Puppy hacking up Bile every day

Tina B · Apr 2, 2017

Hi everyone! I am a new frenchie owner to an amazing little 4 month old pup! About three weeks ago, he got his final vaccines to be up to date. A couple days later (I think) he started hacking up bile (white mucus looking). He has been doing it daily and it's worse at night when he has been laying down for a while. His nose is running too. I am making a guess that he has allergies and it's like a human when we are sick and the mucus drains into our throat when we lay down, but I am worried because it's been going on for almost three weeks now. The Vet did a fecal test. It was negative and gave him tow vaccines a week ago (Cerenia and Convenia) for vommiting. It didn't do a thing. Now I am starting Benadryl today to see if it's allergies. He hasn't been drinking water either so I put it in his wet dog food and give him ice cubes. I just want to know what's wrong with him. I feel so bad for him :-( Has this happened to anyone?? Thank you for your advice!

davidh · Apr 2, 2017

He is really too young for allergies to be that bad. It could be from the vaccines. Try the Benedryl and hopefully that will help. Also if you are not feeding him three times a day, I would also try that and see if that helps with the vomiting. If that doesn't work you might try a different vet, maybe one that is a Frenchie specialist and see if he has any idea what might be causing that.

Honeys Owners · Apr 2, 2017

Cerenia and Convenia aren't vaccines. Cerenia is a once a day anti-nauseant and Convenia is a depot cephalosporin antibiotic that works for up to 14 days. I would say your vet is suspecting some kind of pneumonia, giving that he gave the antibiotic. I would definitely give the puppy some doggie probiotics eg. Proviable DC , because of the antibiotic, for about a week. Or if you don't have a doggie probiotic, try fermented saurkraut, probiotic low fat greek yoghurt, kefir, or a human probiotic.
I don't think you need to give Benadryl as he is too young for allergies most likely.
Are you giving a really good quality dog food? Sometimes food intolerance or hunger can cause bilious vomiting.
You can also boost your dogs immune system with 12 to 25 drops of echinacea tincture, three times daily and/or sodium ascorbate 250 mg daily. ( not an expert in these supplements though )

Cbrugs · Apr 2, 2017

Vomiting bile can mean he has an empty stomach. How much and how often are you feeding him?

WeeDex · Apr 3, 2017

As above - he may be hungry. I had to feed Dexter 5 times a day, and a spoonful right when he went to bed or he'd vomit bile overnight.

Tina B · Apr 4, 2017

Thanks so much everyone! He is eating Just Food for Dogs which is located mainly maybe in California where it's fresh meat (like fish, chicken etc) along with veggies and not all the additives that kibble has. He is on the fish one. I think he is allergic to chicken because when I first started feeding him this food, he was eating chicken and rice and regurgitating it at night. After switching to the fish and potatoes, he was doing better and not regurgitating it! Here is the food: https://www.justfoodfordogs.com/fish-sweet-potato. Do you think I am feeding him right?

I feed him 3 times a day and feed him one cup of this fish food each feeding. I tried for 2 days to feed him 5-6 times a day and it didn't seem to help. The fact that he is hacking bile makes me think he is not allergic to the food, but maybe he is hungry like a couple of you said. Should I feed him more than 3 cups a day? I have been giving him a probiodic once a day for the past week. As a frenchie owner, I know the food is super important and that's why I haven't done kibble for him after reading all sorts of articles against it. I'm like a first time mom here and don't want to screw him up :-/. I am also giving him NuVet tablets. I will try the echinacea too.

Jakeyjake · Apr 4, 2017

Tina B said:
Thanks so much everyone! He is eating Just Food for Dogs which is located mainly maybe in California where it's fresh meat (like fish, chicken etc) along with veggies and not all the additives that kibble has. He is on the fish one. I think he is allergic to chicken because when I first started feeding him this food, he was eating chicken and rice and regurgitating it at night. After switching to the fish and potatoes, he was doing better and not regurgitating it! Here is the food: https://www.justfoodfordogs.com/fish-sweet-potato. Do you think I am feeding him right?

I feed him 3 times a day and feed him one cup of this fish food each feeding. I tried for 2 days to feed him 5-6 times a day and it didn't seem to help. The fact that he is hacking bile makes me think he is not allergic to the food, but maybe he is hungry like a couple of you said. Should I feed him more than 3 cups a day? I have been giving him a probiodic once a day for the past week. As a frenchie owner, I know the food is super important and that's why I haven't done kibble for him after reading all sorts of articles against it. I'm like a first time mom here and don't want to screw him up :-/. I am also giving him NuVet tablets. I will try the echinacea too.

I am familiar with Just Food for Dogs and in my opinion there is not enough protein in the meals and too many carbs. I think your pup may be hungry. I would switch his food altogether. There are many freeze dried pre-mixes or base mixes on the market that you can add a cooked protein to like The Honest Kitchen, Sojos and Grandma Lucy's. I like The Honest Kitchen and the recommended added protein they suggest. I am rotating proteins every 3 - 4 months (grass fed lamb, grass fed beef, wild salmon). Good luck to you!

Tina B · Apr 4, 2017

Jakeyjake said:
I am familiar with Just Food for Dogs and in my opinion there is not enough protein in the meals and too many carbs. I think your pup may be hungry. I would switch his food altogether. There are many freeze dried pre-mixes or base mixes on the market that you can add a cooked protein to like The Honest Kitchen, Sojos and Grandma Lucy's. I like The Honest Kitchen and the recommended added protein they suggest. I am rotating proteins every 3 - 4 months (grass fed lamb, grass fed beef, wild salmon). Good luck to you!

Thank you! I will look into those and try them. There are so many foods on the market, makes it hard to find the right one. Thanks for the suggestion! I will keep you posted with how it goes.

Honeys Owners · Apr 4, 2017

My English bully (Dolly) was hacking up bile every day when I fed her Presidents Choice Grain Free Salmon and Potato, even though she has no allergies, doesn't lick her feet etc. I bet your bully is also hacking because of the salmon, not because of allergy but just an intolerance, and he would be fine with salmon as a small part of the meal.

I switched Dooly to another Presidents Choice dog food ( Lamb ) and then to a Nutrience SubZero dog food (beef, bison, wild boar, Pacific wild-caught fish ) , and she was fine with both. I would just switchyours to a different protein- maybe lamb, venison, duck etc. He still needs puppy food so I would feed him Fromm Heartland Gold Grain Free Puppy ( beef and porkmeal ingredients ) or even better, Honest Kitchen Embark ( turkey ingredient ).

Tina B · Apr 4, 2017

Honeys Owners said:
My English bully (Dolly) was hacking up bile every day when I fed her Presidents Choice Grain Free Salmon and Potato, even though she has no allergies, doesn't lick her feet etc. I bet your bully is also hacking because of the salmon, not because of allergy but just an intolerance, and he would be fine with salmon as a small part of the meal.

I switched Dooly to another Presidents Choice dog food ( Lamb ) and then to a Nutrience SubZero dog food (beef, bison, wild boar, Pacific wild-caught fish ) , and she was fine with both. I would just switchyours to a different protein- maybe lamb, venison, duck etc. He still needs puppy food so I would feed him Fromm Heartland Gold Grain Free Puppy ( beef and porkmeal ingredients ) or even better, Honest Kitchen Embark ( turkey ingredient ).

Thank you so much! I am going to play with some different food options. I'm hoping that's what it is. He also isn't drinking water (and he was when I first got him for the first month) so I put it in his food. But his food is wet, so maybe he feels like he is getting enough. Thanks for your advice! I will try some other food/meat options to see. THANK YOU!

Honeys Owners · Apr 6, 2017

How's he doing? Any updates?

Rudi Lim · Apr 7, 2017

Panda throws up bile very often too, I gave him 3 meals instead of 2 and it improved. Some dogs just digest faster?

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Tina B · Apr 7, 2017

Honeys Owners said:
How's he doing? Any updates?

Thanks for checking in. I started him on The Honest Kitchen Brave Minimalist for the time being. It's the one that has fish in it. I guess I was nervous to switch the kind of meat so fast. He is still having the same issue. He has been taking Benadryl and just started Pepcid AC today to see if that helps with any acid that may be happening in his stomach because of the hacking mucus. I see you switched Dolly to Lamb. Is any meat okay for puppies this age?

Also, I talked to the breeder I got him from and she says this has happened with two of her own dogs before and it's directly related to them being a brachycephalic breed. She said that because they have blockage in their throat and mouth with the extra skin that hangs down in the back, this can be common for some of these dogs. She also suggested I try benadryl, a mucus relief, and pepto in the morning.

Tina B · Apr 7, 2017

Honeys Owners said:
Cerenia and Convenia aren't vaccines. Cerenia is a once a day anti-nauseant and Convenia is a depot cephalosporin antibiotic that works for up to 14 days. I would say your vet is suspecting some kind of pneumonia, giving that he gave the antibiotic. I would definitely give the puppy some doggie probiotics eg. Proviable DC , because of the antibiotic, for about a week. Or if you don't have a doggie probiotic, try fermented saurkraut, probiotic low fat greek yoghurt, kefir, or a human probiotic.
I don't think you need to give Benadryl as he is too young for allergies most likely.
Are you giving a really good quality dog food? Sometimes food intolerance or hunger can cause bilious vomiting.
You can also boost your dogs immune system with 12 to 25 drops of echinacea tincture, three times daily and/or sodium ascorbate 250 mg daily. ( not an expert in these supplements though )

Thank you! Do you think I can use just normal echinacea that I take in a capsule? Open it up and put it in his food?

Honeys Owners · Apr 7, 2017

I would just give the echinacea in tincture, for no more than two weeks. Is your puppy doing ok with the fish? If not, switch to Honest Kitchen Embark (Turkey ), or Honest Kitchen Limited Ingredient Spruce ( Duck and Sweet Potato ) > Any protein is ok, but bulldogs tend to be allergic to chicken if they have allergies.

davidh · Apr 7, 2017

[MENTION=2460]Tina B[/MENTION] I am a breeder also, and I don't buy what your breeder said. We have never had this problem with any of our English, or Frenchies, and we have been breeding them for over 11 years.

Honeys Owners · Apr 8, 2017

Update on my dog, she normally has been doing well on the Nutrience Sub Zero but I fed her a little less than usual last night, and she threw up bile at 5 in the morning. So, it may be our dogs needs more food or more frequent food , like mentioned, PLUS a possible switch in proteins away from fish.

Tina B · Apr 8, 2017

Honeys Owners said:
Update on my dog, she normally has been doing well on the Nutrience Sub Zero but I fed her a little less than usual last night, and she threw up bile at 5 in the morning. So, it may be our dogs needs more food or more frequent food , like mentioned, PLUS a possible switch in proteins away from fish.

Thanks for your update. I am interested to see if it happens again with your pup tonight if you go back to feeding her more. Please send updates! I am gonna start the switch to a different protein today other than fish to see how it goes - gonna try The Honest Kitchen Embark (Turkey). The Honest Kitchen Brave fish one that I am trying smells so bad. And the smell stays on his breathe all day and he is pooping 4-5 times a day now which used to be 2-3. I am guessing that is because of all the added fiber (I hope)

He is STILL coughing up mucus but mainly at night. This is such a process. I will have to say tho, it seems like his energy level went up a notch once switching to The Honest Kitchen so that's awesome!

Honeys Owners · Apr 8, 2017

I'm feeding her (Dolly, my non allergic English bulldog) the usual amount today, which is 1 cup twice a day ( yesterday I fed her 1 cup in the morning and 3/4 cup at night ). I'll let you know tomorrow if she wakes me up tonight hacking up bile. She was playing rough with my other bulldog today ( Honey,my allergic French bulldog ) and bit her on the nose somehow, so it's been stressful watching my allergic one oozing blood on her nose. My allergic French bulldog doesn't hack up at night, but her paws are all raw from licking. I'm going to transition Honey to the Nutrience Sub Zero as a last ditch effort (since it has some raw nuggets in it ) to see if she still licks her paws. If she does, I'm switching her to raw dehydrated. Since I'm in Canada I'm going to try Canisource Grand Cru as it's substationally cheaper than the US brands

Tina B said:
Thanks for your update. I am interested to see if it happens again with your pup tonight if you go back to feeding her more. Please send updates! I am gonna start the switch to a different protein today other than fish to see how it goes - gonna try The Honest Kitchen Embark (Turkey). The Honest Kitchen Brave fish one that I am trying smells so bad. And the smell stays on his breathe all day and he is pooping 4-5 times a day now which used to be 2-3. I am guessing that is because of all the added fiber (I hope) He is STILL coughing up mucus but mainly at night. This is such a process. I will have to say tho, it seems like his energy level went up a notch once switching to The Honest Kitchen so that's awesome!