Dogs vomit for many reasons, from eating something unusual to serious problems such as pancreatitis, poisoning, or an intestinal obstruction. One episode in an otherwise comfortable adult dog may be minor, but repeated vomiting or vomiting with other warning signs deserves veterinary attention.
The most important questions are how often your dog is vomiting, whether they can keep water down, what the vomit contains, and how they are acting between episodes. Puppies, senior dogs, very small dogs, and dogs with chronic medical conditions can become seriously ill or dehydrated more quickly.
Is It Vomiting or Regurgitation?
Vomiting usually involves nausea, drooling, retching, and visible contractions of the abdomen before stomach contents are expelled. The material may contain partially digested food, fluid, foam, bile, or blood.
Regurgitation is typically more passive. Undigested food or fluid comes back up with little warning or abdominal effort, sometimes in a tube-like shape. Regurgitation can point to a problem involving the esophagus rather than the stomach. A video of the episode can help your veterinarian distinguish between them.
Common Reasons Dogs Vomit
Possible causes range from mild and temporary to life-threatening. They include:
- Eating garbage, table scraps, spoiled food, or a sudden diet change
- Eating too quickly
- Parasites, viral disease, or bacterial infection
- Food intolerance or inflammation of the stomach and intestines
- Pancreatitis
- Swallowing a toy, sock, bone, corn cob, or another foreign object
- Medication side effects or toxin exposure
- Kidney, liver, hormonal, or neurologic disease
- A distended or twisted stomach, including gastric dilatation-volvulus
The appearance of vomit alone usually cannot identify the cause. Your dog’s history, physical examination, and sometimes diagnostic testing are needed.
When Can I Monitor My Dog at Home?
Brief monitoring may be reasonable after one isolated episode when a healthy adult dog is alert, comfortable, breathing normally, and has no other symptoms or known exposure. Watch closely for another episode, changes in appetite or thirst, diarrhea, abdominal discomfort, weakness, or unusual behavior.
Do not assume monitoring is appropriate for a puppy, senior dog, very small dog, pregnant dog, or dog with diabetes, kidney disease, heart disease, or another chronic condition. Call your veterinarian for individualized advice.
When Should I Call a Veterinarian?
Contact a veterinarian when:
- Vomiting happens more than once or continues to recur
- Your dog cannot keep water down
- Your dog stops eating or drinking
- Vomiting is accompanied by diarrhea, weight loss, fever, coughing, or pain
- Your dog seems unusually quiet, weak, restless, or uncomfortable
- You suspect medication, toxin, garbage, or foreign-object ingestion
- The problem is becoming more frequent or severe
Even mild-looking vomiting may deserve faster evaluation when the dog is young, elderly, medically fragile, or at risk for dehydration.
When Is Vomiting an Emergency?
Go to an emergency veterinary hospital if vomiting occurs with any of these warning signs:
- Repeated, forceful, or continuous vomiting
- Blood in the vomit or material resembling dark coffee grounds
- A swollen, firm, or painful abdomen
- Repeated retching with little or nothing produced
- Collapse, severe weakness, pale gums, or reduced responsiveness
- Difficulty breathing or suspected aspiration
- Severe abdominal pain or inability to settle
- Known or suspected toxin ingestion
- A possible swallowed object, especially string, fabric, a toy, bone, or sharp item
A swollen abdomen with unsuccessful attempts to vomit may indicate bloat or GDV, which requires immediate treatment.
What Does Blood in Dog Vomit Mean?
Fresh blood may appear red, while partially digested blood can look dark brown or similar to coffee grounds. Blood may come from irritation caused by repeated vomiting, an ulcer, swallowed blood, a foreign object, a clotting problem, toxin exposure, or another serious condition.
Do not try to determine the cause from color alone. Contact a veterinarian promptly, and seek emergency care when there is more than a small streak, the bleeding repeats, or your dog is weak, painful, pale, or collapsing.
Signs of Dehydration
Vomiting causes loss of water and electrolytes. Warning signs may include tacky or dry gums, reduced energy, sunken-looking eyes, reduced urination, weakness, or worsening lethargy. Dehydration is harder to assess accurately at home than many owners expect, so repeated vomiting should prompt veterinary guidance.
Could My Dog Have an Intestinal Obstruction?
An obstruction may be partial or complete. Common signs include vomiting, loss of appetite, lethargy, abdominal pain, diarrhea or reduced stool, and dehydration. Vomiting may be especially frequent when the obstruction is close to the stomach, but some dogs with an obstruction do not vomit continuously.
If your dog may have swallowed an object, do not wait for it to appear in the stool or pull on visible string. Prompt imaging can help determine whether the object is moving safely or requires endoscopic or surgical removal.
How Veterinarians Diagnose Vomiting
Your veterinarian will ask about diet, medications, possible exposures, the timing and frequency of vomiting, and other symptoms. The examination may be followed by:
- Blood and urine testing
- Fecal testing
- Abdominal X-rays
- Abdominal ultrasound
- Specialized testing, endoscopy, or biopsy when indicated
Our guide to ultrasound for pets explains how imaging can help evaluate persistent digestive problems.
How Is Vomiting Treated?
Treatment depends on the cause and severity. A dog may need anti-nausea medication, fluid therapy, pain relief, dietary management, treatment for infection or inflammation, toxin-specific care, endoscopic retrieval, or surgery. A veterinarian should evaluate the dog before medication is given because suppressing vomiting may be inappropriate in some conditions.
What Should I Avoid Doing at Home?
- Do not give human nausea, pain, or stomach medication without veterinary direction.
- Do not induce vomiting unless a veterinarian or animal poison-control professional specifically instructs you to do so.
- Do not force food or large amounts of water into a nauseated dog.
- Do not withhold water for a prolonged period without veterinary guidance.
- Do not delay care when your dog is painful, weak, repeatedly vomiting, or unable to keep water down.
Emergency Care for a Vomiting Dog
If vomiting is repeated, contains blood, follows a possible poisoning or swallowed object, or occurs with pain, weakness, collapse, or abdominal swelling, seek veterinary care promptly. Review when a pet should see a veterinarian and the Top 10 pet emergencies seen at the veterinary ER for additional warning signs.
COVE Pet Care provides emergency medicine and critical care for dogs and cats in Central Ohio.
