and to just treat symatically and monitored then I'd trust the Drs judgement. If they wanted more tests I'd usually ask why and what (mostly out of curioisty) but we would get them done and hold the toddler to get them done. This is normally how medicine works.

Incidentally I have been to the Dr for less profuse vomiting then was mentioned in that article- but I also never usually vomit let alone multiple times in one day. Had no causes i could think of that would cause an upset stomach and felt like crap so knew something was actually wrong. dr quickly had suspecions and scan confirmed I had a very very angry gallbladder. We then did some fun testing for cancer/stones etc in the timeframe after. Thankfully managed to avoid surgery and responded to medical management but was very sick for quite some time. So ya I guess I am thst person who goes to the Dr and politely asks them to help fix whats wrong when my bodys acting up.

It is NOT normal to vomit profusely. It's a warning and a symptom of illness. Generally it's a good idea to listen to warnings.

I'd also pay for said medical care as I don't live in the UK...And again that wouldn't stop me seeking medical attention for ongoing vomiting. There are some things I consider worth financially investing in.

I have also taken other backpackers to the hospital when abroad in similar situations because everyone seems to have this idiotic idea that wait and see will fix things.

Things fix a lot quicker if you treat them in most cases. It's almost as if we invented medical intervention for a reason....to do with preserving health and fitness or something.
 
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