Vomiting of undigested food in a dog

The process of vomiting in a dog

Vomiting in a dog occurs in three phases:

• Nausea phase - expressed in apathy, seeking shelter, trembling or wandering around, licking lips, increased production of saliva, sharp swallowing and chewing, as well as a frightened expression of the muzzle. Some animals stand still with their heads down and begin to salivate;
• suffocation phase - strong rhythmic contractions of the abdominal and pectoral muscles are accompanied by frequent and deep breaths due to suffocation. Stomach contractions increase;
• vomiting phase - the contents of the stomach forcefully fly out through the esophagus and oral cavity as a result of contractions of the abdominal and stomach muscles.

Vomiting and regurgitation

Vomiting should be distinguished from the so-called regurgitation - passive, return removal of food or liquid from the esophagus into the oral cavity or if the dog chokes.

• Vomiting begins with nausea, restlessness, and frequent swallowing. The release of ingested food occurs reflexively and is caused by contraction of the abdominal and diaphragmatic muscles.
• Regurgitation is a passive process with no clear signs, although some dogs may experience increased salivation and difficulty swallowing. With regurgitation, the dog's front legs and head are extended forward, the front part of the body is lowered down, and the back part remains in an elevated position.

As a rule, regurgitation occurs in pathological conditions such as narrowing or dilatation of the esophagus due to disruption of its function due to paresis or paralysis.

The dog vomited after eating: the differences between vomiting and regurgitation

The dog vomited after eating: the difference between vomiting and regurgitation is an important question, since these phenomena are often confused. Before identifying differences, it is worth deciding on the meaning of the concepts.

Vomiting is a protective mechanism that is activated when foreign irritants are ingested. It could be a foreign body, a toxic substance, or a pathogenic bacterium. The mechanism manifests itself as a sharp spasm of the stomach muscles, which leads to its emptying.

Regurgitation is a reflex process when food masses are thrown from the stomach into the oral cavity.

Causes:

• swallowing food along with air;
• inhalation;
• inhibition of food down the throat or in the esophagus;
• overeating, which causes the formation of gases that leave the stomach through the oral cavity.

Regurgitation is a natural process that does not cause discomfort to the animal. Sometimes it occurs directly during a meal, which does not interfere with further eating.

Differences between vomiting and regurgitation:

• When regurgitating, there is no bile. Vomiting is accompanied by the release of mucus, bile, and saliva.
• Vomiting is accompanied by a powerful, abundant flow of feed mass. When regurgitating, food comes out formed, undigested, sometimes with saliva.
• Regurgitation is a natural phenomenon that does not cause discomfort. Vomiting is a sign of illness. It is accompanied by pain, weakness, and nausea.
• Vomiting occurs at any time. Regurgitation occurs after eating, sometimes together with belching.

Knowing how to distinguish vomiting from regurgitation will help determine the degree of danger of the phenomenon occurring to your pet. If a bad condition is detected, it is better to show the animal to a veterinarian.

When is vomiting not dangerous?

• Eating grass. Sometimes dogs eat grass while walking and, after a while, they vomit the same grass with light yellow or almost white foam. If this happens several times a month, there is no cause for concern. If a dog eats grass and then vomits every walk, the owner should adjust the animal’s diet and pay attention to the pet’s general condition. It is possible that the dog does not have enough fiber and adding vegetables to the diet will stop eating grass.
• Lactating bitches sometimes experience physiological vomiting when the crushed and digested mass serves as food for the puppy.
• Binge eating. Vomiting also helps to cleanse and empty the stomach after it has been overloaded (overeating).

When is vomiting a serious symptom?

Uncontrolled, spontaneous, prolonged vomiting is useless and has serious consequences for the dog, such as, for example, decreased fluid levels, gastric juice, loss of appetite, and dehydration.

If the owner notices a dog vomiting or an urge to vomit, he should pay attention to:

• duration, time of vomiting, amount and type of vomit (food and liquid, liquid only, odorless, sour odor);
• the appearance of the vomit: color (for example, red from the admixture of blood due to gastric bleeding or as a result of stagnation of blood), as well as bile impurities;
• sometimes the presence of worms or foreign objects (waste) is noted;

Vomiting caused by disorders in the gastrointestinal tract

The following causes in the gastrointestinal tract can cause vomiting:

• indigestible feed, inflammation, blockages, especially in the upper part of the gastrointestinal tract (eg foreign bodies). If an animal regurgitates food immediately after eating, one should suspect its indigestibility or intestinal blockage by a foreign body. If a dog vomits all or part of undigested food 8-10 hours after eating, when the stomach should be empty, this may be due to constipation;
• digested food with bile impurities indicates a process in the small intestine and at the same time a disruption in the process of bowel movement;
• admixtures of blood (fresh or changed like coffee grounds) in the vomit, as well as tarry stools - an alarming signal of hemorrhages in the gastrointestinal tract.

Vomiting independent of gastrointestinal causes

• Stimuli from higher centers of the central nervous system (fear, pain, brain tumor).
• Gastrointestinal diseases and diseases of the peritoneal organs (peritonitis, pancreatitis, hepatitis, nephritis, pyometra, ascites, various hernias).
• Metabolic or endocrine disorders (liver failure, acidosis, uremia, diabetes).
• Medicines, exogenous toxins (lead poisoning, use of tetracycline, apomorphine, cardiac glycosides, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs).
• Vestibular factors (motion sickness).
• Cardiorespiratory diseases (cardiomyopathy, congestive heart failure, laryngitis, tracheitis).

Persistent vomiting is often considered the onset of an infectious disease. Symptoms of infection, in addition to vomiting, include a dog’s fever, the animal becomes lethargic, diarrhea often begins, and purulent mucous discharge from the eyes and nose is noted.

Main causes of food vomiting

When vomit is detected after eating food, the thought immediately appears that the animal has been poisoned. However, in most cases, this sign does not pose a threat to the pet's health.

If gastric emptying occurs for the first time and once, then there is nothing to worry about.

The main causes of vomiting with food:

• Food intolerance. The digestive tract is sometimes too sensitive to certain components of the feed. More often, vomiting occurs when consuming Economy class products or natural food from the list of prohibited foods. Characteristic symptoms: the appearance of rashes, redness on the skin, sneezing, tearing, and sometimes discharge from the nasal cavity.

• Poor quality food. Economy class products usually cause vomiting. Low quality can be easily identified by a strong, unpleasant odor. But sometimes the situation is the opposite - a complete lack of aroma is also a sign of poor quality dry granules.

• Pregnancy or breastfeeding. Toxicosis is an unpleasant problem not only for people. Dogs also suffer from nausea and vomiting during pregnancy due to hormonal fluctuations.

• Physical activity after eating food. If the dog is playful, then after the next meal it will begin to move a lot, jump, and run. This will cause the feed mass to shake in the stomach, which will slow down the digestion process.

• Motion sickness. Dogs, like people, can have trouble with travel. Vomiting is associated with destabilization of the vestibular apparatus, which begins to get confused in signals, causing disturbances in the functioning of the nervous system.

• Haste. It happens that the dog begins to swallow food quickly and in large pieces. The stomach does not have time to prepare to process food. It affects areas not covered by gastric juice, causing irritation of the mucous walls.

• Binge eating. When eating a large amount of food, a food lump rises to the throat, causing vomiting.

• Eating greens and grass in large quantities. Fiber from plants is poorly digested, but at the same time it releases substances that irritate the intestinal walls.

• Heatstroke, sunstroke. Overheating causes increased blood pressure and dilation of blood vessels, which reduces blood supply to organs. This slows down the digestion process.

The listed reasons are easy to identify and eliminate. It is enough to monitor the quality, freshness of food, portion sizes, and limit physical activity after meals. It is not a good idea to feed your pet before a trip or walk on a sunny day.

Interesting! Pet owners who keep male dogs often experience vomiting in their pets. Males lose their appetite when they see a female during mating season. Inexperienced owners try to trick the pet into giving it food, which leads to vomiting. The reason is that the body is configured to copulate with the female, and not to process food.

Possible causes of vomiting in a dog

Causes of vomiting in gastrointestinal pathologies

Causes

Many different factors associated with both environmental influences and internal changes in the body can provoke the appearance of nausea and subsequent gastric eruption.

Vomiting does not always occur against the background of dangerous disorders. Sometimes the reason for the release of gastric contents back into the esophagus and oral cavity is mechanical irritation of the walls of the digestive organ, such as grass.

Find out why a dog can eat grass>>>

In some cases, vomiting is observed in nursing females during lactation, immediately after the end of childbirth. Vomiting may occur due to motion sickness in vehicles, in the heat, or when the weather changes due to the individual sensitivity of some pets. The animal remains active and energetic, so vomiting is not a cause for concern.

Pathological vomiting with particles of undigested food is observed in the following conditions:

• poisoning of the body due to consumption of low-quality feed;
• intoxication with toxic substances contained in plants or household chemicals;
• infectious diseases that provoke intoxication of the body;
• systemic pathologies of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and gallbladder;
• damage to the body by parasites;
• intestinal obstruction due to tumor processes or foreign objects stuck in the intestines.

The presence of undigested food particles in the vomit, changes in the animal’s condition (increased body temperature, distortion of appetite, apathetic states) indicate the development of serious disorders in the functioning of entire systems of the animal’s body.

In the vast majority of clinical cases, the manifestation of repeated vomiting in a dog with undigested food indicates the presence of diseases of the intestinal tract and stomach - gastritis, inflammation of the intestines, ulcerative damage to the walls of the stomach.

If characteristic symptoms of pathology appear, it is imperative to contact a veterinary hospital. In a hospital setting, a veterinarian will conduct a series of laboratory and instrumental studies to determine the cause of vomiting. Based on the data obtained, the most adequate individual therapy is developed.

Why is vomiting dangerous?

Prolonged vomiting, especially with diarrhea, can lead to dehydration in your dog. This is a pathological process in which phenomena such as blood thickening, degenerative changes in tissues, and intoxication of the body develop. With dehydration, dry mucous membranes, skin and hair are noted.

In case of acute vomiting with suspected intestinal obstruction (when the dog vomits immediately after eating food or liquid), intestinal necrosis may begin within a few hours, which will lead to the death of the animal. In this case, you should immediately contact a veterinary clinic, where an X-ray examination of the abdominal cavity will be performed.

According to severity, vomiting is divided into:

• Harmless, “self-healing” - when vomiting is observed every few days and the serious consequences of the primary disease have not been established. In this case, other than diet, no measures are required.
• Mild - non-life-threatening symptoms and no serious complications. Periodic vomiting (white foam or with bile) is accompanied by a general lethargic state of the dog, and diarrhea may occur. Treatment with fluids and antiemetic drugs is recommended, during which the cause of vomiting is determined and further treatment is carried out.
• Severe - life-threatening symptoms without or with serious complications, such as respiratory failure, threat of shock or organ failure (liver failure, etc.). Vomiting is constant, blood may appear in the vomit, the animal lies down all the time and shows no interest in surrounding objects. Urgent treatment and stabilization of the animal’s condition and early identification of the causes of the disease are required.

Diagnosis of possible diseases

Before contacting a veterinary clinic, it is recommended to collect as much information as possible about vomiting. It is important to remember or write down the following parameters:

• frequency and interval of vomiting;
• consistency, swelling and presence of odors in masses ejected through the oral cavity;
• the presence of various impurities - bile, blood, foam, food debris;
• general condition of the animal, changes in behavior, increase or decrease in body temperature;
• presence of additional symptoms.

In most cases, frequently repeated vomiting in an animal is observed due to irritation of the mucous membranes of the stomach, problems in the muscle fibers of the diaphragm. To determine the causes of vomiting, the animal is prescribed a number of studies:

• general blood analysis;
• general urine analysis;
• taking vomit samples to identify possible parasitic diseases;
• biochemical blood test - necessary to determine disorders in the hepatobiliary system.

In order to confirm suspected serious pathologies, ultrasound diagnostics of the abdominal organs and radiography are performed. These techniques allow you to visualize the presence of possible tumors or obstructions of the intestinal tract. In some cases, to diagnose inflammatory processes in the stomach or intestines, fibrogastroscopy or conventional gastroscopy is performed.

Treatment of vomiting in a dog

When a dog begins to vomit, the owner should carefully monitor his pet's condition and inspect the vomit each time.

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  For example, isolated cases of vomiting white or yellow foam, as a rule, indicate errors in nutrition and do not require specific treatment. However, if cases of vomiting in a dog become more frequent or the presence of bile is often noted in the vomit, this may indicate inflammatory processes in the gastrointestinal tract. The dog should be shown to a doctor for diagnosis and further treatment of the disease.

• If the dog gets motion sickness, then before the trip (about 2 hours before) for the purpose of prevention, the pet is given the antiemetic drug Sereniya at a dose of 8 mg/kg. The tablets can be fed with a small amount of food. The cost of such a drug ranges from 150 to 250 rubles per 1 tablet, depending on the amount of the active substance. This product can only be purchased at a veterinary pharmacy or pet store.

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  In case of acute uncontrollable vomiting, the general condition quickly deteriorates, so you must immediately seek help from a veterinarian. To prevent dehydration before going to the clinic, subcutaneous administration of isotonic fluids, such as Ringer's solution at a rate of 15-20 ml/kg, is possible. The cost of a bottle of solution is about 40 rubles.

• How an effective antiemetic is often used Cerucal at a dose of 0.1 ml/kg. The drug is administered intramuscularly 1-2 times a day, depending on the condition of the dog. It should be borne in mind that Cerucal affects intestinal motility, so it cannot be used in cases where vomiting in a dog is accompanied by diarrhea. The price of a package with 10 ampoules is about 250 rubles. It is possible to use an analogue - Metoclopramide (cost about 50 rubles).

• It is also possible to use the drug Motilium at a dosage of 0.1 mg/kg, orally 1-2 times a day. However, the cost of one package of tablets or suspension is 700-800 rubles. Or an analogue of Domperidone (100-150 rubles).
• Vomiting blood in a dog requires urgent treatment, so trying to do something at home is not worth it.

Author:

Grinchuk Ekaterina Andreevna veterinarian