best dog food for dogs who vomit
What to Feed Dogs After Theyve Vomited
Dogs vomit for many reasons. Some are life-threatening, others are just a mild annoyance, and a whole bunch of causes fall somewhere in between. But once your dog is on the road to recovery, youll wonder what to feed them so they dont start vomiting again.
In this article, well look at what and how to feed dogs at home after theyve vomitedand even more importantly, when you should head to the veterinarians office instead.
Should You Feed a Dog After They Vomit?
The short answer? No, whether its an emergency situation or not.
Emergency Cases of Vomiting in Dogs
Your dog may need to be seen by a vet right away, and trying home treatments first or giving your dog some food could be dangerous. If any of the following apply to your dog, call your veterinarian or a veterinary emergency hospital immediately for advice:
Your dog is very young or old, or has a health problem that could make them especially vulnerable todehydration, inadequate nutrition, and other effects of vomiting
Your dog has vomited at least three times within 24 hours
Your dog is trying to vomit but nothing is coming up
There is blood in your dogs vomit
Your dog seems weak, disoriented, or in pain
Your dog has severediarrheaor other worrisome symptoms in addition to vomiting
Mild Cases of Vomiting in Dogs
On the other hand, if your otherwise healthy adult dog has just vomited once or twice and seems to feel pretty good, its possible they just ate something unusual or have a mild case of gastroenteritis and will feel better soon.
In this case, you dont need to rush to the vet, but the first step in treating mild vomiting in a healthy adult dog is to stop feeding them. Putting food into an upset tummy is irritating and makes it more likely that vomiting will continue.
Take your dogs food away for 1224 hours, and dont give them any treats or table scraps. Leave water out for your dog to drink, but if they tend to tank up, keep the water level low to encourage them to drink small amounts frequently.
However, there are some dogs that should never go without food. Young puppies can becomehypoglycemicif they dont eat frequently enough.
Dogs that are on insulin fordiabetesor have tumors in their pancreas (insulinomas) are also at high risk for hypoglycemia if they dont eat regularly. Call your veterinarian for advice before withholding food for any dog that isnt healthy and at least 1 year old.
What to Feed Your Dog After Fasting
After the fasting period (if appropriate), you can use food as treatment if your dogs vomiting is acute and mild. Acute vomiting starts suddenly and doesnt last for more than a few daysfood poisoning or stomach bugs like norovirus are common examples of acute vomiting in people.
Mild vomiting doesnt significantly affect a dogs overall well-being or occur more than two or three times in 24 hours. If you didnt know your dog vomited, you might not think anything was wrong.
So your dog has acute and mild vomiting, and youve withheld food for 12 to 24 hours. Now what? Start reintroducing food gradually. Think of how you might start eating after youve been vomiting: You wouldnt immediately order yourself a pizza; youd probably start with toast or a few crackers and see how it goes. You want to do something similar for your dog.
Start by offering your dog a small amount of bland food thats easy to digest. Your options are:
Homemade Food
Mix the following:
Boiled, white-meat chicken (no skin or bones) or lean hamburger meat
Cooked white riceor boiled and mashed potatoes
While these recipes are not nutritionally complete and balanced for long-term feeding, they are safe for dogs to eat for a few days.
Over-the-Counter Food
These highly digestible diets, easy on a dogs stomach, are offered by reputable pet food manufacturers:
Prescription Diets
Most veterinarians will have at least a few cans of prescription, highly digestible dog food in stock. These are two good options:
Your Dogs Regular Food
If your dog is on a special diet or you simply cant get your hands on a highly digestible dog food, slowly start your dog back on their regular diet.
Wet foods are generally a better option than kibble, at least in the short term. Wet foods tend to be more digestible than dry, and the extra water will help keep your dog hydrated.
How Much to Feed Your Dog Each Day After Vomiting
How you start feeding your dog again is just as important as what you feed them. This feeding guide will help you gradually transition back to a normal diet for a dog that has been vomiting.
Day 1
Day 2
Offer your dog 10% of their normal meal size. Wait a few hours.
If your dog has not vomited, offer them 25% of their normal meal size. Wait a few hours.
If your dog has not vomited, offer them another 25% of their normal meal size. Wait a few hours.
If your dog has not vomited, offer them 50% of their normal meal size.
Day 3
Offer your dog 50% of their normal meal size. Wait a few hours.
If your dog has not vomited, offer them another 50% of their normal meal size. Wait a few hours.
If your dog has not vomited, offer them a normal meal size.
Day 4
Day 5 and on
Call your veterinarian if at any point during this process your dog starts vomiting again, wont eat, or their symptoms are getting worse.
Is There a Prescription Diet for Dogs With Chronic Vomiting?
There are prescription diets for many conditions that cause chronic vomiting. Once a dogs vomiting has continued for more than a couple of weeks, it is considered chronic rather than acute. Many health problems can cause chronic vomiting in dogs, including:
Diet plays a part in managing many of these diseases. For example:
Dogs with chronic vomiting often dont have a great appetite. You may find it tempting to prepare your dog home-cooked meals, but this can be dangerous if it goes on too long.
Most recipes for home-cooked diets are not nutritionally complete and balanced, even for healthy dogs.
Add in a chronic illness, and preparing a healthy diet for long-term feeding becomes almost impossible without the input of a veterinary nutritionist.
Its vital for dogs that have been vomiting to get the right nutrition. Your veterinarian can help you pick the best food based on the specifics of your dogs case.
Featured image:Chalabala/iStock / Getty Images Plus via Getty Images
WRITTEN BY
Jennifer Coates, DVMVeterinarian
Dr. Jennifer Coates is an accomplished veterinarian, writer, editor, and consultant with years of experience in the fields of veterinary...
Dog Vomiting
Caring for a dog who has vomited
If your dog has only vomited once and seems otherwise well, you may decide to wait and see if they vomit again before taking them to the vets. Here are a few things you can try at home during that time.
Starve them for a short amount of time
A short period without food (12 - 24 hours) can sometimes help but make sure they are still drinking water.
Give them small, regular bland meals
Give your dog small, regular, bland meals throughout the day. Bland diets are available in tins (contact your vet for more information), or alternatively you can give them plain boiled rice with chicken breast, white fish or low-fat cottage cheese. Dont give your dog anything rich or fatty this could make things much worse! Once your dog has stopped vomiting you can slowly start to re-introduce their normal food again.
Make sure they drink plenty of water
To prevent dehydration your dog will need to drink more than usual to replace what theyve lost in their vomit. Provide plenty of fresh water and make sure your dog is drinking little and often throughout the day. Speak to your vet if you are worried about the amount your dog is drinking.
Let them rest
While your dog is feeling poorly, its unlikely that they will want to do anything energetic so its a good idea to let them rest and recover for a couple of days.
Feeding the Dog that Vomits Every Day
We spend a lot of time on Nutrition Nuggets talking about what (and what not) to feed our dogs. When dogs have bilious vomiting syndrome, however, when meals occur is even more important than what the meals consist of.
The classic symptom of bilious vomiting syndrome is vomiting on an empty stomach. This usually occurs first thing in the morning since most dogs dont eat throughout the night. Because the dogs stomach is empty, all that comes up is fluid, mucus, and often some bile, which tinges everything an orangey-brown color. Dogs with bilious vomiting syndrome are normal in all other respects no diarrhea, weight loss, poor appetite, etc.
We dont know exactly why some dogs develop bilious vomiting syndrome. The most commonly cited theory is that something is amiss with the normal housekeeping contractions of the gastrointestinal tract that should occur in between meals. As a result, fluid within the first part of the intestinal tract (the duodenum) moves backwards into the stomach resulting in irritation of the stomachs lining and vomiting. This explanation has resulted in some veterinarians calling the condition reflux gastritis.
Whatever the underlying cause, most dogs with bilious vomiting syndrome respond very well to a simple form of treatment feeding them their normal food right before bedtime and again first thing in the morning (yes, I mean even before you get a cup of coffee). I do not recommend changing the dogs food at the same time as the feeding schedule is being modified. As a veterinarian, I prefer to change one thing at a time whenever possible so I can better assess what is working and what is not.
If feeding the dog late in the evening and early in the morning doesnt improve matters, Ill generally recommend a health work up that consists of blood work, a urinalysis, a fecal examination, and abdominal X-rays to make sure that the dog is truly as healthy as he or she appears to be. In some cases, additional laboratory testing, an abdominal ultrasound, and/or scoping of the GI tract may be in order.
When a dog that is suspected of having bilious vomiting syndrome doesnt get better with more frequent feedings alone and other causes of chronic vomiting have been ruled out, medications can be added to the treatment plan. Some dogs respond to drugs that reduce gastric acidity (e.g., famotidine or omeprazole) while others do better with metoclopramide, a medication that increases the frequency of contractions within the small intestines, or maropitant, a broad spectrum anti-vomiting drug.
Even when dogs with bilious vomiting syndrome are treated with medications, they should continue to eat a late evening and early morning meal. If this is inconvenient, an automatic feeder is a worthwhile investment.
Dr. Jennifer Coates
Image: violetblue / Shutterstock
Gastroenteritis (stomach upset) in dogs
Treatment
If your dog has a very mild case of gastroenteritis, it may be possible to settle their stomach at home (see advice below). Alternatively, your vet may want to see your dog to examine them, and depending on their symptoms, may recommend the following treatments:
Anti-sickness medication to stop your dog feeling sick and vomiting. If your dog has been given anti-sickness medication and is still vomiting, its best to contact your vet for advice.
Antacid medications to reduce the amount of stomach acid your dog produces, which can help them feel more comfortable.
Probiotics Your vet may recommend probiotics (friendly gut bacteria) especially if your dog has diarrhoea. Probiotics contain friendly gut bacteria that are thought to help reset the normal gut flora after a stomach upset. Many probiotics also contain ingredients to bind the diarrhoea (firm the stool) and may also help soothe the gut wall. Probiotics can be bought at your vets or online where possible, use a probiotic recommended by your vet.
Antibiotics antibiotics (medicine to treat bacterial infections) are sometimes used to treat stomach upsets, but they arent always necessary. Many cases of gastroenteritis arent caused by bacteria, so antibiotics wont work in these cases, and can even make things worse by disrupting the friendly gut bacteria in your dogs guts. If your vet does prescribe antibiotics, always follow the dosage instructions and complete the course.
Hospital treatment and a fluid drip if your dog has more serious symptoms of gastroenteritis, and/or is becoming dehydrated, they may need to stay at your vets for treatment. This is likely to include a fluid drip to rehydrate them and help them feel better.
