Vomiting is quite an unpleasant feeling, be it for humans or the four-legged. Vomit is nothing but the body's response to show that it is not ready to intake what is being fed to its system. And when it comes to your furry friend, the problem carries additional risks, concerns, and discomforts. No matter how hard you try to monitor your dog’s health, vomiting happens, and while you are monitoring your pet’s puke issues continuously, finding the cause, and sorting through all of that is hard. Animals do not have a way to warn you that they will be throwing up, thus it becomes a tad bit tricky. In many situations, this type of one-and-done vomiting may not be the main cause for concern, but it is very essential to know about the causes of the sudden throwing up and when is the time for your doggie to go to the veterinarian.
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Causes Of Vomiting
Like humans, dogs vomit occasionally to expel food or other substances they should not have ingested in the first place. However, dogs can throw up for a variety of reasons and some of them can pose a serious health concern to them. Primary causes of pet vomiting fall into two major categories- gastrointestinal and extra-gastrointestinal issues. A few other common causes of dog vomiting include the following:
- Consuming contaminated food
- Infectious parasites in the stomach such as roundworms, hookworms, whipworms
- Food allergies
- Build-up of toxins
- Canine Hepatopathy- a liver ailment
- Sudden changes in the diet
- Inflammatory bowel disease
- Pancreatitis
- Fever
- Suspected ingestion of a foreign body
- Kidney or liver failure
According to veterinarians, your furry buddies are most likely fine if they vomit once and do not display any of the above-mentioned serious symptoms. But it is time to start getting concerned if the canine is vomiting continuously accompanied by abdominal pain, dehydration, and weakness and it needs to be evaluated at the earliest stage. Chronic vomiting with other symptoms such as weight loss, lethargy, anemia, vomiting blood or bloody diarrhea, and seizures should also be taken extremely seriously.
Diagnosing Vomiting in Dogs And Treating Them
Determining the cause of vomiting in pets usually requires several steps. At the outset, the veterinarian will perform a physical examination and may run some additional tests, such as ultrasounds, X-rays, endoscopic evaluations, and some blood and urine cultures. Once the cause of your dog’s vomiting has been determined, they will chalk out a treatment plan based on the cause and your dog’s age and health condition. In many cases, vomiting also creates related issues such as dehydration, electrolyte imbalances, and acid-based disorders in the body. These problems will be addressed and accordingly, the vet will begin to treat the symptoms. In many cases, they may prescribe anti-nausea medications and make changes in the dog’s food habits for a few days until the infection or the primary cause of vomit completely subsides.
When To Seek Help?
The bottom line to remember when it comes to dog vomit is that if your dog vomits more than once or has recurring bouts of vomiting in a very short time, you need to call your veterinarian immediately. Vomiting is a symptom of many underlying serious diseases, illnesses, and complications. As pet owners, we owe it to our four-legged friends, and we should take the matter into our hands at the earliest. Ignoring your dog’s vomiting patterns may have fatal consequences thus seeking help at the earliest is of vital importance.