Quote Originally Posted by wolfsoul
My friend got a bulldog a couple months ago. She is 4 years old. When she got her from the breeder was was practically emaciated. She's gained maybe 10 pounds but she's still a bit too skinny.

My friend is having a hard time putting weight on her because she throws up -- ALL DAY. She's been to two different vets and neither one knows what's wrong.

She doesn't throw up bile -- she throws up her food and foam. The breeder told her she threw up every once in a while, now she's denying that she ever threw up at all. My friend has tried everything. At first she had her on EVO, but when the throwing up never ceased she tried just one protein source -- raw, using chicken. The raw didn't help so she put her back on kibble (first California Natural chicken, then lamb). She's used a TON of digestive enzymes with everything. She tried pepto bismal. She made the meals very small and spread them out throughout the day. She tried soaking the kibble in water. I recommended feeding her boiled chicken and white rice -- tried it to no avail.

She doesn't throw up right away -- she will usually throw up a half an hour after eating. Occasionally she won't until a few hours after eating, and the food is still completely undigested.

Nothing seems to be working. The vet is now recommending that she put her dog on a vegetarian kibble, as it will be "easier to digest" -- which goes against everything I've learned. I don't understand how soy and grains is going to be easy on her belly.

Does anyone know what condition this is, and what can be done to help?

It's probably the case anything you feed the dog in the current amounts given will result in the same. The first thing your friend should do is get a referral to a specialist, with the idea of scoping the dog for such things as congenital megaesophagus, pyloric stenosis, chronic gastritis , and other structural problems. Other possibilities include chronic pancreatitis, pancreatic insufficiency, other malabsorption problems due to enzymes insufficiencies, reflux disease, etc.

As a temporary work-around, have your friend pick one defined diet. Try the EVO or other low protein, low fat dry food. If the dog is being fed 2X daily try smaller portions with 4X daily. Or even very small amounts 6 times daily. Sometimes feeding much smaller amounts can help get it digested. Obviously work-arounds are not the same as finding the root cause of the problem. A second work-around which may or may not help is to get the local Vet ot prescribe metoclopromide. Probably a dose of 5 mg 2-3 times per day. It takes about 15 minutes to start working and speeds up the motility of the digestive tract. It's used as an anti-nausea drug, and for GERD. If the food is pushed thru fast enough, it can't come back up. The drug may or may not help, and probably would be a negative if there was a malabsorption problem per enzymes.

In summary your friend should get a referral. In the meantime try very small multiple meals of a low protein, low fat diet. Another thought for a temporary diet is the canned Hills A/D. Smells not the best (liver+rice), but they like it.