My senior dog has gastritis. What can I do to prevent future issues?

It sounds like she experiencing nausea so she may need an anti-nausea medication, like Cerenia, an antacid, and/or a gastrointestinal protectant to help treat. It might also help to put her on a hypoallergenic diet, like z/d or d/d. You could also add a probiotic to her diet and see if that helps. If it continues than you could take her to an internal medicine specialist for an endoscopy and intestinal biopsies to get a definitive diagnosis.

In the long term, there is a thought the chronic famotidine use may decrease some nutrient absorption and lead to excessive gastric acid production with possible esophageal acid reflux if it is discontinued. However, most internal medicine specialists still preferentially recommend famotidine over other antacids (such as omeprazole/Prilosec) for chronic use as it is a bit more "mild" in its mechanism of action. I know you mentioned changing foods, but consider discussing a diet trial with a hydrolyzed "hypoallergenic" diet with Brody's vet. If he has a degree of a food allergy or inflammatory bowel disease causing his vomiting and skipping of meals, these hydrolyzed diets fed for 2-3 months can remove a lot of antigenic stimulation in the GI tract and potentially prevent a lot of GI upset.

Glad to hear that the vomiting was resolved with Cerenia. This is usually a pretty good indication that there is no serious obstruction within the upper or lower intestinal tract. If there is continued diarrhea, the addition of an antibiotic / anti inflammatory such as metronidazole would be my next step. You can certainly use medications such as pepto bismol or maalox but I do not find them to be very effective. They do not actually address inflammation in a particularly effective manner. Another possibility unfortunately that can not be ignored in an 11 year old animal are certain types of cancer. However, I would not truly begin to consider this strongly unless there has been a longer history of problems, including weight loss and muscle wasting. Hope this makes sense.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! He is adorable! I think that a course of prednisone could potentially be added to better control the IBD so it has an all day effect. Another thing that can be tried if your veterinarian (who knows all his medical history) thinks is a good idea is changing him to another IBD type diet such as Royal canin ultamino. This diet has proven to be very effective for both IBD and skin allergies. Good luck and have a great day!

I was going to suggest the same thing with the pepcid or antacid pills. If that doesn't help I would look into getting her some probiotics like fortiflora which is a powder that goes over the food and can be given daily long term. Another option would be proviable which is a paste that you give orally. Both I would suggest to give long term. I would also make sure your vet has ruled out all parasites including giardia. I have had several patients in the past who have had giardia and showed similar signs. I hope this helps!

If he recently had intestinal surgery and is experiencing nausea than you should call your vet and give him/her an update. Your vet may want to recheck him to make sure it is not related to the surgery. There really isn't a good over the counter medication for nausea but your vet could prescribe an anti-vomiting medication and antacid. You could add a probiotic to his diet, like Proviable or Fortiflora and see if that helps. Also, feeding him a gastrointestinal diet may help, too.

Hello and thank you for reaching out to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Since Timberblynn is an older girl, I would be worried about the possibility of some type of cancer causing her clinical signs. She may have a mass causing enlargement of one or many of her abdominal organs, such as her liver, and leading to her feeling sick and vomiting. I recommend making an appointment with your veterinarian to have her seen. Your vet can perform an exam and see if he/she can palpate any masses or organ abnormalities. Your vet may also recommend bloodwork and/or imaging to see any changes in her abdomen. In the meantime, you can try offering her a bland diet suck as boiled chicken and rice, however I feel strongly that she should see your veterinarian. I hope this is helpful!