Boston Terrier Throwing Up

[hollybear]

:confused:
Is there someone out there that has had a problem with thier Boston Terrier Throwing up?

Emma is 6 months old in two days, she is sweet, well tempered and smart. Her appitite and attitude are excellent and she only seems to do this at home in the evenings (of course the evenings is when we're at home) The vet has seen nothing on the x-rays and teething should be about over by now. She doesn't do this at work (where she goes with us each day) or at the dog sitters (a home with a professional kennel in it - however they love Emma enough to keep her with them in the main section of the home).

The environment we keep her in at home is an allergens dream home. We have wood blinds, leather furniture, wood floors and even regularly launder the down comforter and other bedding. I am a clean freak with allergies... However, our home is the only place that she ever goes that does not have grass.

Thats right, we have pine mulch in the front yard and other mulches in the rest of the yard. We have no grass. We also have Holly Bushes, Rhododendrons, a Magnolia Tree and plenty of wooded areas boasting everything including Poison Ivey, Poison Oak & Sumac, however it is the dead of winter & 23 degrees right now. Nothing is growing or blooming still, could this be it?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~HELP!~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[macassie]

Holly and Rhododendron are both toxic. Here is a link to a list of toxic plants:

Animal Poison Control Center (http://www.aspca.org/site/FrameSet?style=User&url=http://www.aspca.org/toxicplants/M01947.htm)

Also, make sure that the cleaners you use for your floors are not toxic. Good luck!

Edited to Add: I'm sure that one of the kind vets that frequent the board will be able to provide some additional advice. Keep us posted on how your fur baby is doing!

[RWDVM]

Dear Holly Bear:

I am a vet and perhaps I can help. While macassie is correct that those plants have potential to be toxic, I do not feel that your dog's history fits a toxic event. When chronic toxicity occurs, the dogs are most commonly poor do-ers - losing weight, off feed, lethargic, dull coat, etc. From the history that you provided, however, your dog appears to be happy and healthy other than when she is at home and has these vomiting episodes.

Some dogs (most commonly toy breeds) will vomit for attention. It may sound rediculous, but this is an actual documented behaviorla disorder. However, I treat for behavioral disorder only after I have ruled out all possible medical causes.

Diagnostically what I would recommend for your dog is what is called a Barium series. This is when the dog swallows a small amount of a solution that is impregnated with Barium, and several gastro-intestinal x-rays are taken in time sequence. Barium is a metallic based substance that shows up brightly on x-ray. This enables us to physically watch the ingested solution move down the GI tract to see if there are any GI motility deficits. I would also run a thyroid blood test. Thyroid hormone deficiency can cause decrease muscular contraction of the esophagus and subsequent regurgitation.

If behavioral disorder is ultimately the diagnosis, there are a variety of safe anti-anxiety medications for dogs. Best of luck to you. Being a young puppy owner, you, your family, and your dog would benefit from the canine and feline care book that I authored. You can preview the book and decide for yourself at my veterinary advice and health management website at the web address listed below.

Sincerely,

Roger L. Welton, DVM
Veterinarian, Webmaster http://www.askdvm.com