Alicia from Portland, Oregon asks: My dog vomits every once in a while, when should I concerned about it and what should I do?
In my practice I probably get this question more than any other. I will answer this question by referring to a dog but many of my comments also apply to cats. I typically answer the question by first asking some questions. The first is how frequently has your dog vomited? If the answer is just once or twice and your dog shows no other signs of distress, no fever or obvious abdominal pain, and is no more than slightly depressed (inactive), you can probably treat the vomiting at home. Keep your dog off food for a while (if you feed twice daily skip the next meal) and make sure they have water available to drink. The reality is vomiting occurs commonly in dogs. It seems to be caused most often by irritation of the stomach, called simple gastritis. And the most common cause of gastritis are dietary related – your dog overate, you just changed your pet’s food (or your dog just got into the cat food bag) your pet has food allergies or got into the garbage or compose pile. The first two causes can usually be dealt with at home but the latter three will require a visit to your veterinarian to be successfully resolved.
Because of this I often start by asking the owner if they know if their dog has gotten into the garbage or some other toxin, if there is diarrhea associated with the vomiting or if there was bloody vomiting. Again if the answer is no I recommend they watch their dog carefully for the next 24 hours and if more vomiting occurs bring them in to see us.
But if their dog has vomited more than a few times, if the vomiting is extremely forceful, if there is blood in the vomit or if there is obvious abdominal pain, or if the dog seems particularly depressed or weak, has a fever, or retches unproductively their pet should be seen by a veterinarian as soon as possible. If this is the case and the pet comes in the owner should be prepared to answer a few more questions to help us determine what is wrong with their pet. Keen observation of your dog is very helpful in diagnosing any problem.
In this discussion it will impossible to diagnose what’s wrong with a pet but I can help you get a better understanding of what your dog is doing and whether or not it should be seen by your veterinarian. The first thing that must be determined (and its not always easy) is whether or not your pet is vomiting, the expulsion of food, fluid or debris from the stomach or small intestine, or regurgitating, the effortless ejection of contents of the esophagus. The big difference between the two is that regurgitation is effortless, while vomiting is an active process with strong abdominal contractions. By carefully observing your pet you may be able to tell the difference. When your pet regurgitates it usually lowers its head and food is expelled without effort and the regurgitation is usually undigested food, tubular in shape and is often covered with a slimy mucus. My dogs usually want to eat their own vomit when this happens. Vomiting, on the other hand, causes your pet to be apprehensive and heaves and retches to vomit.
If the owner determines that their pet is vomiting and takes them to the veterinarian here are a few of the things your veterinarian will do to determine what may be causing your pet’s vomiting. First your veterinarian will attempt to determine if the vomiting is caused by gastric (primary) or non-gastric (secondary) diseases. With so many older dogs suffering from arthritis we always ask if owners are using over-the-counter medications such as aspirin or ibuprofen as even short term usage of these medications can cause severe stomach ulcers in dogs with even more serious consequences in cats. By determining primary or secondary gastric causes your veterinarian can then discuss with you the most likely causes for each condition. This is not an exhaustive list but simply the most probable list of causes.
The most common primary or gastric causes of vomiting are:
- Gastritis
- Stomach ulceration i.e. use of aspirin or ibuprofen
- Stomach cancer
- Obstruction i.e. foreign bodies such as socks; telescoping intestine
- Hiatal hernia i.e. part of stomach herniating through the diaphragm – pet hit by car
- Inflammatory bowle disease
- Intestinal cancer
- Worms
The most common secondary or non-gastric causes of vomiting are:
- Pancreatitis i.e. infection or inflammation of pancreas
- Kidney failure, either acute from poisons such as antifreeze or chronic failure
- Pyometra i.e. infection of the uterus found in older non-spayed female pets
- Liver failure
- Hyperthyroidism in cats
- Hormonal disease such as Addisons disease, Diabetes mellitus, Septicemia
- Parvo in young unvaccinated dogs usually associated with bloody diarrhea
- Panleukopenia virus in unvaccinated young cats
Please keep in mind that this discussion is not meant to be a substitute for veterinary care but an aid in helping you help your veterinarian determine what is causing your pet’s vomiting. If you find this helpful please let me know and if you would like more information on any of the diseases listed above just ask and I will provide links to other sites and a brief discussion for your review. For more information visit the Washington State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine web site at:
http://www.vetmed.wsu.edu/ClientED/vomiting.aspx
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