Dog and puppy vomiting can be very dangerous for your pet, and while we don’t like to talk about it, pet vomit is a fact of life. Dogs tend to vomit more readily than almost all other animals. (The cats just started snickering . . . )
Puppy Vomiting & Dog Regurgitation
There are many reasons why your dog vomits, from innocuous to potentially deadly. Vomiting is the forcible expulsion of the stomach’s contents up the dog’s throat and out of the mouth. However, you should be aware that vomiting is different than regurgitation.
Regurgitation is a passive process without strong muscle contractions. Regurgitation can occur minutes to hours after your pet eats his food, and the expelled material is undigested and may even be tube-shaped like the throat. Cats fed cold canned food may “whoops” it back up very quickly, or dogs that gulp and swallow too fast may regurgitate their food. Mom canids in the wild do this when they return from hunting, in order to feed their pups.
Occasional regurgitation isn’t a cause for concern unless it interferes with nutrition and what you feed your pet. Chronic regurgitation typically is seen in a young puppy. In these cases, regurgitation can cause slow growth, and may be due to a physical problem like megasophagus.
How to Make Dogs Vomit
In cases of poisoning or swallowing dangerous objects, you may need to induce vomiting. Learning how to make puppies vomit can save his life.
- Give him some food to dilute the poison, delay its absorption, and for solid objects, may also pad any rough edges. It can be tough to get puppies to upchuck if the tummy is too empty.
- Give 3% hydrogen peroxide with an eyedropper, syringe without a needle or even a squirt gun or turkey baster. It tastes nasty and foams, and that combination usually prompts vomiting in about five minutes. You can repeat this dose two or three times, with five minutes between doses.
- Syrup of Ipecac is effective for dogs. Ipecac takes longer to work than hydrogen peroxide, though, and the dose should only be given once. Give one teaspoon for dogs less than 35 pounds, and up to a tablespoon for larger dogs.
- When nothing else is handy, you can try giving table salt prompts dry, onto the back of the puppy’s tongue. Only give one teaspoonful at a time for little pups or a tablespoonful for adults. Repeat in three minutes if the first dose doesn’t work.
- Call the veterinarian for further instructions after the pet has emptied his stomach. If you can’t induce vomiting after a couple of tries, prompt veterinary care is even more important. In cases of suspected poison, take a sample of the vomit with you to the veterinarian to analyze and offer an antidote or other follow-up measures.
Why Dogs & Puppies Vomit
When the “vomit center” of the brain is stimulated, the puppy begins to salivate and swallow repeatedly. Your puppy may seek attention or look anxious. Then, the stomach and abdominal muscles forcibly and repeatedly contract, while at the same time the esophagus relaxes. The puppy extends her neck, opens her mouth and makes a strained gagging sound as the stomach empties.
Vomiting should never be considered normal. Most cases of adult dog vomiting result from gastric irritation due to swallowed grass, eating inedible objects, spoiled or rich food (raiding the garbage, table scraps) or simply eating too much too fast. You can prevent puppies from eating the wrong thing with these puppy proofing tips. Dogs and puppies also may vomit from motion sickness during car rides.
The most common cause of vomiting in dogs is gluttony. Dogs that gorge their food tend to lose it just as quickly, particularly if they exercise shortly after finishing a meal. This type of vomiting isn’t particularly dangerous, but is annoying.
Repeated vomiting, vomiting along with diarrhea, unproductive vomiting, vomiting not associated with eating, and/or the pooch acts like she feels bad before or after the event is a cause for alarm.
Vomiting can be a sign of canine distemper virus or canine parvovirus, which can be prevented by proper vaccinations. In deep chested breeds, unproductive vomiting may be a sign of bloat. Bloat (gastric dilatation and/or volvulus) happens with the stomach swells and potentially twists without emptying and can kill dogs very quickly–big deep chested dogs (German Shepherds like Magical-Dawg) are most prone.
If the vomit contains blood or fecal material, if it lasts longer than 24 hours, or if other signs such as diarrhea accompany the vomiting, contact your veterinarian immediately. For some types of vomiting, home care may be all that’s needed.
Treatment for Vomiting
Slowing down how fast your dog eats relieves mealtime vomiting. Feed in separate bowls to cut down on “competition” eating, or place a large non-swallowable ball in the dish so the dog is forced to eat around it. There now are some very cool “foraging bowls” that can help slow down the gulpers. Meal-feeding several times a day rather than once will also alleviate overeating. A few dogs vomit when they’re excited or fearful.
Vomiting that happens only once or twice isn’t a cause for concern as long as the puppy or dog acts normal before and after. Rest the digestive tract for 12 to 24 hours or so usually resolves the gastric irritation in older pups and adult dogs. But very young puppies and especially Toy-size breeds shouldn’t go without a meal for longer than about six to eight hours, though, so you’ll need vet help with tiny pups. These little guys also dehydrate very quickly which can complicate matters.
Pick up the food bowl and give only small amounts of water. Vomiting makes pups feel thirsty but drinking can upset the tummy even further. So offer water in a syringe every 15 or 20 minutes, or offer an ice cube for her to lick.
You can safely give Pepto-Bismol to manage doggy vomiting. It coats the stomach wall, soothes the upset and the bismuth absorbs bacterial toxins that prompt vomiting. The dose is about ½ to 1 teaspoon per 5 pounds of body weight up to three times a day.
Vomiting may be a sign of serious illness, though. Anytime your pet vomits three or more times in a single day, or two or more days in a row, you should take her to the vet.
What about you? Have your puppies or dogs ever had a scary/dangerous bout of vomiting? Magic got REALLY sick one time with explosive diarrhea and vomiting and turns out he’d caught a “bug” from drinking pond water.
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