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Why is my senior dog vomiting and not eating with normal tests?

Updated on September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Dog | Labrador Retriever | Female | spayed | 75 lbs

My 11 year old lab has been anorexic and has vomited several times in the past 10 days. Abdominal xrays, stool exam and bloodwork normal except for slightly elevated alkaline phos. She was placed on Cerenia and Flagyl. Vet mentioned ultrasound as next step. Any thoughts on what this could be or other tests that could be done?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

Veterinarian

Published on February 11th, 2019

In a senior dog, a concern is always cancer. It could be Bella has a tumor that is causing her to stop eating and causing vomiting. Some types of cancer don't show any blood work abnormalities, so I think doing an ultrasound as the next step is a good idea. Best of luck.

1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Related Answers from Veterinarians

Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA
Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer
Published on November 18th, 2016
I'm sorry to hear that Charlie is sick! It can be frustrating when something is obviously wrong, but testing comes back normal. It would help to be able to actually look over her lab results (and even her x-rays, if you have copies of them) - sometimes there are clues to what the problem may be, even if the values aren't technically "abnormal." If you want to request a one-on-one consultation, you can upload copies of everything - I would be happy to take a look at them and see if I see anything that might help.

If everything is truly "normal" and nothing looks suspicious at all on any of her testing so far, the next step that I would consider would be an abdominal ultrasound. This will often show things that can't be seen on x-rays, and unfortunately an abdominal tumor of some kind is fairly high on the list of possibilities for a 12 year old dog with these symptoms and normal blood work. Depending on the ultrasound results, exploratory surgery or endoscopy may ultimately be needed to get a diagnosis.
1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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