# Possible signs of obstruction in stomach?



## Vizsla_Luka (Sep 8, 2015)

Hi all,

I'm posting in health, because I suspect that this is a health issue and not a behavioural issue.

In the last couple of weeks (not entirely sure, but definitely not a matter of days) I've noticed my 10 month old dog sometimes jumps and sometimes growls and swings his head towards my hand (never bites) when I touch him in the stomach area. Initially when he did this, I thought it was because he was sleeping at the time and got a fright when I touched him and snapped - if we stroke him gently then it doesn't seem to bother him but I do notice he's very tense.

We figured out it must be pain somewhere in this region and not behavioural, because it's definitely a very specific area and his reactions are worse the more we press in his stomach area.

The reason we haven't done anything so far to be honest is because we've only recently come to this conclusion that it is possibly something bothering him and not behavioural….he's not in any way dominant so I can only think that this is a health issue. He seems fine in himself in every other way however, he is currently fed 50% raw and 50% kibble. He doesn't eat much of his kibble but always eats all of his raw meals. He has lots of energy and runs around happy as Larry. He is sleeping a normal amount, and other than him being a bit manic when outside currently due to there being bitches in heat in and around the city at the moment he is acting normally. 

The only other abnormal things that I remarked is this week he threw up twice -once first thing in the morning (hunger pukes?!) and once just after getting out of the car (and he has always had issues with car sickness). No idea if these incidents are related to a possible stomach problem. The other is he is eating more grass than he normally would, but not enough to make himself sick and not on every walk.

I'm concerned that there might be something lodged in his stomach/intestines either from the raw bones he eats or something he's picked up during a walk, or a piece of stick as he's an avid stick eater. He was due his worming tablet today so he's taken that - want to rule out any parasitic problems, if they can cause pain in the stomach area.

Is it advisable to take him to the vets for a scan or keep an eye on him to see if it resolves itself?

I'm keen to hear of anyone else who may have experience in this area, I tried to search in the forum but it being quite a specific situation was hard to search!

Thanks in advance.


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## dextersmom (Oct 29, 2013)

Vizsla_Luka said:


> Is it advisable to take him to the vets for a scan or keep an eye on him to see if it resolves itself?


I would schedule a vet visit soon, especially if this has already been going on for some time. It does sound to me like it's a reaction to pain. That doesn't necessarily mean an obstruction, but a vet can better assess if he needs xrays or not. It could just be irritation to his GI tract, or a stomach bug, etc. All of a sudden wanting to eat a lot of grass is a sign of an upset tummy.

Is he running a temp? Pooping? Eating and drinking? Gums nice and pink? Acting normal otherwise?


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## Vizsla_Luka (Sep 8, 2015)

Yes it could be something else that's true. Other than eating more grass than usual he's totally acting himself, gums are nice and pink, eating and drinking normally and poops look fine. It's clearly bothering him though so I'll make an appointment with the vet and see what they say. 

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## mswhipple (Mar 7, 2011)

Yes, taking him to the Vet is the best idea. Better safe than sorry.


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## Vizsla_Luka (Sep 8, 2015)

Thanks for your inputs mswhipple and dextersmum. Curiously his symptoms completely went away after the weekend. Have been prodding and poking him and no reaction whatsoever. No idea if it's related to the worming tablet I gave him or it just happened to resolve itself, but haven't taken him to the vet since he's acting completely normal in himself. 

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