puking water?

[melbell]

Hi everyone, my Ruutu is chugging his water down, which in return leads him to gag/puke it up. He doesn't do this every time though, but he does when playing. It's almost like the water went down the wrong pipe then he spits it out. It is water, and today even though it was right after he ate that he got the drink, only water came up and not his food, which actually surprised me. Any idea what might be causing this? or how to fix this? Limiting water is a little hard due to he shares the water bowl with my female sheltie and she drinks a lot. We don't put a whole lot in though because it's almost like he drowns himself with the water.

[SheepOfBlue]

How cold is the water? If it is to cold it might be bothering his stomach. I doubt there is much harm to him just a yuck factor

[melbell]

It's really cold water my female loves her water cold, so the water jug stays in the fridge. This might be a good reason though because it's usually right after i fill the bowl and the upstairs one he has yet to have an issue with it... which I just use sink cold water to fill since I'm too lazy to go back downstairs thanks! Maybe I'll just stick to giving him fresh cold water out of the sink and see if that helps.

[celloyogi]

You could try one of the fountain-type watering bowls. I know a few people from cat rescue who had a similar water=barf problem, and the fountain solved it. The cats seemed to drink less, or at least drink slower, because they spent time watching the fountain. The cats were fostered for over a year, so we know the "fountain effect" wasn't a short-term one.

Another option, if your other sheltie likes really cold water, you could provide room temp water to both pups and just pop in a few ice cubes for the cold-loving pup. She can play with/eat the ice cubes (my Olive loves them).

Worth a try!

[melbell]

Originally Posted by celloyogi

You could try one of the fountain-type watering bowls. I know a few people from cat rescue who had a similar water=barf problem, and the fountain solved it. The cats seemed to drink less, or at least drink slower, because they spent time watching the fountain. The cats were fostered for over a year, so we know the "fountain effect" wasn't a short-term one.

Another option, if your other sheltie likes really cold water, you could provide room temp water to both pups and just pop in a few ice cubes for the cold-loving pup. She can play with/eat the ice cubes (my Olive loves them).

Worth a try!

thanks for the idea about the fountain! Will def research them. The ice cube thing is a good idea, but she's not an ice cube fan but it might keep the water cooler for her.

[mellie]

Might be a good idea to limit water when playing. Don't want a full belly of water and a lot of running around and same thing after he eats, maybe let his food digest before letting him have a small amount of water and letting him play. Sometimes gulpers need to be slowed down a little to keep it down. Our vets recommend food in an icecube tray to slow them down some when eating and just put a small amount of water in bowl at a time.

[kagzigian]

Ruutu is not alone; Piper has the same issue. It only happens when she gulps her water so she can go play with Logan and Holly. If it's only occasionally then I wouldn't worry about it. If on the other hand it is everyday you might want to touch base with your vet. Best of luck!

[melbell]

Originally Posted by kagzigian

Ruutu is not alone; Piper has the same issue. It only happens when she gulps her water so she can go play with Logan and Holly. If it's only occasionally then I wouldn't worry about it. If on the other hand it is everyday you might want to touch base with your vet. Best of luck!

Glad I'm not alone! He hasn't done it recently, so maybe he's learning to not gulp it down... we'll see as time progresses I suppose!

[cthulhucometh]

Like some said, it's probably the temperature. The dog is really hot and the water is really cold and it makes them sick. I've dont alot of manual labor as a kid outside in the summer working for a vet and if it was too cold and I had been working long enough drinking too much water made me sick as well (didn't barf water) but I was sure sick. Hope this helps.