My 9-year-old Lab keeps throwing up, but vets can't find why. What to do?

Mild increases in liver values can be seen for a number of different reasons, and sometimes it can be very difficult to determine what the underlying cause might be. Infections like leptospirosis, migrating parasites, congenital diseases like a portosystemic shunt or some toxins can cause liver values to increase. It seems like Leo is on supportive medications for the liver - it would be helpful to know if his values are increasing or decreasing since trends are most important. An abdominal ultrasound might be the next step, or you could also ask about referral to a specialist if available in your area.

If Leo is vomiting 2-4x a week routinely I would be concerned because this is not normal for dogs. In the pictures you provided it looks like the food is not fully digested. I would be worried about gastritis, a blockage, or irritable bowel disease. My best recommendation is to take Leo to the vet so the issue can be sorted out. They may recommend lab work and x-rays. I hope they can figure out what is going on with Leo. Good luck!

Poor guy. I would suggest having your vet do baseline bloodwork first to rule out underlying conditions that can cause repeated episodes of vomiting such as pancreatitis, kidney or liver disease first. Then once those are ruled out I would inquire with your vet about giving him Pepto Bismol for a short trial period to see if this helps with his assumed upset stomach issue. Pepto Bismol is not meant for every pet so please discuss this with your vet first. I hope this helps and best wishes getting Rocco’s vomiting episodes under control. Best wishes and take care.

I'm sorry Leo isn't doing well at the moment! Given that both dogs have respiratory infection, his symptoms could be due to that. Respiratory infections cause a dog to be lethargic as well as have a decrease in appetite. Vomiting can occur with a respiratory infection because a dog can cough a lot leading to that happening. Diarrhea, however, isn't typically seen with a respiratory infection, and that could be caused by intestinal worms. Puppies typically care them, and if Leo hasn't been dewormed lately, he could have gotten them from your new puppy. Finally, I'm not sure if Leo has been fully vaccinated or not, but if he hasn't, his symptoms could be caused by parvovirus or distemper. Both are highly contagious and very serious. I don't think Leo is being jealous, I think he is legitimately ill. Because I can't see him in person to rule out something serious like parvo or distemper and because I don't know his vaccination status, I do think having him seen by a vet sooner rather than later is best. It's concerning he hasn't eaten or had much water in at least 24 hours, and it needs to be checked out by a vet. Please bring him into a vet today. Best of luck, I hope this helps!

It sounds like Leo is sick and I recommend to have him examined by his veterinarian. Pets can develop diarrhea and vomiting due to many conditions including new food or treats, bacterial over growth, viral infections, parasites or other even organ disease. With continued diarrhea, there are often bacterial shifts in the gut that will make matters worse regardless of the initial cause. Make sure to bring in a sample of fresh stool. The doctor will check him for parasites and bacterial over growth. Many times a bland diet can help and then a slow, gradual introduction to the new food can be done. A bland diet can consist of 25% boiled white meat chicken and 75% boiled white rice. This should all be plain. A good diet in general is Royal Canin and I recommend to feed this brand. It is low residue and highly digestible. I hope Leo starts feeling better quickly! Please feel free to post any additional questions!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Patsy. Has she had an abdominal ultrasound yet? I will typically recommend this as well as a gastrointestinal specific blood panel prior to biopsies. I assess cobalamin and folate levels as well pancreatic values such as TLI and PLI. These results can help to guide treatment. I hope this information helps!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! If xrays and general labwork have been performed already, I would start looking for other possibilities causing this with more advanced diagnostics such as an abdominal ultrasound and GI panel to begin with. Another disease they could investigate is Addison's disease. This would expand the diagnostics to the point of being able to more extensively look into what may be causing this in him. Treatment if any would depend on findings. Good luck!