# A few questions on sensitive stomachs?



## dontfeedthebookworm (Aug 16, 2012)

I adopted a mutt about five months ago who I believe to be a basenji-chihuahua mix. The chi part thus far has bee a guess at best, since he was a stray before being picked up by the local shelter. His basenji traits are most evident, ranging from his build to his temperament, and as he's small for a basenji -- a breed which isn't too large as it is -- there isn't much he could be mixed with but chihuahua. 

He's always been a finicky eater, which I've read is something typical to many chihuahuas. However, only in the past week or so have I seen evidence that he may have a sensitive stomach as well. He's eating his kibble normally (as normally as a dog who occasionally turns his nose up at his breakfast can), has the same activity level, normal bodily functions, etc etc. But a few days ago he started vomiting each time we fed him treats. 

Note that these are the same treats we've been feeding him for a couple months. He just finished his beginner training, so the past several weeks he's eaten quite a lot of treats to the point where I worried I was feeding him too much. And yet it's only now that he can't keep them down. I give him a couple, he takes a moment to vomit, and is back to his normal self again. 

We first tried giving him a different kind of treats, and those make him vomit as well. Though he showed no signs something was amiss, I took him to the vet yesterday to have him looked at. She'd never heard of a situation like my dog's, but said that if he's otherwise perfectly healthy it can't be anything serious. I came home with zero questions answered, only with that it "could be" a food allergy but also might not be. 

And the odd thing is, he's still young (about a year or so), so he eats whatever random stuff he can get ahold of. None of it disagrees with him like the treats do. Socks, toilet paper, cotton balls, parts of a fake plant, parts of his toys -- none of those cause instantaneous vomiting, but his treats do. 

I've Googled about as much as I can Google at this point. The only possible explanation I have right now is that we were correct in guessing he was part chihuahua, and that he has the sensitive stomach I read about. I thought I'd turn to actual chihuahua owners for information. 

My questions (I know this is a long post): Would a sensitive stomach act like this? Has anyone seen anything like what my dog's experiencing? Like, would this be considered normal chihuahua behavior? Has anything like this ever come up suddenly? 

Also, both kinds of treats we've tried were the soft, slightly moist kind. Could that be what's disagreeing with him (since he has no problem with his dry kibble)? 

Forgive me for dumping so much info into one post. I'm just concerned for my dog; his otherwise normal behavior makes me more worried. I'm not sure what I can do at this point.


----------



## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

I have really never heard of this happening before. What do you feed him for his regular food? And what kind of treats? I have a couple that have bad food allergies, but it shows up as stomach upsets, bloating, bad gas, runny eyes, and hair loss. But not as vomiting. Hopefully someone else has heard of this and can chime in. I also have what I believe is a basenji/chi cross. His name is Chumley. I would love to see pics of your little one.


----------



## dontfeedthebookworm (Aug 16, 2012)

svdreamer said:


> I have really never heard of this happening before. What do you feed him for his regular food? And what kind of treats? I have a couple that have bad food allergies, but it shows up as stomach upsets, bloating, bad gas, runny eyes, and hair loss. But not as vomiting. Hopefully someone else has heard of this and can chime in. I also have what I believe is a basenji/chi cross. His name is Chumley. I would love to see pics of your little one.


We feed him Purina dog chow. He was fed Purina at the shelter and he didn't have any issues with it, so we wanted to keep him on it. The treats we've been giving him were Bil-Jac VetDogs treats, which he loved straight out of the bag. They come in little star shapes so I break them into five smaller pieces to use for training. The treats we tried switching to were Pup-peroni, which the trainer gave him. One one-inch segment of those, even broken into pieces, is enough to make him vomit. Right now I'm considering switching back to the Natural Choice crunchy treats we gave him when we first adopted him. The problem with that is that they're only available in certain stores that take some driving, and the shipping tends to be quite high if we were to order them online. :/

I tried attaching a pic of Rocko, but you'll have to let me know if it worked, lol.


----------



## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

Not all chihuahuas have sensitive stomachs- it sounds like something is going on. What kind of food/treats is he eating?


----------



## svdreamer (Feb 20, 2010)

He's so cute! Purina is a very bad food, so is pup-peroni and Bil Jac. Here is a site that rates different foods. 

Dog Food Analysis - Reviews of kibble

Try to get the best food you can afford, but strive for a 4 to 5 star food if possible. I had to switch around a lot until I was able to find a food every one could eat, and now my newest rescue can't eat that food.  So I am starting over to find one he can eat to stop his symptoms and then try to see if the rest can eat it too. Best of luck.


----------



## ~LS~ (Oct 29, 2011)

I would seek a second opinion because this is not at all normal.
I'd also recommend switching to a high quality, grain-free food,
and no more treats. Both the food you are feeding and the treats
are junk to put it nicely. A great kibble is Acana grain-free varieties.


Best of luck with your pup & kudos to you for adopting.


----------



## 20887 (Mar 16, 2011)

I agree with the others, both the food and treats your are using are full of dyes and fillers that could be making him sick. I would switch to a high quality food and see if it makes a difference.


----------



## dontfeedthebookworm (Aug 16, 2012)

Part of the problem with switching his kibble is that his illness has nothing to do with his kibble. He's keeping it down fine. I don't want to switch it and make the problem worse. I also don't have full control over what he eats. I can't afford to spend thirty dollars on a bag of kibble only for it to make him sicker. 

He's also supposed to start his next training session soon, so I can't cut treats out altogether. I guess it's just a matter of trial and error with them.


----------

