While severe – or prolonged – vomiting is a reason for concern, it is common for dogs to occasionally vomit. When your dog vomits, should you be worried?
Vomiting in dogs happens for a variety of reasons. But with prolonged or severe vomiting, it’s critical to determine the cause in order to help your dog get better faster.
Keep reading about the causes, symptoms and home treatments for K9 vomiting.
Why Do Dogs Vomit?
Vomiting in dogs can be as simple as eating something disagreeable like your trash, compost pile, toxins or poisons, chocolate or some other things they should have not eaten like toys or bones. It’s the body’s way of protecting itself against something that was ingested.
Dogs can also vomit from eating too much food, too fast. Or food allergies or intolerances, a sudden change in diet, eating too much grass, exercising right after eating, stomach or intestinal inflammation or constipation. Occasional bouts of vomiting usually clear up on their own with some simple diet modifications. If your dog vomits once but then eats as normal and has a normal bowel movement, the vomiting was probably an isolated incident and no reason for worry.
Nausea and vomiting are also common when dogs wake up after surgery from administered medications or anesthesia.
Other causes behind a dog vomiting which are more serious may include:
- Bacterial, viral and/or fungal infections
- Foreign objects like toys, bones and garbage
- A medical emergency
Parasites in the intestines- An infected uterus in female dogs
- Kidney/liver disease, dysfunction or failure
- Gall bladder inflammation
- Car sickness or motion sickness
- Pancreatitis
- Parvovirus
- K9 Diabetes
- Addison’s Disease
- Bloat
- Cancer
- Heatstroke
Parasites in the intestinesFoamy, slimy, yellow or clear vomit could be a sign of a serious medical issue and not related to what was ingested or consumed.
K9 Vomiting: Other Symptoms to Look For
Notice as much detail as you can when your dog vomits. It will help your veterinarian arrive at a correct diagnosis faster. If you see any of these symptoms below, be sure to tell your vet!
- Diarrhea/bloody diarrhea
- Dehydration
- Lethargy
- Fever
- Seizures
- Blood in Vomit
- Weight Loss
- Change in appetite
- Increase or decrease in thirst or urination
K9 Vomiting: See the Vet!
Get to your veterinarian if you see any of the symptoms above or the following signs below for a quick and conclusive diagnosis and proper medical intervention!
- The dog vomits more than once over 24 hours.
- Is a puppy (dehydration, parvo or parasites are huge concerns).
- If vomiting persists for more than 24 hours.
Click here for the infographic: What Your Dog’s Vomit is Telling You
Addressing Dog Vomiting
For isolated, occasional bouts of vomiting, you can treat your dog at home. Withhold back water and food for 12-24 hours to give your dog’s stomach a chance to rest and recuperate.
After that, give him bland, easy-to-digest food like boiled potatoes, bone broth (room temperature or slightly warm), rice and well-cooked, skinless chicken. Then gradually get your dog back on his normal diet and schedule.
The greatest threat of vomiting is dehydration. If your dog refuses all water or cannot hold down small amounts of water, call or see your veterinarian immediately before dehydration begins to negatively affect your canine’s essential bodily functions and processes.
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Just email or call us at 480-382-0144.
East Valley K9 Services has got all your dog training, doggy daycare and dog boarding needs covered in the Chandler, Gilbert, Tempe and East Valley areas of Arizona!
Additional Reading:
Fetch: Vomiting in Dogs: Causes and Treatment
Dogs Naturally: Top 3 Reasons Your Dog Vomits Yellow & What to Do About It
AKC: Dog Vomiting: Causes, Diagnosis, and Treatment
PetMD: Dog Vomit: Types, Causes and When to Call the Vet
Image Credits (Shown in Order of Appearance):
Ben Kerckx from Pixabay (compost)
Ewa pniewska from Pixabay (sick lab)
