Why Is My Dog Throwing Up at Night?
Dogs are curious animals. On top of that, they have a complex biological system. So, there isn’t one reason that dog’s vomit, even if they only do it in the middle of the night.
Finding out the reasons that your dog is vomiting is a great way to figure out the right treatments or action plans. Additionally, it will be much easier to explain your dog’s condition to the vet.
So, if you caught your dog vomiting in the middle of the night, here are some things that can cause that;
Why Does My Dog Throw Up At Night? (5 Causes)
Also known as reflux gastritis, bilious vomiting syndrome is one of the most common causes of a dog vomiting at night or in the early morning. If they frequently throw up bile — a yellow, watery substance — this is probably the reason. It’s caused by bile entering the stomach and causing irritation during the digestive process, especially on an empty stomach.
While it can happen in dogs of any age, especially if they’re only fed once a day, it mostly affects older canines.
If there isn’t a more serious underlying health issue causing your dog’s night vomiting, this issue can be resolved by feeding your dog more frequent small meals. Sometimes giving them a handful of kibble before bed is enough to lessen their vomiting.
If changing their diet doesn’t work, though, talk to your veterinarian to see what can be done to help them.
Food allergies and food intolerance are both used interchangeably when it comes to issues that your dog might have with food, especially since they have similar symptoms. There is a big difference between both of these health problems, though. Allergies are a result of your dog’s immune system overreacting to something that they’ve come into contact with. Where food is concerned, it can be anything from peas to chicken.
Food intolerance, on the other hand, is a more accurate way of describing issues that aren’t caused by your dog’s overactive immune system. Among these adverse reactions, food poisoning is one of the biggest.
You have to make sure that your dog’s food is stored properly and that they don’t eat spoiled meat, especially if they tend to get into any trash bags when you’re not looking. While they might think that it’s a tasty treat, they can still suffer from vomiting and diarrhea if they ingest spoiled food.
Traveling with your dog can also be a cause of vomiting. Like humans, dogs can get motion sickness, especially if they’re not used to being in a car. Anxiety and the movement of the car itself can be reasons that your pooch is feeling sick.
This isn’t necessarily limited only to nighttime. Your dog can get carsick whenever you take them out for a drive.
You can help your pooch get used to car trips by slowly desensitizing them to the vehicle before you take them for a drive. Sit with them in the car with the engine off, and slowly work up to turning the engine on, then taking short trips, and then longer drives. Keeping a window open can help too, especially in hot cars.
By making sure your dog enjoys the car ride, they’ll be less likely to be anxious enough to feel sick at all.
No matter how old they are or their breed, dogs are curious creatures. Since they don’t have hands, they use their mouths to explore things that they’re interested in, which can lead to accidentally swallowed objects. They can also suffer from pica, a condition where they crave and eat non-food items that can get stuck in their digestive system.
Vomiting can be caused by a blockage in your dog’s digestive system, along with constipation, straining to poop, behavioral changes, diarrhea, abdominal pain, and lethargy.
This isn’t something that you can treat at home. If you catch your dog eating something that they shouldn’t and they start to show these symptoms, you must take them to a veterinarian. Most of the time, surgery is required to fix the issue.
Another common reason for your dog puking at night is an upset stomach. Both food intolerance and obstruction can cause your dog to have an upset stomach, but it can also be caused by several other things. Medication side effects, bloat, dietary changes, parvovirus, intestinal parasites, and pancreatitis are a few of the major causes.
Sometimes, stomach upset can go away on its own. Stress-related stomach upset, for example, can be soothed by reassuring your dog and keeping their routine as stable as possible. However, in some cases, veterinary intervention is required. Bloat, ingestion of toxic substances, reactions to medication, and kidney or liver failure all require a trip to your veterinarian.
What to Do For Dog Vomiting
If your dog vomits after ingesting or being exposed to something dangerous, time is of the essence, so go at once to a veterinary clinic.
As mentioned, most cases of acute gastritis resolve on their own without medical intervention. Here are six nonmedical steps for treating acute gastritis in dogs who otherwise appear and act bright, alert, and normal.
In addition to notifying your veterinarian if your dog continues to vomit, be ready to call for help when:
If medical care is needed, your veterinarian may take an X-ray or do an ultrasound in an effort to discover what your dog might have swallowed. Blood tests may be useful to help rule out other causes such as pancreatitis or acute kidney failure. Surgery may be required to remove an object that blocks the intestines or a large object in the stomach, such as Gorilla Glue, which swells to a large mass after ingestion.
If no cause is discovered, you may need to consult a specialist for an endoscopy, where a tube is inserted through your dog’s mouth and esophagus into the stomach. Small objects in the stomach can be removed with the endoscope. If no obvious cause is found during endoscopy, a biopsy of the stomach lining can be taken to provide additional information.
Your dog might be treated with gastrointestinal protectants such as sucralfate (Carafate), an anti-ulcer medication; with anti-emetic or anti-vomiting medications such as metoclopramide (Reglan or maxolon), H2 (histamine-2) receptor antagonists such as famotidine (Pepcid) or ranitidine (Zantac), which are used to reduce stomach acid; or proton pump inhibitors such as omeprazolie (Prilosec or Losec), which are used in cases of severe stomach ulceration.
How To Care For A Dog Throwing Up? | Types Of Dog Vomit And What They Mean | Veterinarian Explains
Dog vomit and dog ownership go together like peas and carrots, but still, you may ask: Why is my dog throwing up? How can I prevent it? Do I need to take my dog to the vet?
In this article, I will discuss some of the common causes of vomiting in dogs, what you can do about it, and when you should be concerned about more serious conditions. Ill also be offering up some well-deserved levity (come on, its DOG VOMIT) and anecdotes to make this unpleasant experience a tad more bearable.