Dog Vomit: Is It Always a Bad Thing when Your Dog Throws Up?
In short form? No, it is not always a bad thing when your dog throws up. In fact, sometimes, it’s not even your dog throwing up; instead, they’re regurgitating their food. Whereas with vomiting, your dog will likely know it’s coming (and so will you–that gluck-gluck-gluck sound is like no other), regurgitation comes with little warning and is involuntary. There’s no muscle contraction because the undigested food is coming from your dog’s esophagus (the tube food and liquid used to travel to the stomach). With vomiting, the contents of the vomit come from your dog’s stomach and they are propelled by muscle and forced.
And though it’s almost instinct to google, “Why is my dog throwing up?” the truth is that sometimes, they just do and it’s completely okay. Sometimes, your dog just ate too much grass (that does make them throw up and while they may have been doing it to soothe their stomach, they may have inadvertently done it as well). Maybe they ate something that didn’t agree with them (cat poop, perhaps?) or maybe they’re anxious or nervous and have an upset stomach. Maybe they didn’t eat that morning and there is some bile that was waiting to do its job. As long as your dog doesn’t have any other symptoms and the dog vomiting isn’t constant (or chronic), it is likely just your dog being a dog.
But if there’s more instances, or other symptoms, there is probably something else going on.
What Is Dog Vomiting and What Are the Symptoms?
If your dog throws up a lot or has other symptoms (weight loss, lethargy, fever, etc.) then there is likely something going on.
Dog vomiting is when your dog’s stomach and small intestine contents are forcefully ejected through the mouth. Your dog’s abdominal wall contracts (and you hear them retching) and then bleeeechhh… there it is.
The symptoms of dog vomit conditions also include anemia, appetite loss and diarrhea. If there is ever blood in your dog’s vomit, that’s a sign to call the vet.
What Makes My Dog Throw Up?
An acute case of vomit (sudden or severe bouts of vomiting) can accompany several things. Some include kidney failure, liver failure, pancreatitis, intestinal parasites or toxin and poisoning.
But, before you stress, know that cases of dog vomiting can also be due to ingestion of something irritating (like trash, chocolate, etc.), a virus or infection or as we often see, poor digestion or a change in diet.
How Can I Stop My Dog from Throwing Up?
The most important thing you need to do is assess whether your dog throw up is a consistent thing happening or the reaction to eating part of their ball or too much grass. You also need to look for accompanying symptoms. If your dog is vomiting and has diarrhea or he won’t eat, you should call your veterinarian. The same goes for him vomiting consistently, even if not accompanied by other symptoms.
But for most pet owners dealing with dog throw up, you can definitely make changes in their digestive system that will help stop your dog from throwing up and settle their stomach after vomiting. The biggest change you can make is to help improve their gut health. Using Bernie’s Perfect Poop will help balance their microbiome and allow them to have good dog gut health. The prebiotics and probiotics in Perfect Poop act as fertilizer in your dog’s gut to build colony on top of colony of good bacteria in their gut. When their gut is balanced, they have less irritation and inflammation, which means less reason to vomit. Even better, even if they do happen to eat something that doesn’t settle with their stomachs so much, a healthy dog gut means that your dog can battle that icky without having to throw up–win for you and for him!
And the enzymes in Perfect Poop will help the food your dog eats digest better so it is absorbed better in their system. Dogs with good nutrient absorption have healthier stomachs and linings, and less vomit for you to clean up after.
Yes, dog vomit can be a sign of something serious, but it also can simply mean your dog’s gut health needs to be better. That’s just what Perfect Poop does–helps him have good dog gut health. Good gut health ALWAYS means there’s less dog vomit to deal with, and that’s always a great thing!
