Why is my dog still vomiting when all his blood tests are normal?

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!

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Scooby. I recommend that he sees a veterinarian today. It is worrisome that he is vomiting so frequently. He will likely need fecal testing to determine if an intestinal infection is to blame. If not, diet could be the cause. Being so young and small, he will easily become dehydrated. I also worry about his blood sugar dropping too low from not eating regularly. I hope this information helps!

It sounds like their treatment didn’t resolve the symptoms. Things like pancreatitis or GI obstruction won’t show up on routine blood work, so I would recommend calling the vet today for what needs to happens next. If an obstruction is one of the vet’s concerns, they may recommend x-rays or ultrasound. If pancreatitis is a concern, then usually they need to go on IV fluids for a day or two.

Poor Buffy! It’s very frustrating when you can’t find the cause. That’s good that your diagnostics have been normal. I don’t have all the history however so it’s a hard to say why she is still vomiting. Underlying things that can caused continued vomiting are things like parasites, pancreatitis, inflammatory bowel disease or a cancer some where. That’s very good that the ultrasound was normal but it doesn’t completely rule cancer out. Luckily, the other conditions are much more common. I recommend to have Buffy dewormed with a broad spectrum medication. Have her stool checked as well for parasites if that hasn’t been done. Have chest X-rays taken to make sure the esophagus looks normal and there’s no pouches or anything that would make her vomit. If possible, test the enzyme levels of the pancreas. Lastly, diagnosing IBD can be difficult. I use a special food made by Royal Canin called Ultamino. She will eat it for 8-12 weeks and during that time, she cannot eat ANYTHING else. If she gets better, you know it’s IBD. Some of these dogs may also require a course of steroids as well. I hope this at least gives you some ideas to speak to your veterinarian about and that this is helpful. Please feel free to post any additional questions!

Poor Shaggy! This vomiting, weight loss, and dull fur could be due to a heavy burden of intestinal worms. It could also be caused by a medical illness such as inflammatory bowel disease, chronic GI illness, or a foreign body among others. I would take him into the vet for a physical exam, blood tests, fecal exam (bring along a sample of his feces), urinalysis, and possibly x-rays. Using these tests, the vet can diagnose what is causing Shaggy's symptoms so he can be treated.

I recommend that your contact your vet's office to schedule a follow-up appointment. Your dog may need further diagnostics to determine the cause of the vomiting and diarrhea. While blood work is an excellent and worthwhile diagnostic tool (and I commend you on having it done), it does have limitations. Blood tests are extremely useful for looking at the overall health of your pet. From the tests, a vet can learn if your pet's vomiting is caused by an underlying medical condtion like diabetes, kidney or liver disease, or an infection. Blood work can also reveal if your pet is dehydrated from the vomiting. Many of these problems may not be obvious on a simple physical exam, but if caught early can be successfully treated or controlled, giving your pet a longer and better quality of life. Sometimes blood work can lead to a definitive diagnosis, but oftentimes blood work results guide us as to what the next diagnostic steps should be (radiographs, ultrasound or more specific blood testing).

Sorry if there was some confusion with my previous answer. What I meant is that atopic dermatitis is not typically diagnosed by the blood panel included in your question. Most dogs I see with atopic dermatitis will have normal blood results. If your dog is symptomatic and your veterinarian has ruled out infectious causes of skin disease, then I would recommend treating him for atopic dermatitis as your veterinarian suggested. If it is available in your area, your veterinarian can run a separate blood panel that looks for antibodies in your dog's blood stream to specific allergens in the environment. I hope this provides some clarification for you.