# Picky eating problem solved in this house.



## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

So Vegas has been having troubles eating for two years now, some days he wouldn't even eat ham or hotdogs, he'd just drool, hold them in his mouth, then spit him out and sulk away. It was SOOOO frustrating! He would also barf foam, drool, and bile after playing hard outside.

IT HAS BEEN SOLVED.

A few weeks ago after a long night of him throwing up bile and freaking me out, I took him to work at the vet clinic I work at and did a full exam, fecal test, urine test, and blood test. ALL came up totally normal! When I explained everything to the vet; the strange eating habits, the dozens of foods I've tried, the vomitting, he came up with a solution and prescribed famotidine.

Vegas has acid reflux and has been getting heartburn, that's why he hasn't been eating. Even eating hotdogs was so much of a turn off (they even give ME heartburn!) that he'd rather not deal with them.

Since giving 10gm of famotidine with his morning and evening meals, Vegas has been eating. He'll actually walk right past his food and sit by me, wait for me to give him his pill, then happily go eat his food. I can get famotidine right from the grocery stores, I buy the 20mg and just cut the pills in half.

Hopefully this will help some of you out there!


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## TrueColors (Nov 18, 2012)

Aw poor Vegas ! Thank god he's doing better , it's never fun when our babies aren't feeling well


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## Indiana (Sep 11, 2011)

Wow, I would never have thought of that! That's so awesome! Also, it must be nice too to know from the tests that he's perfectly healthy


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## Milo :) (Mar 10, 2013)

SO HAPPPY YOU HAVE FOUND THE SOLUTION! I know that must have been scary.


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## fjm (Jun 4, 2010)

So glad you have solved the problem! I wonder how many other "picky eaters" have perfectly valid reasons for their reluctance?


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## faerie (Mar 27, 2010)

Hmm ... I've been giving poof famotidine since she's been on heavy antibiotics and prednisone and off her feed. 

I may try Seelie as he's a picky pants. See if that helps


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## N2Mischief (Dec 3, 2012)

I give Misha Famotadine occasionally. She gets "urpy" and will vomit clear fluid every 10 minutes or so. Its almost as if she burps it up. I give her the pill and not too long after she seems fine.


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## KidWhisperer (Apr 3, 2012)

Hooray for finally greeting a solution! Trying to figure out mystery illnesses and manage symptoms can be very stressful and trying. I'm so glad Vegas is feeling better.


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## Joelly (May 8, 2012)

Aaaawwww.....poor Vegas.....I'm glad you got this resolve.

Charlie used to be a picky eater. With Edison at home, now Charlie eats his kibble and cleans his bowl.


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## MollyMuiMa (Oct 13, 2012)

So glad Vegas got figured out! I thought Molly was a picky eater when she was a puppy, but found out her mouth hurt from teething and kibble was too big/hard to chew! 
Isn't it nice to know that all of Vegas' labs were good though?.......... Happy eating Vegas!!!!


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## elaine amj (Jun 9, 2013)

So glad to hear you've finally figured it out! What were the signs that made the vet think of acid reflux/heartburn?

My picky mini is driving me bonkers. He eats now, but sure takes some coaxing! He also like to eat in private - so we are very careful when he eats and make sure nobody makes any sudden movements. Once he's distracted, he has no problems skipping a meal. UGH!


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

elaine amj said:


> So glad to hear you've finally figured it out! What were the signs that made the vet think of acid reflux/heartburn?
> 
> My picky mini is driving me bonkers. He eats now, but sure takes some coaxing! He also like to eat in private - so we are very careful when he eats and make sure nobody makes any sudden movements. Once he's distracted, he has no problems skipping a meal. UGH!


Vegas would sulk when I put his food down, like I was causing him pain? He wouldn't eat anything except hard boiled eggs, which he'd never turn down.


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## georgiapeach (Oct 9, 2009)

I've always said a _healthy_ dog won't let itself starve. When your dog wouldn't eat stuff like hotdogs, there was definitely a problem! So glad you figured it out!


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## CT Girl (Nov 17, 2010)

So glad you have a smart vet. In less capable hands the true issue could have easily gone undiscovered. What a relief for you. Poor Vegas, what torture to be hungry but afraid to eat because of the pain. Hallelujah! :cheers2: :cheers2:


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

An update. The famotidine is working so well Vegas won't eat until I give him his pills, where before he'd leave his bowl full for DAYS he's now licking it clean and asking for seconds! SO RELIEVED!


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## Ciscley (Jul 16, 2013)

*Ibs & gerd*

Such a timely post for me. We've similarly been struggling with constant acid reflux and irritable bowel issues with our rescue Spoo, Danno. 

The vets (yes plural) were zero help and didn't seem really to care since it was a "chronic" not acute issue. They just wanted us to buy the special canned low residue foods, which we were grateful to have the option to buy, but knew were just a bandaid. 

We've finally (after a 2 week long bout of colitis - that basically reduced my dog to a giant white poop exploding machine) found a routine that not only works for him but has turned him into the bowl licking food lover you described. 

The only problem is I'm paranoid it will all go pear shaped again and I seriously had no clue what to try next if it did. I am bookmarking this thread so I know there's still another way if we eventually relapse.

---

Our regimen (knock on wood, successful for 2 months now) requires "predigesting" his food by soaking his kibble and grinding it into a paste. (Like homemade canned food.) We also add pumpkin and rice for easy to digest fiber (helps with both diarrhea and constipation prevention). We use a homeopathic supplement called Slippery Elm Bark on every other meal and a canine probiotic 3 times a week.


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## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

I might try this! Ryker is also very picky - ignores dog food and sometimes fresh chicken and beef. He also has a habit of puking up bile. I give him nutrical dog on the morning to keep him from getting acid-y, but this OTC seem promising. Any idea on the mg amount for a 7 lb toy?


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## Ciscley (Jul 16, 2013)

I found this link very helpful this weekend. It says 1/4 of a 10mg tablet for dogs under 20lbs. 

Will say, we had fabulous results this weekend giving our 60+ lb standard only a single 10 mg tablet. So while it seems like larger doses are very safe, you may find even less works for you too. We used the generic OTC version of Pepcid (Famotidine).

Thanks again to *Fluffyspoos* for posting this. Danno accidentally skipped a meal (snafu between hubs & I about who'd fed dogs) and so he had his first vomit in over 2 months. It happened at night while we were sleeping but from the smell in the morning it was obvious it was all bile.

[Scene] Hubs brings dogs in from AM potty. "Did you practice coloring Danno's foot?" "What are you talking about?" "The hair on his foot is bright yellow." I proceed to check the foot, smell the bile on it and his dog bed and ask "Did you feed the dogs last night?" To which hubby gives me his best DOH!-I'm-in-so-much-trouble look.[/End Scene]

Luckily a quick trip to the pharmacy and splitting his morning meal into two smaller meals did the trick and he's been fine ever since. No gurgling stomach or repeated vomiting. So nice to know that we can now stop his suffering faster than we can stop our guilt. Have NO clue why our vets never even suggested this. Such a cheap and safe option for GERD in dogs.


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## Ciscley (Jul 16, 2013)

One thing to add, make sure the version you get doesn't have any other active ingredients in it. Don't think it's really an issue with the antacids, but had to also buy some Zyrtec for the service dog we have with us on medical leave and anything with a + or an extra letter like 'D' is very dangerous. Have to read those ingredient lists like crazy and be sure to ask the pharmacists when in doubt.

We actually had to ask ours just to allay fears that we were misunderstanding the labels on two packages... because the generic Zyrtec pack of 5 10mg tablets was $1/pill and the box of 300 was $0.15/pill.


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## Caniche (Jun 10, 2013)

So I just need to say THANK YOU to Fluffyspoos! 

Ryker has never been great at eating (never really acts hungry, no matter what's on his plate) and has a actually gotten up and walked away from fresh cooked chicken breast, scrambled eggs and even treats.

Sometimes in the morning he'd puke up bile (more than once on my bed - yuck). My vet recommended giving him some Cheerios to stimulate his appetite (he wouldn't touch them) and I tried Nutrical - which he hates the flavor of (and I hate the smell of).

After I read your post, I tried Famotidine. He gets 1/4 a 10 mg tablet twice a day, 12 hours apart. He's been on it about two weeks and he is doing so much better! He still doesn't completely clear his plate, but he is eating about twice as much as he used to.

He's seven pounds now and I'm hoping to get him up to 7.5 by his next vet visit in January. Not that I *want* a bigger dog, but he's a little too thin and the vet wants to see him add a little fat.

So again, I just wanted to say THANK YOU for sharing this information so my boy can now eat. Another reason why I love this forum...


Sent from Petguide.com Free App


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## Fluffyspoos (Aug 11, 2009)

OOPS! Sorry guys, I totally missed your posts! Yay! I'm glad the new routines are working for you guys, too! I got 20mg tablets that I've been cutting in half, Vegas knows they make him feel better and I don't even have to pop them in the back of his throat anymore, or even coat them with anything, he just swallows them.

I had no idea there was anything medically wrong, but when a dog turns down yummy things when you can tell they're hungry, something MUST be up! Keep me updated!  I know there are hundreds of people that lurk this forum too, so hopefully we can help them too without them even having to sign up and ask! <3

Glad to hear that Danno and Ryker are both doing better!


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