Gun Dog Forum

The last few days My GSP has been gagging in the mornings and finally throwing up a small amount of yellow bile. Not sure what is causing it. He seems healthy and has plenty of energy. His stool is normal. Just that he has his little spell in the morning and is fine after that. Anyone have a similer experience, please tell fill me in on possible causes. Thanks

I could write a book on this. Jack Russells are infamous bile hackers in the morning, especially when they get older. With them it is an empty stomach believe it or not.

You should check with your vet because it can be a bacterial problem just south of the stomach but the problem should be easy to solve if you give the dog a snack before you go to bed or as soon as the dog wakes in the morning.

Is the bile frothy?

Buy a big bag of Canidae Snap Biscuits. Those are very caloric.

See your vet. We lost our GSP because her kidneys shut down. She was vomiting bile from it.

Terry how old was your GSP when you lost her ? Did she show any other signs of being sick ?
I'm thinking if if he shows no other symtoms I will watch it for a week or two. My 1 year old seems healthy and still has way to much energy.
Hopefully he has the same issue as Bosco and it's not to serious.

Also wondering what test is done to test kidney function ?

Don't get yourself all worked up till you have it checked out if it is serious enough to even do that. It is not unusual for a dog to have an upset stomach and gag up flemmy greenish or yellowish stomach fluids. It normally passes in a few days but if it persists then have it checked out. This, as you describe it at least, is not particularly unusual.

Good luck,

Ezzy

She was 2 years old. It started off by her energy level varying up and down from day to day. I got her to the vet right away and she got meds that made her better but crashed a month later. The week before she crashed she was acting normal and we shot birds for her and everything was fine and 2 days later she started vomiting bile and died at the vet. They said the symptoms were like Adison's But could do an accurate test because the meds through off the test. They also thought it could be stress. We had 10 days straight of severe weather. They also thought it could be chemicals. We had alot of rain and runoff during that time and thought it was posible that during training she drank water with chemicals in it. They also said that Adisons is very common in GSP's. I know another person that lost a dog from this that wasn't related to my dog.
They can test the kidney function by blood test to see what's in the blood.

She is my avatar. It was a very tough loss. Even at 2 she was broke and ranged at a mile + even on bad days. A true all-age prospect and our family pet. She was going to be run as a broke dog last fall.

It might not be what is wrong but I would rather be cautious then not say anything.
I hope no one has to go through that

Terry,
Thanks for sharing the information. I'm sure it's hard to write about just bringing back bad memory's. Hopefully this will pass and he doesn't have anything to serious. Sounds like they didn't pin down the exact cause for your dogs passing. What ever the reason it's never good, thanks again for your info. I'm gonna keep a close eye on him.

This may sound silly, but he hasn't eaten anything furry, like part of a bunny or squirrel, has he? Hairballs will make an animal vomit bile.

Cajun Casey wrote:This may sound silly, but he hasn't eaten anything furry, like part of a bunny or squirrel, has he? Hairballs will make an animal vomit bile.

I was about to post the same thing my dog ate a mole this summer and next two mornings did exactly as the OP.

It's possible but not probable that he got into any dead animals.He stays in the house and When he is outside other than in the kennel he is with me running around. Having said that I always wonder what the heck he may have gotten into even in the house. He loves to eat tissues and god only knows what's in that stomach. He does chew on sticks out in the yard. I think he just likes to rip stuff up for the heck of it.

Fish 4-5 wrote:It's possible but not probable that he got into any dead animals.He stays in the house and When he is outside other than in the kennel he is with me running around. Having said that I always wonder what the heck he may have gotten into even in the house. He loves to eat tissues and god only knows what's in that stomach. He does chew on sticks out in the yard. I think he just likes to rip stuff up for the heck of it.

Maybe a blanket or stuffing from a toy inside?

That's what I'm leaning toward. possibly a piece of a blanket or part of a toy. If thats the case he could have something in there that won't go either way. But this is the second morning he has NOT had his gagging fit. So hopefully this whatever is things are getting better. Just hate to run him to the Vet for something that will pass without permanete damage.

Usually with an obstruction/foreign body the dogs would become more and more depressed, lethargic, will continue vomiting and would act very ill. Hopefully it is not that!

Fish 4-5 wrote:The last few days My GSP has been gagging in the mornings and finally throwing up a small amount of yellow bile. Not sure what is causing it. He seems healthy and has plenty of energy. His stool is normal. Just that he has his little spell in the morning and is fine after that. Anyone have a similer experience, please tell fill me in on possible causes. Thanks

The fact this is happening or was happening in the morning suggests that it is not a blockage. Most likely it is because the dogs stomach has been empty too long. Feed later in the evening and/or give a nice rich snack before bed.

eed later in the evening and/or give a nice rich snack before bed.

Ditto. My old dog sometimes wakes up 4-5am, wants to eat grass and vomit. If I give her a snack before bed or feed after 8pm, we do not have issues.

jlp8cornell wrote:

eed later in the evening and/or give a nice rich snack before bed.

Ditto. My old dog sometimes wakes up 4-5am, wants to eat grass and vomit. If I give her a snack before bed or feed after 8pm, we do not have issues.

A substantial biscuit or a bowl of plain oatmeal should do it, also a sugar like honey is good at settling things down.

Don't know if it is the same thing or not, but...

My V has been doing it for years. He will bow up some, stick his nose in a corner and start the "hork....hork....hork" deal till he spits it up.

When the grass is green and lush, he starts thinking he's a cow and it's very frequent. Right now, with snow on the ground and everything dormant, it's very infrequent. I've always thought it was just them being unable to digest the cellulose in the grass. I wonder if your dog chewing on sticks in the yard is causing the same kind of deal.

Greg J.

Greg, You could be on to it because he does like to chew up sticks in the yard. That could be what is going on. Wondering about that snack later on in the evening, thats surely worth a try.
Thanks for all the comments. Good to have a place to share info. and hopefully healthy,happy dogs. John