A common issue which almost all of us notice as pet owners is dog vomiting.
What is vomiting?
Vomiting is the expulsion of food, fluid or debris from the stomach or small intestine due to coordinated movements of the gastrointestinal, musculoskeletal and nervous systems. It is important to differentiate this from regurgitation, which is a passive process rather than a coordinated effort like vomiting.
There are potentially many different causes of dog vomiting. The most common cause is garbage gut, where your dog consumes something he shouldn’t have, resulting in vomiting. Other causes include food allergies, parasites, medications, infectious causes (i.e. parvovirus), cancer, liver or kidney disease, pancreatitis, metabolic disorders (thyroid disease or diabetes), physical obstructions such as a ball or a bone, and primary motility disorders (the stomach doesn’t contract normally).
Just a brief side note. Humans react poorly to their dogs over 98% of the time when their dog makes the dreaded oral mess on the floor. Part of it is just simply our desire that for just this one time, they manage to get it into a place that is easy to clean up. Dogs are usually smart enough to figure out that bodily wastes are not tolerated inside the home, and they often feel as though they have created a “soiling error.” This feeling that they have just seriously disappointed their human can add stress that can add to the upset stomach. Thus, humans who can calmly encourage their dog to vomit either in the bathroom or other easy to clean floor or better yet, make it outside, are going to have fewer instant replays when the emotional upset encourages another round.
What to do for dog vomiting
1. withholding food for 24 hours.
2. Feed a bland diet, consisting of 2/3 rice, sweet potato or oatmeal and 1/3 of the meal should be well cooked non-fatty meats like chicken.
3. Feed only 1/2 of the normal amount of food at a time. Or you can feed several small meals until the vomiting has subsided.