white and yellow foamy vomit

Thats Right I am New Here! Joined : 22 Apr 2008 Posts : 9

My 6 mth old german shepard started vomiting yellowish white foamy liquid today. We arent sure why. When we got home last night he was coughing and we thought it was kennel cough again as since we got him at 10 wks hes always getting kennel cough. Anyways we gave him vitamin c as usual and then this morning he was dry heaving. Now for the past hour or so he's been vomiting. WE arent sure if its his food bc we just changed foods or if it was from heat bc he was outside all day sat and sun while we were out of town or if he ate something else. If anyone has experienced this please let me know. The vet said they could get him in at 10 but he doesnt look good at all. Question

Subject: Re: white and yellow foamy vomit Mon May 19, 2008 10:43 pm

Now don't think I'm judging or anything but I do have a question.

If you knew he wouldn't do well outside, especially in the heat, why didn't you put him in a kennel *at the vets* or have someone house-sit so he could stay inside? Dogs that are used to being inside don't usually do very well outside without having an adjustment period. With it being hot, and your dog being a GSD pup, it may have been to much for him.
Is it possible your dog had some sort of heat stroke and you don't know since he was alone and you were gone?
Could he have eaten something strange outside? Bugs, plants, etc.
Could he have been bitten by something that you don't know about?
Maybe he's having a reaction to something?

Without being there it's hard to say. I just hope he's o.k. after everything is said and done. Keep him hydrated as much as possible. Give him water, pedialyte & plain yogurt or canned pumpkin to calm his stomach.

When you changed foods did you do it gradually over a period of about a week?

It almost sounds like something was in his throat and he may be trying to get it out.

good luck!

Thats Right I am New Here! Joined : 22 Apr 2008 Posts : 9

He's not an inside dog except at night. He comes in during the day off and on but not for very long. I dont know of anything outside he couldve eaten. I've checked. My bf has him at the vet now and they said its distemper and that he has neuroligocal problems hence his bulgy eyes and twitching leg. Those things we thought was normal for him bc it was like that at 10wks. The vet was surprised he lasted this long. With his history and sickness now and the neurological issue the vet said its best for him to be put to sleep. They said he is in pain. None of us want that for our pets so im heartbroken right now. plus my other puppy that we just got ould get sick from this too so now i dont know what to do.

Subject: Reply> Mon May 19, 2008 11:51 pm

Uh Oh ! Here we go again, Every summer this valley produces a breeding basin for diseases that harm dogs. I hated to read this and I do hope the best for your dog. Distemper is rather rare wonder where he picked that up?

Be super careful with that pup and again we hope the best for all of you maybe tell the vet abouut the pup and see if he or she can think of a preventitive.

J.
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Subject: Re: white and yellow foamy vomit Tue May 20, 2008 2:38 am

I am sorry to hear about your pup too. But here's my question...if he's had KC multiple times...did he see the vet then? Was he not vaccinated for distemper or the vet didn't notice the distemper symptoms prior? Not sure of the situation but it's not easy to lose a pet.

Thats Right I am New Here! Joined : 22 Apr 2008 Posts : 9

He was seen numerous times for KC and was given several different meds for it and they not once said anything about him having distemper. And he was vaccinated for it. There was 7 in his litter that was dropped at the shelter 5 female and 2 male and 4 females and the other male was put to sleep shortly after arriving at the shelter for getting severely sick. The living sister was adopted and now we wonder how she is. But indeed it is hard losing a pet.

Subject: Re: white and yellow foamy vomit Tue May 20, 2008 7:38 am

It is. It's really a hard lesson for an 8 yr old. Unfortunately, puppies at shelters probably have some of the hardest beginnings b/c they're exposed to so much. I wonder if the KC was a misdiagnosis for the distemper. I think dogs typically build up some immunity to KC once they've had it and unless you're exposing them to it on a regular basis, I can't see them contracting it over and over...I mean if you're boarding the dog regularly or something that might make sense. So it leads me to think that the vet may have missed something...or maybe since the pup had distemper from the get go...maybe the pup was super suseptible to the KC.

It's a good thread though and as difficult as it is...it gives us all something to consider when our pets are sick. I'm a bit of a nut when my dogs are sick and tend to get them in to the vet all the time for every sneeze and cough. I think alot of us are like that...but even with treatment sometimes things are missed. Did the vet say anything about the constant KC and how the pup went this long with a vaccination and many visits to see him/her without them considering distemper?

Subject: Re: white and yellow foamy vomit Tue May 20, 2008 9:18 am

I just can't believe the vet missed it. I mean, he's had symptoms since 10 wks of age and been to the same vet for another problem, KC, for most of his life. Personally, I'd change vets. But that's just my opinion as I've had bad vet experiences before.
Please know that my sympathies are with you. See if there is anything at all that they can do to help him before putting him down. Possibly get a 2nd opinion on everything.
Keep your new pup as far away as possible from any and everything that the other dog has been around/near until you can sterilize the place. Best of luck

Thats Right I am New Here! Joined : 22 Apr 2008 Posts : 9

The vet didnt give a reason as to why the missed the distemper to begin with. We will change vets bc I dont understand how they couldve missed it either. I mean his bulgy eyes and twitching leg has been that way since we got him at 10 wks. The twitching of his leg just continued to get worse and they said german shepards are known for hip problems. The KC was continually treated bc meds werent working. I'd think if they werent working then that wasnt the problem. But I'm no vet just a pet owner. Bear we are deffinately taking to a diff vet. And we steralized everything and even tossed the toys and dog bed to be safe. Bear is now more of an inside dog. My son told me this morning that he misses Brutus and that was soo hard for me to not cry but I know he is in a better place and I explained to my son that its ok to miss him and that we do have pics of them together that he can look at anytime he wants to.

Subject: Re: white and yellow foamy vomit Tue May 20, 2008 8:35 pm

I think that's a good idea...yeah GSDs have hip issues...but I am positive they usually don't start at 10 weeks old. I am glad you have chosen to move to a new vet...that may save Bear's life down the road at some point. You may want to mention the distemper with the new vet so that way they can watch Bear just to be on the safe side.

Hope your son doesn't have such a hard time with it...Kids I think sometimes recover faster from these types of losses then we do. Keep him busy for a few days to keep his mind off of it and maybe do something special with him and bear...that might help the entire family. Smile

Thats Right I am New Here! Joined : 22 Apr 2008 Posts : 9

I will deffinately let the new vet know about the distemper and im getting the papers sent to me from the person i got bear from about his shots so we have those on file as well.

Sounds like a good idea to do something special with bear and my oldest. Thanks for the suggestion.

Subject: Re: white and yellow foamy vomit Wed May 21, 2008 1:27 am

Anytime. We're pretty good at suggestions here.