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Our friends over at PetPav have some helpful advice for your pups stomach issues.
Dogs will throw up for many reasons including an irritated stomach, eating too fast or too much, or occasionally because of anxiety. Most of the time, throwing up is not something to worry about, but sometimes it can indicate a serious condition. Understanding why your dog is throwing up will help distinguish the difference.
If your dog may throws up yellow foam, it usually is because his stomach is empty and the bile can be irritating. If your dog is otherwise healthy and eating normally, try feeding him just half his food and if all goes well, than your dog should be fine.
If your dog vomits more than once, it can be a sign of a more serious condition, such as colitis, intestinal obstruction, intestinal inflammation, constipation, kidney dysfunction or parvovirus. If your dog’s vomiting is not an isolated incident, please bring him to the vet right away for a complete examination and diagnostic testing.
Also, look for signs of poisoning or obstruction. These include chills, shaking, breathing difficulty, seizures, drooling or staggering. And when you check your dog’s vomit, if you see any more than a few drops of blood, take him to the emergency vet ASAP.
Depending on your dog’s age, medical history, physical examination findings and your dog’s particular symptoms, your veterinarian may choose to perform various diagnostic tests (bloodwork, radiographs, ultrasound, fecal examination, endoscopy, biopsy or even exploratory surgery) in order to make a diagnosis. It might simply be that your dog ate something that you couldn’t detect or something more serious.
If your dog has thrown up and you want to try to treat him or her yourself, you can treat your dog as you would a baby or sick child. Give your dog some soft bland foods such as boiled potatoes, rice and well-cooked, skinless chicken. It’s very important that your dog stays hydrated and drinks lots of water. You can try this first if you think your dog just ate something that didn’t agree with him.
Make sure there isn’t an obstruction or foreign object is his mouth – gently place your hand in his mouth and at the top of his throat. If he is wheezing or has trouble breathing, there could be an obstruction further down so get him to the vet immediately.
Make sure to give your dog fluids – including electrolytes.
Keep your dog warm – a blanket and hugs work well.
Comfort your dog – make sure your dog doesn’t think he’s done something wrong.
Feed your dog bland food – feed your dog a diet of cooked chicken and white rice for a few days.
If you think your dog ingested something poisonous, call your vet to see if you should induce vomiting
You should only induce vomiting when it’s absolutely necessary and you’ve talked to a professional. Do not attempt to induce vomiting if your dog has lost consciousness or swallowed something that can harm his throat on the way back up, such as a sharp piece of bone.
To induce vomiting, open your dog’s mouth gently and squirt a small amount of hydrogen peroxide or down his throat. In general, the dose of hydrogen peroxide in dogs is approximately 0.5 – 1 ml per pound weight. If your dog weighs 50 pounds, you can give 25 – 50 mls of fresh, non-expired hydrogen peroxide orally, once. 15 mls = 1 tablespoon (or 5 mls = 1 teaspoon), so this would be approximately 1.5 – 2.5 TBSP. Wait ten minutes and if your dog hasn’t thrown up, get him to the vet immediately.