Okay, I'll first start by saying that there are very few things that make me mad. But blatantly ignoring my requests is one of them. Our roommate is a slob and generally doesn't care about anything. Conan (our Corgi) and Carl (his dog) will both chew on anything left on the floor, so we ask that he not leave the TV remote in the middle of the living room floor (like he always does). We have Time Warner, so every time our dogs eat the remote, we have to pay for it. This has happened multiple times.

So on Monday morning, he left the cupboard with the dog food bag in it open and the dogs ate a significant amount of food from it. They were both throwing up almost non stop the entire day. Not only am I working on Conan's weight loss, this obviously isn't very good for either dog. So Garrett talks to him, like what the hell dude, pay attention to what you're doing please. And we think it's fine. Though he still wanted to feed Carl dinner that night so he "wouldn't starve" but Carl is at least 10 pounds over weight, and obviously didn't need more food to throw up.

So then Monday night he leaves a big bag of almonds on the kitchen table, and doesn't push the chairs in, and Carl gets on the kitchen table and pushes the nuts on the floor like he always does when you leave a chair out. I swear you guys, it's like our roommate doesn't believe these things actually happen. Like we're just super anal when we ask him to not do crap like leave chairs out and cupboards open. So both dogs were throwing up yesterday too. They also have black tarry poops (which I know could be melena - very bad). I'm not sure though if it's something really serious like that (could both dogs get serious intestinal issues from over eating alone?) or if it's just the food (the dog food they ate was Orijen fish blend), which is pretty dark in color itself.

Should we take them to the vet today if the poops aren't better? I don't think they've thrown up since yesterday. Ahhh I can't even express how mad I am right now. We were going to start Conan in herding this weekend too and now I know it's definitely not a good idea for him to be really active like that. Does anyone know any home remedies we could try to get their tummies feeling better? They didn't get fed yesterday (besides the almonds) and aren't going to get breakfast this morning, and probably not dinner as well. Anyone have any suggestions? Sorry for the length, I think I might already know they need to see a vet if they don't seem better today, I just needed to vent!

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I'm sorry you are having such a hard time. How maddening!

I would definitely call the vet and at least talk to them. Nuts are very high in fat, and my understanding is that the consumption of a lot of fat can lead to pancreatitis.

The vet will be able to tell you if they want to see Conan, or if not what you should watch for.

As long as the vet says he is ok, I would give him a tiny amount of his usual kibble tonight; skipping an entire day might make him uncomfortable and make his digestive system play up. That's just my opinion though; I would wait to see what the vet says.

And then hand the bill to the roommate...
Haha! I would've handed all the bills to the roommate for causing so much trouble.

I would def. go to the vet and see whats up. It's not fair that your roomy is causing so much trouble and not caring at all. Some people just don't get it.. and its a shame he doesn't care enough for his own dog in the same manner..

I agree that you should give a least a little food to the pups. Maybe throw some pumpkin in there as well?

Our issue isn't over eating its our roommates not disciplining the dogs.. oye..
I'm going to disagree with other's opinions, and say a vet is more than likely NOT needed in your situation. Orijen is an excellent food, but very rich, so the dark stools are entirely normal if overfed. (same thing happened to my shepherd when he got into an entire 6lb bag and ate the whole thing.
Furthermore, as long s they are acting normal, have their normal energy level, etc. they are fine, assuming that this is the only thing they have gotten into.
While it is true that nuts are high in fat, dogs can handle (and need!) FAR more fat in their diets than we do. One incident with some nuts isn't going to cause any long term problems.
in this situation, I would fast them for one day, and then resume normal feeding. When my dog did this, it took about 4 days to become entirely regular again, so be patient.
There is no need to put off the hearding.

As far as home remedies, if hey have loose stools (mine did) you can add a tablespoon of plain yogurt to get the good bacteria back into their systems that they're losing. You can also try a little plain pumpkin to firm up stools. I fed Champ mels of brown rice with chicken for one day after the day of fasting to push everything through his system, and it worked like a charm. while the rice hlds virtually zero nutritional content whatsoever for a dog, it passes easily.
Over-eating is a an easy ticket to digestive distress in dogs. It will likely pass in a few days, I would also not bother with the vet.

I also have no issue with skipping a meal on them, it has never upset Loki, quite the opposite. If a dog is having digestive issues, fasting them is often beneficial as it gives it a break to sort things out. The rice and lean meat is also a good suggestion.
Thanks everyone. We fed them about 1/4 cup of food this morning because they were following us everywhere and going in and out of the kitchen.. so it seemed they were hungry. So far everything is good. If we notice anything else we will call the vet and see what they think.

It's really sad that he really doesn't care about Carl's health. Carl is cryptorchid and not neutered, and I showed him many articles about the high rates of cancer and other problems caused by it, but he's just "whatever" about it and won't take him to the vet. If I had the extra cash, I would take him in myself. It just really makes me mad. He also feeds Carl whatever he doesn't finish eating for dinner. It's really upseting. I almost never want to leave him alone with Conan for fear that he'll give him table scraps like that. Not even scraps.. like half meals. Carl has never had any grain free dog food before so I can understand why he would be throwing up and having dark stools. Conan eats it, but obviously nothing close to that in one day.

Thanks again for hearing out my issues haha, and for offering sound advice :)
I'd get rid of the roommate. Sounds like a jerk!!
Haha! If I had enough money for rent I would! He's a super nice guy, just uneducated about dogs (and not willing to learn). I just don't know how pushing a chair in the table or closing a door is hard!
you can always find a new roommate on craigslist. And make sure to "interview" them.
Get rid of your roommate. It is pretty obvious that he's beyond ignorant and dumb. Not leaving food out is a common sense when you have pets. Maybe pushing chairs in does require extra attention and responsibility, but food? Excuse me, but anyone with at least half a brain would keep cupboards closed.
Seriously, ak him to find a new place to live. And if it doesn't work, ask me how to make his life miserable without being too obvious ;)
hahaha you're too funny! I don't want to ruin our friendship though, so I'll just keep a tough eye out I guess. Conan is a champion chewer, and has eaten a lot of our roommate's things that he's left on the floor (we don't replace them either, we only replace things if we know we haven't told someone not to leave stuff on the floor). He at least doesn't get mad when that happens. But our dogs have gotten in the trash twice already this year. I'm just really trying to make him understand that one of these days they're going to get into something that they AREN'T going to recover from. What if those almonds had been macadamia nuts? We'd have two dead dogs probably.

I think I am going to work on at least keeping Conan out of the kitchen in general. That's another story all together though... having two dogs with two different rules for each (if you can even say Carl has "rules") is nearly impossible.
What about crating the dogs? OR if nothing else, crate your dog when you aren't home.
I dunno, I think I'd crate the roommate. :-)

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