THROWING UP IN DOGS

Underlying Causes and Management of Affected Animals

- Dr. R. Selvakkumar

Forceful ejection of the stomach and small Intestinal content (Upper part of the small intestine) is called vomiting and colloquially as throwing up. The vomiting may be due to any gastrointestinal disorders, failure or dysfunction of any vital organs like kidney or liver, nervous dysfunction or may be due to accidental ingestion of toxic or irritating substances. In some circumstances, confusion may arise in differentiating the regurgitation and vomiting and thus, will affect the diagnosis and treatment process. Hence, we must differentiate the vomiting and regurgitation before going for further diagnosis and analysis.

Signs such as nausea, excessive salivation, retching, and forceful contraction of the abdomen are noticed after vomiting. But regurgitation is a passive motion and it does not require effort or contraction of the abdominal muscles to expel the content.

Further, the regurgitated content is undigested. On the contrary, the vomiting contents may be partially digested and have a sour smell.

Regurgitation may be followed by eating too much food or eating the food too fast or due to some irritating sensation in the food pipe.

Factors behind the vomiting may be from simple indigestion to some life-threatening illness. Hence, proper diagnosis and optin treatment is a must to save our pet. Vomiting in apparently active and healthy dogs, one or two times a day or a couple of days may be normal. But if your pet is vomiting with the belowmentioned symptoms, it is time to call your vet.

• Frequent vomiting

• Chronic vomiting 

• Vomiting a lot at one time 

• Vomiting with fever, weight loss,

• lethargy, anaemia, and weakness.

• Blood mixed vomiting

• Vomiting symptoms without the ejection of content 

• Severe vomiting with bloody diarrhoea