[greenieluvmedo]

Our English Bulldog, Cheeseburger, was 2 in March. Over the past 2 mos he started doing this weird thing where he'll start sticking his tongue out repeatedly like he's salivating and licking quickly to fight nausea or something. He'll do this sometimes for 1/2 hour at a time (usually before bed - always towards night) and he gets a small amount of white foamy stuff right below his bottom lip. He has also been throwing up small amounts of yellow bile in the morning on occasion. Our vet doesn't know what would be causing this and doesn't think it's a big deal because he seems to be overall ok. He eats regularly, goes to the bathroom regularly. He's always playing and happy - except when he starts this weird licking he looks uncomfortable, and I can just tell something's wrong. What do you guys think? Could this be a strange habbit of his? Anyone have a similiar experience?

 

[bodazafa]

My Magnum did exactly what you are describing when I switched her food and the new stuff wasn't agreeing with her - have you made any switches in his kibble in the last month or so?

 

[greenieluvmedo]

No - that's the weird thing. Nothing has changed in his diet at all. He's been on the same Hill's Science Diet since he was a pup. But we haven't thought about the possibility that the food could be upsetting his stomach. Thank you for pointing that out. I will ask our vet about it first thing tomorrow.

 

[Kismet]

It sounds like his stomach is empty and that's making his sick. Try giving him a small snack before bed and see if that helps. I have known dogs to vomit bile and get ill just from an empty tummy. It's fairly common. How often is he fed? If it's once a day I'd make it twice.

 

[bodazafa]

OMG YIKES!! Science Diet is SOOOOO bad for your dog!! That is also what I fed Mags before the switch --- you should switch to a higher quality food - there is a sticky on it in this section.

 

[halo]

OMG YIKES!! Science Diet is SOOOOO bad for your dog!! That is also what I fed Mags before the switch --- you should switch to a higher quality food - there is a sticky on it in this section.

same here My came home with sicence diet, I Switched to Wellness, Why too much filler in science diet infact it is mostly filler.
Like mags says there are other better dog foods out there

 

[gazar]

It sounds like his stomach is empty and that's making his sick. Try giving him a small snack before bed and see if that helps. I have known dogs to vomit bile and get ill just from an empty tummy. It's fairly common. How often is he fed? If it's once a day I'd make it twice.

I have this problem with my Springer Spaniel. Her metabolism is so high she burns up everything she eats very quickly. When she holds off eating (for a bone/treat) she will develop this bile and throw it up. His food may not be solid enough for him - he may need a food with more meat product. Should be the first two to three ingredients on the bag lable. As he gets older his system will require more for his growth. Love the name "Cheeseburger".

 

[dawng]

Sounds like gastric reflux (heart burn) try changing the food and ask the vet! i am pretty sure dogs can have pepto bismol.

 

[peeblerelf]

I haven't had this problem before, so i couldn't give you much advice (although it looks like you already got it) but i just wanted to say I think Cheeseburger is a great name!

 

[bearsmom]

EB's have very sensative stomachs. The bile he is throwing up in the morning is for sure "sour tummy". Over the night when their tummies get empty this is what happens. I know alot of people that will give a piece of bread or cookie right before bed time. And this ends the problem of morning throw up.

 

[greenieluvmedo]

Thank you guys!

Thank you for your advice and for your compliments on the name! The vet is actually treating him now for heart burn. I am going to mention your tips on feeding him a cookie before bed and switching to a higher quality food. We are feeding him twice a day. I'd rather make the food change and give him a snack than have to keep him on this heart burn medicine. Thanks again!

 

[halo]

yes they can have pepto bismal if need be

 

[greenieluvmedo]

Anyone have any other ideas?

Cheeseburger is STILL doing this weird licking thing. He has been to the vet 6 times for it. We switched his food a few times, which didn't help at all. He was on heart-burn/acid-reflux medicine for awhile which didn't help. We have him drinking poland spring out of ceramic bowls now - no tap water - no plastic or metal bowls. The most recent idea was a stomach sonagram which showed he did have a piece of a rubber toy in there which never showed up when they did intenstinal xrays and was never passed or vomited. He is just finishing up with his two-week recovery from surgery and is still licking.
My sister-in-law who works with special-ed children said it looks like he's "suckling" - something that some of the kids she works with do when they are eating food they don't chew. She said it's something they do to aid digestion. I've been looking and looking for what might be causing a bulldog to suckle like this and am having a hard time finding anything concrete. Anyone have any ideas?
I'm really at my wits-end here. Tonight he started favoring his hind legs. He's hardly making it up the stairs and can't jump up on the couch. I don't know if he just pulled a muscle running up and down the stairs playing yesterday or if this is something related to the licking issue. I briefly read over one article that said something about the "exaggerated tongue protrusion" (suckling) being a sign of neuromuscular problems but most of the articles I'm finding are very scientific and not easy to follow. Please help if you can.

 

[CowBella]

When I was a groomer, one of my co-workers had a dog that would air bite and lick. She would do it for a few hours, then stop. My co-worker tried everything to figure out what was going on. She was a very calm dog, CKC, OB titles, very healthy... came to find out.. she had a vision problem. She was seeing small spots, and was biting and licking at them. After checking her vision, the vet also checked her hearing, I guess the vet had another patient that had hearing problems, and all they could figure out was that that particular dog was reacting to his ears ringing or something to that effect.

If you rule out digestion, maybe check his vision. If he is acting nauseaus when he is doing that, maybe an equlibrium thing too, where he might feel dizzy?

I don't know.. But I sure hope he feels better =(

 

[Puregrover]

try evceed dog food no byproducts in it and is verry god for all bulldogs i also give my dogs nupro (supplement) helps with digestion

 

[Puregrover]

exceed food sorry