Why is my senior dog throwing up yellow bile on an empty stomach?

Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The material you are describing is most likely bile, which can happen if an animal is hungry. Abbey may be eating dinner too early and getting hungry before going to sleep for the night. I recommend trying to feed her dinner a little later than normal. The signs you are describing can be unrelated to hunger, especially if Abbey does not eat meals. Vomiting can be caused by intestinal inflammation, hormonal conditions such as Addison’s disease or low thyroid levels. I recommend changing Abbey’s mealtime (if she is fed meals) for a day or two to see if this helps resolve the issue. If not, she should be seen by her vet to rule out the conditions above.

If your pet has vomited this much in the past 45 minutes I would be very suspicious of a foreign body or a very intense dietary indiscretion (eating something he shouldn't have). I would recommend you start supportive care (like Famotiidne 05-1.0mg/kg every 12 hrs and a bland diet like Purina EN Gastrointestinal canned food OR boiled plain chicken and rice or cottage cheese. However there is a big possibility that this could have been a toxicity and if any more symptoms start to arise (such as ataxia (staggering) or shaking, crying out) then I highly recommend you seek a personal veterinarian for a physical examination and further diagnostics. - Dr. H

This could be due to acid reflux. You can try an ant acid medication such as omeperazole to see if it helps. If you don’t see improvement in 1 to 2 weeks, you should follow up with your veterinarian for diagnostics including bloodwork and X-rays.

Hi there! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Vomiting is sometimes seen with conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease, dietary indiscretion, pancreatitis and chronic kidney disease, among many other conditions. Given Mugsy's young age and the fact that he is otherwise doing fine and this is sporadic, dietary indiscretion appears more likely. It may be something as easy as just changing his diet to something that he can tolerate better. However, an examination by a veterinarian as well as minimal diagnostic data would be needed to rule out more concerning things. You can start by changing his diet to a sensitive stomach type diet. If no improvement, have him examined by a veterinarian to start therapy if needed based on findings. Good luck!

Poor Onyx, and you! That's a lot of mess to clean up each morning and I'm sure he doesn't enjoy it either. Some dogs vomit if their stomach is empty too long. This is called bilious vomiting. 11:30pm to 7am is NOT generally too long, but Onyx may be a bit more sensitive than the average dog. I would recommend setting an alarm to feed him a bit earlier (maybe 5am) for a few days and see if that makes a difference. If not, then it's time for a trip to his veterinarian to get checked out. Good luck!

Hello. Vomiting in the morning as you are describing could a few different things, but the most common would billious vomiting. This is when they are hungry and the stomach is empty, so they actually vomit due to acid build up. Try feeding her a small snack before bed, or moving her dinner later than 6pm, and see if the vomiting stops. If it does, great, if not then she may have some other medical condition and an abdominal ultrasound would be recommended. Good luck with Sara.

Poor Sadie. I definitely agree with the recommendation of getting off of her blue buffalo. Throwing up bile in the mornings is usually due to acid reflux or too much acid build up over night. You can resolve this by feeding her last meal of the day about 30-60 minutes before you go to bed and then give her Pepcid right before bedtime. You will need to ask you vet for the proper dose that would be safe for her and her medical history. The vomiting food in the middle of the night doesn't really follow that normal acid reflux trend. You could try to Pepcid and see if anything changes. If not, I would have your vet actually do an exam on her to ensure there isn't anything else going on like a parasite or blood work abnormalities. You could also talk to your vet about putting her on a prescription GI food like science diet I/D. I hope this helps!