Dog Vomiting – How To Treat And Prevent
When your dog is vomiting, it is wise not to ignore it. It is also not necessarily a cause for panic until the exact problem is ascertained. Certainly, the first thing to do as the dog’s owner is to try to treat the problem to stop the vomiting from continuing, while taking preventive action thereafter to ensure the problem does not persist, develops into something more serious or occurs again in the future.
It is important to first find out what is causing the dog vomiting, before more decisive treatment can be undertaken – if required. Due to many different types of problems that may cause a dog to vomit in the first place, this part of the process is often the most difficult. But once the hardest part is done, treating the dog using the appropriate medication or surgery may actually be the easiest since one realises that there is hope in curing it and helping it become healthy again.
It may not always be necessary to employ the professional help of a veterinarian to treat the dog when it starts to vomit. Again, it has to come down to the cause of the condition. If it is due to ingesting bad moldy food, then fasting and gradual re-introduction of a healthy diet or meal will work wonders. But if there is something sinister below the surface such as a parasite or life threatening disease, then a trip to the vet is definitely necessary and crucial to keeping the dog alive and well.
After ascertaining the problem, if self treatment is sufficient, there can be many different ways to doing it. Fasting is often the most basic and fundamental. Start by not feeding your dog any food for at least a few hours and observe if the vomiting stops or persists. This may have to continue for at least a day and it is why monitoring its condition is important. Note that it is only food that should be withheld from the dog. Continue to provide clean water to it, if possible, in the form of shaved ice or ice chips. You do not want your pet to be dehydrated since vomiting will cause it to lose plenty of moisture from the body. If your dog is settling down and not expelling any more matter, then you can start feeding it a basic diet again, which can be in the form of boiled rice and plain cooked chicken. Do not feed it substances that may have other additives or ingredients that may lead to renewed irritation of its stomach or intestines. The process can continue to gather pace as you introduce its original diet back if the dog does not start to vomit again.
Changing the way you feed your dog may also help to prevent future cases of vomiting. Sometimes, the dog may experience vomiting due to eating too much, or too fast. While feeding too quickly can often be a result of habit, you can also do your part to prevent it by putting together a feeding schedule that is more frequent, but with smaller portions, so that the dog will not feel hungry and eat at a proper pace. This manner of feeding can also help to prevent a serious case of bloat (Gastric dialation volvulus) or torsion, which can be a life threatening condition for your dog.
For serious cases of vomiting that are caused by parasites living in the dog’s body, these will have to be treated by the vet through a course of medicine, surgery or combination of both. Most often, parasites can be removed via medication and surgery is only necessary if there are life threatening conditions that have resulted from the original invasion of the parasite in the host body (your dog).
Treatment of the more serious vomiting cases often start with the vet giving your dog a full medical checkup. These includes a full examination on the dog based on its health and medical history, and any information pertaining to the vomiting and other conditions should be informed to the doctor and not withheld, to ensure a proper diagnosis and treatment can be meted out. Various tests may be done or recommended to the dog owner, of which some will be based on the vet’s diagnosis of what may be the underlying cause of the vomiting.
For example, if the vet suspects that the medical problem may be a result of inflammatory bowel disease, an intestinal biopsy may have to be carried out in order to ascertain the cause. For suspicions of your dog swallowing foreign objects or to pinpoint the point of obstruction, x-rays may be ordered to find out where the foreign objects are lodged in the dog’s digestive system. Surgery may also be one of the options if the condition is serious enough to warrant it, such as a breakdown of the intestinal tract or simply to remove the foreign object if it cannot be coaxed out through normal exit points.
Other treatments or tests that could be suggested include blood work that may suggest viruses or infections amongst other problems, a test of your dog’s stool with fecal testing which is a common test for parasitic agents in the body due to roundworms, coccidia or giardia. Note that for serious cases, hospitalisation of your dog is required for it to heal and the vet to monitor and observe its condition and progress after treatment.
Medication will also be prescribed for conditions such as pancreatitis where they will help the dog to regulate the pancreas’ production of enzymes and other hormones necessary for a healthy internal organ system. Steroids may also be used to deal with serious infections and viruses, much like how they are also used for humans in similar conditions. These treatments often require the dog to be hospitalised for a period of time.
To prevent future incidents of vomiting in your dog, you may undertake one or all of the following precautions. The first would be providing it with a clean and healthy diet. Be it from natural foods or canned formula, always check to ensure that the ingredients are accepted by your dog’s digestive system and will not cause allergic reactions or intolerance. New allergies may develop and that would mean modifying its diet in order to cater to its new bodily demands. Keep the food and ingredients clean, the water should be fresh and utensils such as the dog’s feeding bowl should be regularly washed to prevent mold or germs infesting them.
Avoid having too many objects or items lying about the house that the dog may choose to eat and swallow. Of course, this can be very difficult to ensure since dogs may just about be game for anything, but keep the more obvious items away from its reach if possible. Clothes, socks, shoes, toys, balls and everything else should not be lying around carelessly and at the same time, you can also keep your home clean and tidy.
While it is always necessary to allow your dog to interact with other canines, this has to be done in moderation. Since parasites and germs can be easily transmitted in an uncontrolled environment – even in the situation of a dog day care centre – it is hard to prevent that happening, and when it does, even more difficult to find out. If your dog spends a moderate amount of time in such situations, it is advisable to go for regular checkups.
The ideal treatment and prevention of dog vomiting is often the best with you as the dog owner taking proper care of your pet. By educating yourself on the possible causes and symptoms that may lead to your dog vomiting, such a problem may never surface if you look after the dog well and shower it with a lot of tender loving care. While spoiling your pet dog is only natural, always do it with moderation and with its health a priority. Make sure you take note of any health conditions or problems that may seem to suggest the dog is suffering – such as lethargy, vomiting (of course) and diarrhea amongst other things. By being well informed and observant, your dog is sure to enjoy a much better life with you and both owner and pet will benefit from it.