# Help! Vomiting bone fragments!



## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

I swear I have heard people say this happens - but I am asking anyway because I am worried about Henry! My dogs eat Nature's Variety pre-made raw in the AM and kibble in the PM. _I gave them EACH a chicken back last night_ as a preparation for our possible switch to 100% raw. This was their first chicken back ever.


I woke up this morning to find vomited bone fragments in the hallway. Henry belongs to my parents - so he sleeps with them. Apparently Henry was restless all night . My mom let him outside once (but was too "half-asleep" to know if he vomited or anything) and then let him out of her room and into the hallway once because he was making regurgitation/gagging sounds. 

I'm not sure if he vomited outside - I will check when the sun comes out!

Should I panic? Should I feed him this morning? (Usually it would be premade raw)


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## 3RingCircus (May 24, 2010)

BrownieM,
This happened several times with each of my pups as they transitioned to RMB five months ago. A chicken back may contain too much bone for Henry though. 

Also did Henry gobble it up or chew it? Maybe a bigger piece of meat such as the hindquarter would best suit Henry? 

Barnum gnaws on the length of the hindquarter. This is his pulverizing action. Next he begins to eat it. Bailey starts at one end crunching and munching until it's down the the hatch. Neither one are gobblers.


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

He did a pretty good job chewing it - he didn't even know what to do with it at first, ha ha. So, if this is too much bone - what kind of chicken would be more appropriate? 

He is used to raw (he eats lamb pre-made raw) and there is ground bone in the patties, so he may have _some_ ability already to digest bone, but obviously his body hasn't had to digest whole bone fragments until this. 

My 9 mo. puppy - the one with the sensitive tummy - is doing just fine so far!


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

I wouldn't be concerned. Their tummies were expecting kibble last night and got something different. I would let him skip a meal and feed another back this evening. How big a dog is he? If he's real small, a back MAY be too large a meal. Raw meals are going to be suprisingly small because the dogs utilize much more of the food instead of just passing a bunch of filler straight through. Let us know again in the morning how things are going.


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

He's a pretty big boy - 62 pounds

Thanks for the advice - I will wait to feed him until tonight. Do you think I should try a Chicken Back again this evening? Or should I just do his ground lamb patties to be safe?


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

Definitely do another chicken back. There's only one way to get him used to eating real bone in foods and that is to be consistent and patient and go slow. You have to remember that his body is not used to digesting raw bones. This takes time with some dogs because their digestive juices need to alter some to accommodate breaking down a completely different type of food. He probably vomited up the bone chunks because they were irritating his tummy but this is certainly not a reason to panic. Please keep us posted on his progress!


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## RawFedDogs (Jun 16, 2008)

I agree 100% with Natalie. :smile:


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

Are other types of chicken more digestible? What about a quarter?

This forum is so helpful


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

Poor Henry doesn't understand why Millie gets to eat her raw lamb patties for breakfast but he doesn't! He just stood there and watched her eat :frown:


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

No. I would do another back even though he's having a bit of trouble with the bones. If you went with a meatier cut like a quarter he would probably have the same reaction and a higher chance of diarrhea.


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## redspoo (Mar 19, 2010)

BrownieM,
Just wanted to chime in, if for no other reason than to let you know that Grace did the same thing early on. Every once in a while, again early on she would bring up a few bone fragments and bile. Now she eats everything with out issue. She has been happily polishing off deer ribs of late! Hang in there and follow what RFD and danemama are telling you. Stay the course and keep coming here for comfort and the knowing that all is ok and you are doing the right thing.


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

*What the heck? Includes poop description!*

I decided to watch Millie like a hawk today to see if SHE had any issues from the chicken back.

Well - she just went poop (sorry for the graphic description) and it was a normal, firm, formed poop with a layer of gelly-like mucous covering all of it like a blanket. WTH??? What is this?


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## DaneMama (Jun 27, 2008)

The mucous is normal. The intestines secrete it to line it to prevent injury. Again don't panic :wink:


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## BrownieM (Aug 30, 2010)

I can see why some people might throw the red flag and give up on raw! It's easy to accidentally panic when strange things are coming out both ends!

I will persist!


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