Hello Everyone, I have a 4 month 21 day old Bichon Frise. He is a joy in our household. He is highly energetic and can be strong willed. My husband and I are working through this strong willed personality being careful not to do anything that will traumatize him. My question is do any of you have experience with your Bichon occasionally spitting up yellow bile? My little boy occasionally does this and am starting to worry. Since it's not happening everyday or more than once a week, I thought I would check with other Bichon owners before I call the vet. Might this be happening because of his high energy? Should he be fed very early in the morning? I feed him about 9-9:30 am. He sleeps until 8:30 am. I take him to the pee pad between 3 and 4 am but this is too early to feed him. I put him back in the crate after he does his business and he goes back to sleep until 8:30 am. Any ideas? Thank you mired
Most Bichon owners say that this breed is prone to attacks of the 'zoomies', does this fit with what you are experiencing? Re. the sickness, this sounds as if it could be excess stomach acid. Does it usually happen at the same time of day? Could you say how many times a day is he fed, and what type of food do you are giving him? (Sorry about the 3rd. degree questions).
I do not have a Bichon but our dog, Copper, who is a lab/greyhound mix used to vomit yellow bile at least once a week. We had him on Nutro dog food at the time and changed to Nutro Sensitive dog food and though it happened less frequently it still happened. He is now on Taste of the Wild, which is grain-free, and we have had no further episodes.
Hello Carole, Thanks for your feedback. I'm not sure I know what "zoomies" is but, if you mean running around at a very high speed, then yes, he does that. I've only heard some people refer to it as 'the bichon run". This is a trait of this breed. I think they are adorable when they do that. He's had this happen 3 times once per week in the morning. He doesn't appear to be sick after this happens. I feed him and some mornings he might or may not eat. He is not very food driven. Some days he will eat some breakfast and a little dinner. Other days he won't eat breakfast but will eat all his dinner. Last week he vomited in the morning but he ate his breakfast and nothing came up. I feed him 1/4 cup twice per day. He decides if he will eat or not. I feed him Blue Wilderness Puppy Chicken & Rice dry kibble in the morning and the same in the evening but will add 1 teaspoon can puppy chicken & vegetables. I talked with his breeder today and she doesn't think it's anything serious because he's not showing signs of being sick. Perhaps I was overly worried. Thanks again for being so kind with feedback.
Hello Jcarpentier, Three weeks ago when my puppy had the first episode of vomiting, I started looking at natural foods for dogs. I think this will be a question I will ask the vet. I may consider changing his food if it will not harm his tummy. Your feedback gives me more hope that perhaps changing his diet will resolve the problem. Thanks much for sharing your story. Be well
As Carole has pointed out this seems to be a case of excess stomach acid, this can happen to all dogs not just specific breeds, when they stomachs are empty they produce to much acid and making them sick up this yellow bile , as you are seeing. its difficult when they are not food driven, but I would space he feeds out a little more, try 3 feeds instead of two, and then some form of treat, (piece of toast, biscuit ) last thing at night, before bed time, this hopefully will settle his tummy and reduce the acid build up , The zoomies is also a doggy thing, again not breed specific , mu boy still has his after his evening walk, he has to run his race track round the garden to finish it off.
You do seem to be doing everything right - including speaking to his breeder, so many people let this valuable source of information lapse. I think I would try him on a different flavour of food, as not all ingredients suit all dogs. Personally, I feed a grain free product, (no use giving brands as they are often not found in other countries), though paradoxically I still can't break the habit of giving them a biscuit at bedtime. Many dogs seem to appreciate fishy flavours, and Salmon and Potato could be a good alternative to try. As Jackie says, splitting his ration into three smaller portions might help to keep his stomach occupied for longer. A tiny dose of human indigestion mixture might help when he does have acid, but do check to see that it isn't sweetened with xylitol, which dogs do not tolerate.
He's very young to be on only 1 meal per day. I prefer two feedings no matter the age, but definitely for a five months old youngster. First thing I'd try would be to split his meal into two giving one portion in the morning and one in the evening to see if that settles his stomach better
@Chris B The original post reads as if the puppy is on two meals. @mired mentions breakfast and dinner.
Hello I don't have any answer for you on this issue but I am looking for any help on crate training. I have a 9 week old female. I bought her from a breeder and brought her home Monday May 22. she has to have me in her sight. I've had a crate in the living room and she naps in it just fine as long as i'm there when she falls asleep. but I've been letting her sleep with me at nights. I took her to the vet yesterday, required by breeder, and vet told me to establish the crate in which room i intend to keep it. Put her in and let her cry. Well this morning after she had her fun run outside i was drying her off and she was falling a sleep in my arms. so i let her dose and then went to put her in her crate which i have in my bedroom. the vet said i needed to leave her alone and let her cry and it could take even 3 hours. well i think she finally stopped crying/barking, it took 2 hours. I have a music station on my tv loud so she hears something. I feel so mean. do you have any tips for me? Would value and appreciate any help! Also my puppy was spitting up clear mucus just a couple of times and the vet said she's fine so maybe she just picked up something on the floors. Hope your pupppy is ok!
