Why is my dog ​​throwing up

Vomiting and regurgitation: differences

Before we get into what causes a dog to vomit, let’s define the difference between vomiting and regurgitation. When dogs are nauseated, they forcibly empty their stomach contents. As a rule, before that, you can notice salivation in a dog, contractions of the abdominal muscles – everything is like in humans.

Regurgitation is a passive movement that removes undigested food and fluid. Unlike vomiting, the symptoms of regurgitation are difficulty breathing and coughing. Regurgitant substances are not digested and “at the exit” they can retain the cylindrical shape of the esophagus.

Experienced owners know that vomiting in dogs is not uncommon. Occasionally, a completely healthy dog ​​will show this symptom for no apparent reason, but without continuing. The cause of such a one-time nausea of ​​the dog may be swallowing food too quickly or, for example, it could eat grass while walking. These are two examples where you can not sound the alarm.

So how do you know when to worry? Most likely, the veterinarian will confirm that a single vomiting without continuation and any other additional symptoms is not a reason for strong feelings, however, if we are talking about continuous, profuse, chronic vomiting with accompanying symptoms, such as fever, apathy, anemia, you need to take measures. And the best solution in this case would be to contact a veterinarian for a consultation and an internal examination.

Causes of vomiting

Vomiting can be a symptom of many diseases, disorders, and complications. For example, such as:

• Acute gastroenteritis – inflammation of the stomach, which can be caused by various factors, for example, infections in the gastrointestinal tract, ingestion of foreign objects; poisoning with toxins and poisons, food allergies, stress.
• Colitis is inflammation of the colon (acute or chronic). The reasons may be helminths, frequent changes in diet, intolerance to food components, foreign objects.
• Pancreatitis – the true cause of this disease often remains unknown. In fact, this is an inflammation of the pancreas.
• Renal or liver failure – since both the kidneys and the liver are filtering organs, even a partial violation of their function can lead to intoxication of the whole organism and, as a manifestation of intoxication, vomiting.
• Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is actually a deficiency of pancreatic enzymes that makes it difficult to digest food normally. It provokes inflammation in the small intestine, constant diarrhea. Pets due to lack of essential nutrients lose weight.

How to diagnose the true cause of vomiting?

Veterinarians are often compared to pediatricians, since animals, like small children, cannot speak, their parents speak for them. In cases where we are talking about acute vomiting, diarrhea, refusal to feed, the correct determination of the cause will also be a very important factor. This will help you get the help you need as quickly as possible. Therefore, in order to achieve good results, it is of great importance how open the owners are with their veterinarian. To help the veterinarian narrow down the “circle” of suspicions, it is important to tell what happened to the pet, to keep the sequence of increasing symptoms, if there are several. For example, if you were walking on a hot day or a dog was waiting for you in the car on the same hot day, it is likely that he has heat stroke, in which case this would be one treatment tactic. If the dog has been “on reconnaissance” in a trash can, most likely the reason is poisoning or ingestion of foreign objects, the tactics will be different. Or, if a pet often indulges in cheese, sausage and other fatty foods out of great love, the pet may develop chronic pathologies, such as pancreatitis.

Nutrition and treatment

Failure of the digestive system is quite common. In most cases, no special assistance is required. However, sometimes it happens that a pet needs special food to maintain health, which, depending on the problem, will support the pet in its painful condition. The choice of diet is very important to help solve problems with the gastrointestinal tract. As a rule, to make a diagnosis, the doctor may prescribe additional blood tests (general clinical analysis and a biochemical blood test). In addition to laboratory diagnostic methods, ultrasound, gastroscopy or x-rays may be required, or maybe all together. After the diagnosis is made, the veterinarian prescribes treatment, which, in addition to drugs, usually includes the use of a diet. Most often, a special diet helps the pet to cope with the disease faster. Sometimes one food can solve an existing problem.

To maintain a healthy gastrointestinal tract, Hill’s has several diets.

First aid for gastrointestinal disorders

Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d Dry Dog Food with Chicken is a specially formulated, clinically proven diet to restore the digestive tract. This is a highly digestible diet, which, due to its composition, promotes the absorption of nutrients in a pet, which is difficult for problems with the gastrointestinal tract, but simply necessary to maintain the health of the whole organism. The food contains a high amount of natural antioxidants – substances that are able to “block” the oxidation processes that initiate free radicals (oxidizing molecules), attacking a normal cell. This is a micro picture of what is happening with the pet, it is not visible to the naked eye. However, most people are familiar with the macro picture, this process, which occurs at the cellular level, manifests itself as vomiting, diarrhea, apathy, lack of appetite. The rupture of this phenomenon contributes to the recovery of the pet. Due to the quality and high digestibility of the ingredients, the food is also suitable for feeding puppies.

Protein content – 22.7%; fat -12,8%.

Nutrition for beneficial microbiota

Hill’s Prescription Diet Gastrointestinal Biome Dog Food. Hill’s nutritionists and veterinarians have developed the unique Hill’s Prescription Diet Gastrointestinal Biome with advanced ActivBiome+ ingredient technology. This diet actively supports regular normal stools and helps reduce the risk of future indigestion by nourishing the gut microbiome. There is growing evidence that the gut microbiome, which is a collection of microorganisms that include bacteria, viruses, protozoa and fungi that live in the gastrointestinal tract, plays a key role in diseases of the gastrointestinal tract. We know that patients with acute and chronic diarrhea have a less diverse microbiome than healthy animals, as well as lower concentrations of beneficial bacteria important for the production of fatty acid metabolites (such as omega-3 and omega-6) that are essential for recovery and intestinal healing. Nutrition plays a role in combating this dysbiosis. Hill’s Prescription Diet Gastrointestinal Biome is clinically proven to help turn loose stools into solid stools in 24 hours. The action of the feed is aimed at a long-term effect.

Protein content – 21.0%; fat – 13.4%

How to help small breed dogs with stress?

Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d Stress Mini dog food is a godsend for owners of small dog breeds, who, due to their physiological characteristics, unfortunately, most often suffer from gastrointestinal problems due to stress. Meets the needs of dogs with GI problems, this highly digestible diet is enriched with fiber to grow beneficial gut microbiota, contains ginger to soothe digestion and a patented anti-stress formula to control stress.

Protein content – 23.3%; fat – 7.8%

Low fat food

Hill’s Prescription Diet i/d Low Fat. For various reasons, it happens that the digestion of fat in the gastrointestinal tract in a pet becomes difficult. To maintain the health of animals with this problem, a diet low in fat is needed. In this case, Hill’s Prescription Diet Low Fat is a low-fat diet that promotes GI repair. How it works? Ginger soothes the digestive tract, making it easier to digest food. High levels of omega-3 fatty acids break the cycle of inflammation and have a positive effect on the functioning of the digestive tract. Prebiotic fibers promote the growth of beneficial gut microbiota.

Protein content – 23.2%; fat – 7.8%

Very often, the owners are lost and do not know when and on what diet it is best to transfer from a diet. It is always best to consult a veterinarian for the choice of diet, the duration of use and the possibility of switching to daily food, in order to prevent possible complications. If switching to a daily diet is recommended by your veterinarian, we recommend switching to Hill’s Science Plan Sensitive Stomach & Skin Adult Small Breeds with Chicken or Hill’s Science Plan Sensitive Stomach & Skin Adult Medium Breeds with Chicken.

Article prepared by Hill’s expert, veterinary consultant.